Digimon Adventure 06: Data
by YukiraKing
Summary: Three years have passed since Yggdrasil's defeat, and the digidestined thought they had brought about peace, but things are not always as they seem. New foes threaten that peace, and the digidestined struggle to hold on to what little they can. Will they be able to fend off these foes, or will peace elude them forever?
1. Here We Go Again

**Y/N: **I wrote almost all of this entire chapter. It was both refreshing and difficult to get back into these characters after having written them as parents in the epilogue, but I have really high hopes for this new trilogy, and we're hard at work completing it. We're having a lot of fun with it, and with some of the story lines and friendships. I hope you enjoy this second trilogy of ours, and if you care to drop us a review, it would be most appreciated.

**U/N: **Firstly, since my sister didn't say anything, I shall. I would like to explain that this is not a continuation from the epilogue. It is a continuation from 05 in which the Epilogue is of no importance. Neither our epilogue, "Happily Ever After" nor the epilogue from the show are necessarily being considered within the writing processes here. So this is an alternate ending sort of deal in which we take what we already know about the world we built off of the base the show provided. And also, it has literally nothing whatsoever to do with Digimon tri. We planned this before the information of a sequel was released, and we went ahead and wrote it anyway.

It is obviously another adventure, but it is told in three parts. So, a trilogy. The chapters are shorter as a result, but it also makes more space to develop a different, and at times more realistic (and at times completely insane) process of moving from where 05 left off. There is one difference between this story and the main series of events, and that will be the driving force for this trilogy.

More importantly, we decided to do this story, not because we felt the story was unfinished, or needed a more satisfying conclusion, but because we just wanted to. It's kind of like a writing journal now. We write this and eventually we'll get better at writing. It'll happen. Probably. It certainly has gotten better since 03, and in each section of this story I learned something about how my/my sister's writing works, and that's the goal here, obviously. There are a _lot_ of things we could have done better in each of those, such as planning. We could have planned better. This time we planned, but we thought it was alright until we were halfway through writing. It's better than 05, god it's better than 05. But we're working on the next part and it is _way_ better. Betterrr. But ultimately the point of this obnoxiously long author's note is to say that this story is a way for us to look at our mistakes (Putting parent plots in 05 after everyone else already had plots so they had no time to focus on their parents missing)(Always confusing your and you're)(Mixing up dub names in 03)(Taking Takeru seriously when he said in the epilogue "Now everyone has a digimon partner") We're now looking our mistakes in the eye and being like "Hey. We can do better. Let's keep writing fanfictions until we're better writers." And that's the plan.

Now, I know a lot of the people who read the other ones won't read this one, because why would you? xD and there weren't that many people reading it in the first place. But whoever does read this, even if it's only one person, would you please review and help us be better? Thanks :D And also, this whole thing is written, and a chapter will be up every other day, so read whenever you want to... :D

Raawwwrrr :D

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 1: Whispers**

**Chapter 1: Here We Go Again**

* * *

**Friday, May 29, 2015**

* * *

**_Yamato Ishida:_**

"This is ridiculous." Yutaka was saying. Somehow everything he said seemed so very distant. Like nothing mattered. Nothing except the piece of equipment in my hand. There was a possibility it could help us. A possibility that we could go back. This was my hope.

I heard the door to the room open but ignored it. It was probably my dad coming back. He'd gone to grab us some food. We'd more than likely be here a while anyway.

Then Yutaka reached out and tapped my shoulder. I shrugged him off but he flicked me in the side of the head, and finally I turned to face him, my hope held tightly in my hands. I shot Yutaka a look, but it fell quickly when I saw the person standing in the room. My arms fell limp and I dropped the device where it crashed on the floor. "Sora!" I gasped. She'd just come from outside in the rain. Her dress was soaked, her hair was matted and stuck to her face, where her makeup had run wild. Yet she was still beautiful.

"Yamato." Sora said, starting to cry. "You're okay."

"O-of course I am." I said, panic rising quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Don't." Sora said quietly. "Just let me have one moment. I know that's horrible, but I really just need this." I nodded and swallowed nervously. She was looking into my eyes and although it seemed to be making her calm down, it was simply increasing the panic building in my chest. She broke the silence with a shaky voice. "Yamato... I-I'm sorry."

"Why?" I shot loudly, not in control of my voice. "Why are you sorry?"

As if it needed to be any more dramatic, the rain that was pounding on the window grew loMoretsunar and the glass shook, thunder booming from outside accompanied by a violent flash of lightning.

"Because they're gone."

Her voice echoed in the still room, all eyes transfixed, unmoving. She had all the attention, and for once I wish she didn't. I wanted her to go away and take back what she said. I didn't even believe her. I didn't know what to say, but my panic took over. "What?" I asked, "They're gone? What do you mean? Who is?"

"Everyone." She said, her voice catching in her throat. "Gone."

* * *

**Two Months Earlier**

* * *

_**Kiyoko Izumi:**_

"And _I_ said 'You can't be serious? _Me_ order that costume?' The guy couldn't come up with an excuse fast enough," Satoe said with superior sort of laugh. She took a quick sip of her tea—made with one sugar cube, and nothing else—and set her delicate white tea cup onto its saucer. Both cup and saucer had tiny, hand painted flowers along the edges in a pale pink that had taken hours to paint. It had been a grueling task—daunting almost, knowing how picky Satoe could be. I spent ages trying to pick which colour would suit Satoe, and I nearly went with red, but she wasn't the harsh woman she used to be, she was much softer, and I thought the pink really demonstrated that change.

"You really don't strike me as a clown," Yuuko agreed with a laugh. Her teacup was very different from Satoe's. I used three colours—red, orange and yellow—and painted splashes of colour, looking like small explosions to represent both her personality and her cooking abilities.

"Heavens no," Yoshie said. "What would that make-up do for her complexion?"

"Exactly," Satoe said. "And that's what I made sure the manager understood. Kiyoko, dear, these teacups are adorable. Wherever did you get the idea?"

"I just wanted to make something special," I said nervously. "For our meetings. Something that was just for us. I was walking through a store with Mari, and I saw a set of white tea cups. The idea just came to me then. I could see it. Each of us with a personalized cup that no one else would use."

"That's very sweet," Yoshie said, looking at her own white cup, with the intricate deep green ivy that swirled around.

"Speaking of sweet," Yuuko said. "Isao and Aimi are set to celebrate their first anniversary soon. I can't believe it. It seems like their wedding was just yesterday."

"I know," Natsuko agreed. "Of course, neither of them is getting any younger, so their quick courtship was to be expected."

"I like that they're older," I said. "It makes me think that love is _always_ possible. Especially when both of them had such hard luck with their first spouses."

"Do you know if Jou's gotten better about it?" Yuuko asked me. "Hikari's mentioned once or twice that he wasn't happy about the whole thing."

"I don't think he likes her very much," I admitted. "I don't really talk to him though. I don't know if we're even friends or not. I don't talk to most of them really..."

"You should just talk to them more," Kae suggested, her teacup raised halfway to her mouth. She was pleased with the simplicity of it, a single—yet large—flower painted in blue on the side of the cup and the centre of the saucer. She was always saying how simple is best. "You're such a sweet boy. They'd really like you."

"I don't want to push it," I said. "I'm just glad they all forgave me, especially Miyako. What Sigma did to her was unforgiveable."

"And it was Sigma who did it," Natsuko said in her no nonsense way. Her teacup clinked loudly as she placed it forcefully onto its saucer to make her point. I'd had trouble coming up with the design for hers, but I settled on pale blue and light yellow, to represent her two sons, which I knew she appreciated, though she never said anything. The colours were in little squares, creating a checkerboard pattern around the rim. "It's to be expected that they forgave you. You did nothing to them."

I'd had enough meetings with Kurayami to know that it wasn't appreciated when I continued to correct people of that. I knew it was still my fault, no matter how unintentionally or indirectly. But Kurayami always got mad when I tried to take that blame. She was a mean therapist. She always asked the hard questions, the ones she never answered for herself. The ones I didn't want to share with anyone. So I never did. That made her mad too. I tried to avoid her whenever possible. I hated our therapy sessions. And while I knew I shouldn't hold that against her as a person—she was only helping after all—I couldn't help being afraid of her. I quit going to her as soon as possible, when I'd finally quit blurting things out accidentally. I was so relieved, since she'd been pregnant at the time, and I was terrified I'd say something about her being fat. I didn't want to die yet.

"So," I said, forcibly changing the subject. "You're still dating that guy?"

"You know that I am," Natsuko said simply. She knew why I changed topics. And she knew that I knew it too. She was too good at reading people. It came from her job, and she had a lot of experience. She let it slide though, and for that I was grateful.

"Hiroaki's friend?" Satoe said, leaning forward, hoping for something interesting. "His _best_ friend?"

"That's the one," Natsuko said, rolling her eyes and reaching to the platter of sandwiches in the middle of the table. She grabbed a cucumber sandwich and took a big bite—effectively removing herself from the conversation for now. She couldn't talk with her mouth full after all.

"She met him again at the wedding," Yuuko said simply. "And it's been smooth sailing from there. I'm so happy for you Natsuko. You really deserved this."

Natsuko nodded her thanks and poured more tea into everyone's cups. Well, except mine. I didn't really like tea. It usually took me an entire meeting to finish drinking just the one—and even then I'd try to sneakily dump it out.

"It's so beautiful here," Kae said, noting that Natsuko clearly didn't want to talk about herself. "We should really meet here more often. I'm glad you thought to meet here, Kiyoko."

Getting the table put out here was a challenge. Digitamamon didn't really want me to build a cafe, since it would affect his business, but he also didn't want to alter his own menu just to satisfy the members of—the now officially named—Team Mom. So, in an attempt not to anger my very first architectural client, I petitioned to Taichi to allow us to add a cafe to the Temple market place. He wasn't sure how well that would work, since I didn't want to have to run it, and there really wasn't much room. In the end, Yoshie decided she would work there, since Koushiro was grown and moved out, and she didn't really enjoy spending her time alone. It became a secondary establishment for Digitamamon, which pleased him, and on Sundays we could all meet here without interrupting Yoshie's workday. The cafe was built just outside the Temple walls, a short walk from Taichi's house, and was quite small. There was a lot of outside seating though, which is where we were, at one of the smaller tables available, with matching chiavari chairs. I spent a long time working to get just the right balance of elegance and casual when it came to the decor of the cafe. We were sheltered from strong winds, because of the forest around us, and we were close to the Temple, so we didn't have to walk far when we entered the Digital World. It was a win-win scenario.

And Kae was right. It was beautiful. Though we could see no water, there was a waterfall far enough away that it didn't interfere with conversation. This waterfall was what fed the moat around the Temple, which we weren't too far from. The moat was filled with beautiful mist that swirled through the air, and glistened in the sunlight. No one knew how deep the moat was, so we did keep a velvet rope fence by it, so no one would accidentally fall in. We didn't want customers—friendly or otherwise—falling to their doom.

"I wish Dorumon took more time away from Knight training," Yuuko sighed. "He'd love this place. Has he ever dropped in?"

"No," Yoshie said. "I hope they aren't working them too hard."

"They only really meet each day for four hour sessions," I said. "The rest of the time they are free to do as they please. Neo doesn't want them overworked, since they could be called upon at any moment to save the world. He can't have exhausted Knights."

"Then why won't Dorumon visit me?" Yuuko asked sadly. "I wish he missed me as much as I miss him."

"You visit him every Tuesday," Satoe pointed out. "And sometimes on Thursdays as well."

"I don't want him to forget about me," Yuuko said. Then she smirked. "And it gives me a perfectly logical reason to drop in on my son at work, since he _also_ never leaves the Digital World. If he can help it anyway."

"He meets at Mimi's every week still," I corrected.

"Well you should suggest that he come and visit his parents the next time you see him. It's lonely without him and Hikari around all the time. And now that Hikari is living with Iori and Natsuni, I see even less of her than I did when she lived in America. That doesn't make sense," Yuuko complained.

"You could always just go and visit her," Satoe said. "It works for me. Drop by unexpectedly, and then stay for a few days, so they can't ignore you."

"That only works for you because you live in another country," Natsuko pointed out dryly. "I sent emails to my boys informing them of my impending presence, so they can either come up with excuses or prepare. If there are excuses, I reschedule until there are none. They know they can't avoid me forever. Try it, you'd be surprised by the results."

"I often have trouble seeing Digitamamon too," Yoshie told Yuuko. "But we've worked out a system that works for us, even if we have to schedule our visits as business meetings. Just talk to him, I'm sure Dorumon would find a way to make sure you're happy too. The relationship isn't entirely one-sided. The digimon waited for us to meet them. They spent their whole lives wondering about when we'd show up. I only wish I could have met him sooner."

"I feel the same way about Minervamon," Satoe said. "She's the best friend I could've asked for, and I wasted so much of my life without her. Of course Keisuke doesn't understand. He's always off complaining. 'Why don't I have a digimon? It's not _fair!_' It's quite aggravating really, since he puts no effort into going to find his own partner."

"Kazuya does the same," Kae told her. "Only he doesn't know if he really wants one or not. I keep telling him how happy Coronamon and I are together, and how Ken wouldn't be the same without his Wormmon, but he's quite adamant about it. Says he's too busy to have a proper relationship with one."

"I wish Susumu spent more time with Kamemon. But he's too busy. He's always off doing something. When he's not at work, he's gone to friend's house, and comes back far later than Kamemon can stay up. The poor dear is trying to compensate with his collections. I think he pours all the love and affection he has for Susumu into those things. He brought home a bucket of bottle shards yesterday. He's planning to make a mosaic top for the coffee table," Yuuko said. "It will go smashingly with the stain glass windows he made, and the wind chimes he made with colourful, little, glass bottles."

"You've got your own little home decorator right there," Natsuko teased. "Everything will match if you give it enough time."

"The kids' old room is full of shelves and bins with his other collections," Yuuko sighed. "There's the ever-growing rock collection, the spare change jar, the bottle caps, the pushpins, the sunglasses, the feathers, the stamps, the shells, Taichi's broken old toy cars, the watches, and key chains. He brings home a new item every week."

"That's adorable," Kae said.

"It's like having another child, is what it's like," Yuuko corrected. "I don't know how Fumiko handles Meiyomon with such ease. It's like she's always had two sons."

"There's more now. What with her marrying Hiroaki. She's got two new—and older—boys now," Satoe said, and then paused, turning to Natsuko. "No offense."

"Why would I take offense?" Natsuko asked. "I was at the wedding, I know she's my boys' new step-mother. Just don't forget the _step_ part, and there's nothing wrong with it. They're too old for her to sway them against me, and we're not enemies."

"You're so mature about this," Satoe said with a bit of a pout.

"Of course I'm mature about it," Natsuko said. "I'm a grown woman. I can't rant and complain about everything being unfair, especially when it isn't. Hiroaki and I weren't working, we were pretending we were, and we weren't. We were the ones being unfair. To each other. Now Takeru has a big family that he's _so_ excited about, and Yamato has another maternal figure in his life to resent."

I thought I detected more than a bit of frustration in that answer. It seems it still bothered Natsuko on some level that her ex-husband replaced her with Iori's mom.

"If it makes you feel any better," I said. "I know that Iori hates it as much as Yamato does."

"Why would I need to feel better?" Natsuko said, though it did seem to perk her up a bit. "What about you, Kiyoko? You're letting us talk about everything under the sun, but you haven't said anything at all about _you_."

"There's nothing different from last time," I said quickly. "Why don't we talk about how Fumiko first married a guy named Hiroki Hida, and then got _re_-married to a guy called Hiroaki Ishida? I think it's just too coincidental to ignore."

"Oh my god," Satoe gasped. "I never even noticed the similarities. That's so odd."

"It's just a coincidence," Yoshie insisted. "I don't think it was intentional."

"I hope not," Kae said. "It would just cause a scandal."

I grinned at Natsuko, who looked mildly impressed by my ability to distract the others. There was also the promise in her eyes that she'd target me again, and she'd find a way to get answers too.

"You know," Yuuko said. "Why haven't we invited her to come with us to these things? She's a mother too you know. And it's Team _Mom_."

"By that reasoning, I shouldn't be here at all," I pointed out.

"But you _have_ to be here," Satoe said. "You're the reason we're a team at all. You invited us to that final battle. Without you, we'd have missed the whole thing."

"I doubt you could've missed it," I said wryly.

"But we'd have been alone and terrified," Kae insisted.

"Would it be too _weird_ to have Fumiko be here, though?" Yoshie asked. "I know you're being so mature about it, but would it make you feel awkward, Natsuko? I don't want you to be uncomfortable. You're an original member."

"It wouldn't be awkward at all," Natsuko declared. And I knew she'd make sure it wasn't. Even though she wouldn't question Fumiko about Hiroaki...ever. And I doubted anyone else would either. To be honest, I figured Fumiko would feel more awkward about it than Natsuko ever would.

"Well, if we're nominating future members," Yuuko said. "I suggest Toshiko. I know she'd love to get out and talk to people who understand her situation. There really aren't a lot of people in the world who know what it's like to send a child off into battle, not knowing if they're ever coming back."

It was silent for a moment, as we remembered the time when Toshiko's daughter really _didn't_ come back—well Mimi, Yamato and Neo fixed it, but it was a heartbreaking time for mostly everybody.

"I second that motion," Yoshie said firmly. "Toshiko definitely should come. She was on Hiroaki's team the first time we parents were needed. She's had some experience."

"How open are you to young blood?" Satoe asked. "Because Kurayami and Momoe both are mothers now, and it would only be fair."

"Momoe's good," I said.

"And Kurayami?" Satoe asked.

"No..." I said slowly. "She's just such a new mom. I doubt she's got any time to come to these kinds of things. And really, we're outside all the time, and it's misty. I don't think it would be a good environment to bring a baby into. He's only two months old. He doesn't have a very good immune system yet."

"It seems to me like someone doesn't like his team mate," Natsuko said with a glint in her eye. "Why don't you tell us about it?"

"She's scary," I said. "And she doesn't know _everything_ about me...but she knows too much, and I don't want her to share my secrets. I know, I know, the doctor-patient confidentiality thing should be in effect, but really Kurayami's not a trained therapist, and the idea that she knows so much about me, more than even Hideto...I don't like that. She makes me uncomfortable."

"There's so much more to you than what you let us see, isn't there," Yoshie asked sadly.

"I'm getting better," I insisted, though I knew I was still very broken. All of Alias III were. We tried our best, but we still needed time. And there were so many things I was ashamed of. I didn't think I'd ever reach the point where I could share myself freely with Hideto, let alone Kurayami.

"Speaking of Hideto," Natsuko said, trying to liven us up. "How are you two?"

"Same old, same old," I said. I couldn't help smiling though. Just the sound of his name did that to me. "He's having a movie day with Tapirmon today. Which is really sweet, and I'm glad he's taking the time to bond with him. I know I have to work with Warg and Melga, but they're already so open, that I don't know what to do with them. I don't want to copy Hideto, so I'm going to put a lot of thought into it."

"It sounds like dating with digimon is the same as dating with kids," Satoe joked.

"I think it really is," I said. "No matter how much I care about Hideto, if he and Tapirmon didn't get along...I don't know that I could be with him. Even if I really wanted to."

"But it's okay, because Tapirmon gave me a glowing report on Hideto," Yoshie said with a smile. Tapirmon worked with Yoshie sometimes, because he liked spending time with her, and he thought it would make it seem like a genuine Digitamamon establishment, since Digitamamon also had a Tapirmon working at his restaurant. I liked that he got out and made a life for himself, rather than being cooped up in our dingy old apartment every day.

"Yeah, he gave me one too" I said with a smile.

"Ah, young love," Satoe sighed. "I really miss it."

"You and Keisuke still act like newlyweds. I didn't think you _could_ miss it," Yuuko snorted.

"You were married quite young," Kae remembered. "Weren't you?"

"I was seventeen," Satoe said. "And it was demanded of us by both of our fathers. We had to preserve the family honour, what with us having Mimi already. We got married because it was expected of us, but our relationship was pretty new the entire time. We'd only known each other less than a year before I found out I was pregnant. I was a bit of a wild child. But we're happy, and I'm glad of it."

"I was surprised by that," Kae said. "That you were so young when you married. Everyone was always saying how young marriages never last, so I waited longer than I would've to marry Kazuya. I didn't want to be a statistic. And I wish we'd married sooner, we might've gotten more time with Osamu that way."

"I wish the opposite," Natsuko said. "I love my sons. I do. But if we'd waited to get married, if I wasn't nineteen and 'so in love' with my twenty year old boyfriend...we might've realized a lot earlier what a bad fit we were. We wouldn't have wasted so much time. But at the same time, I would lose Yamato and Takeru if that were what happened, and I can't live without them..."

"I think Masami and I did the right thing. We married young, yes, but a lot of people were doing the same. And we wanted children right off. And we got one. If we weren't already married and trying, Koushiro might not have come into our lives. We would've passed on the opportunity presented to us, and who knows where Koushiro would've ended up. It was a lot to handle so early on, yes, but I love our son so much," Yoshie said, with tears glistening in her eyes. "And the thought of missing out on being a part of his life...I can't handle it."

"I was married young, but Susumu waited," Yuuko said. "I'd met him when I was eighteen, and he was ready to settle down. I wanted to explore the world, and see everything. But I loved him and I didn't want to lose him to what I thought were childish dreams. So I married him after only knowing him a year. He was twenty-six by then, and desperately wanted to start a family. And so we did. Taichi was born the following year, and three years later, we had Hikari."

"But you're happy right?" Satoe asked.

"Of course I am," Yuuko said. "Or I wouldn't still be with him after twenty eight years."

"Twenty-eight?" I asked. It seemed like such a long time to me. Longer than I'd been alive. The idea that she'd spent that many years married to someone, loving that person, creating a family with him. That was something that really struck me as important. Like I could have that someday, if I worked at it. And now that I'd thought about it, I wanted it. Bad. I just didn't know if Hideto did.

What made it even better, was that there was a seven year age difference between Yuuko and Sususmu. That was bigger than the six between Hideto and myself—which everyone poked fun at.

"Oh!" Satoe gasped. "I just remembered something that Minervamon told me, and I thought you might be able to shed a little light on the situation, Kiyoko. She was headed to the Olympus XII for their monthly meeting, and she heard whispers of a rumour involving that singing digimon. Now what was his name...Etemon?"

"Yeah, what about him?" I asked.

"Well, according to the Vegimon she was talking to—who heard it from a Blossomon, who overheard a Cherrymon talking two a couple of Vilemon—Etemon has left the building!"

"It's probably just a publicity stunt," Yuuko said, rolling her eyes.

"What an Elvis wannabe," Natsuko said, thought I could see the gears in her head turning. She was definitely going to ask Yamato or Takeru for more information. She never settled for just one source.

"You know what they say about rumours," Kae said warningly. "You shouldn't believe everything you hear."

"I agree," Yoshie said. "I don't want to generalize, but aren't Vilemon...bad? If you rearrange the letters in their name you get evil, and even if you don't change them at all, it's still _vile_. They sound like troublemakers if you ask me."

"I haven't heard anything about Etemon," I told Satoe with an apologetic shrug. "I'll let you know if anyone says anything, but I don't think Etemon has acted up in years. I've never even seen him."

"Oh pooh," Satoe sighed. "I was really hoping to get that cleared up. I thought maybe he was planning to take over the world next."

"Nope," I said. "The Digital World's at peace. Everyone's pretty sure it's going to stay that way."

_**Michael Washington:**_

I really didn't like when _he_ came around with us. I wasn't always allowed to walk around alone though, and even when I pleaded and begged I was told I had to bring him, just in case I got any stupid ideas. 'Stupid' being a term used to describe everything that comes out of my mouth. Or so says my manager.

He never did like me much. I think he had a crush on my dad—he was his publicist too. It could explain why he hated me. Though how likely was that? A man destroyed when his childhood crush marries someone else and then holds a grudge against the child of the union simply because he didn't win his beloved's heart.

Well, I'd heard it before, so it had to be possible.

Either way, Mr Smith was our publicist, and he was just as annoying as our manager, and yet less ruthless. My manager was quick to remind me upon every meeting that the only reason I was still in business was because I was attractive, and not because of my abysmal performances. I was never allowed to retort though because, and I quote, "We do not speak to those who are as perfect as I, when we are as imperfect as you."

Which was simply rMoretsuna.

And yet humbling. There was no way I was ever going to get a big head while working with these clowns. And for that I was grateful. As were my friends and family I'm sure.

I flicked my eyes away from the tall form of Mr Smith and looked to the others. Willis was walking, his hands in the pockets of his favourite black spring jacket. His blonde hair was messed up exactly the way he liked it and he was wearing a red hoodie over his intentionally ripped jeans. I knew he had just broken up with his newest fling of a girlfriend just by looking at him. There was an air of relaxation about him—and there was no way it was the weather that was relaxing him.

For having just gone through a particularly rough winter, this spring was surprisingly not pleasant. The wind was harsh and cold and it stung at my face, drying my skin—which was bad because, again, I was apparently only in the line of work because I was pretty. If I wasn't pretty anymore, then... well, what was I to do?

Jenna was walking with a spring to her step, and it wasn't because of her moon shoes. She'd stopped wearing them after the staircase incident... I shuddered just thinking about it. She was however dressed entirely in steam punk clothing, and not just subtly either. She was... well, she was never subtle. Her blonde hair was shoved through some strange device on her head and it stuck out at odd angles, she was wearing a dress that appeared to be made entirely of metal and gears, and her boots looked like they were made for some sci-fi movie based in the 1950's. Her eyes were wide and looked full of life and excitement, as usual.

Ever since she started seeing this guy she'd been ecstatic about everything. The day they met we'd all been tortured with an hour long speech about how he was simply the one.

Never met him.

Never want to.

Tatum's cold fingers were sucking all the heat out of my own as she held tightly to my hand. I wanted to suggest a coffee break just so she could hold something warm before holding my hand again, but I didn't want to be rMoretsuna. Besides, I could handle it. Her hair was braided elaborately and wrapped around her head. She was wearing a green dress under a black jacket. I wished she would have worn more clothes. Maybe then she wouldn't have to take all my heat...

And of course, there was Betamon. I made a promise that I'd never go anywhere without him, and I'd so far kept that promise. For the most part anyway. He had this thing where he refused to sit in the bathtub with his eyes closed while I... used the washroom. He said it was undignified and really he didn't need to be watched all the time.

And I knew that. But every time I looked at him I was reminded of the pain that he went though... and the pain I went through by causing him to go through his own. His fin was still deflated like a poorly blown up beach toy, the scars on his back, though healing gradually, were still as visible as the ocean is from space, and he still walked with a limp.

Waddled? Slid? Hopped? He moved with a limp.

Tatum squeezed my hand and caught my attention. "You okay?" She whispered. I guess I wasn't very good at hiding my emotions. For an actor I wasn't very good at acting... maybe I really was just a pretty face.

"Could we stop in here for a bit?" I diverted Tatum's attention from me as smoothly as I could, "I'm a bit cold."

"Baby," Jenna joked, looking up at the dingy sign of the cafe I decided to stop at. Though it didn't look any cleaner than the litter covered sidewalks of the street we were on, there was no wind in there, and it would be a good place to stop and relax for a moment.

We all turned our heads to Mr Smith who nodded stiffly and we all moved inside. Mr Smith followed us from behind, like always. I didn't really know who he thought he was, I guess he sort of fancied himself to be some sort of bodyguard, but he was about as useful in a fight as Daisuke's new baby.

Walking through the door was like walking from an ice palace into a sauna, and honestly it was the best feeling ever. Jenna was in the lead, pushing her way through the crowd of people who all smelled strongly of smoke, until she found a place in the corner and sat down. She flopped into the corner seat and the rest of us sat around the table. I pulled Betamon into the chair next to me, leaving Mr Smith with no place to sit, but I wasn't about to offer him my chair. He pursed his lips as if we'd caused him great emotional pain and turned around, taking a chair from the table behind us without asking.

"Uh, hey, we need that." A girl said in a gravelly voice. I looked toward them and winced. I certainly wouldn't want to get into a fight with her. She looked like she could pick me up and throw me across the entire state of New York.

"Get your own." Mr Smith spat rMoretsunaly. The girl didn't respond but made a loud show of annoyance as she pulled a chair from a separate table.

"A bit cold." Mr Smith said in a whiney voice.

"I said that," I told him.

"I know," He scoffed, "I was mocking you."

I rolled my eyes and saw that Tatum, Willis and Jenna all did the same. It was like a wave of eye rolling. That would be cool if a whole stadium did that. Though... you wouldn't really be able to see it—but it would kind of be cool anyway I bet.

"So how's... what's her name?" Tatum asked, embarrassed that she couldn't remember Willis' newest girlfriends name.

"Tiffany?" Willis asked.

"I thought you dumped her already..." Jenna said slowly.

Willis nodded, snatching the salt shaker into his hand and playing with it idly between his fingers, "She wanted to get back together." He nodded. "And so we did, but I dumped her."

"Why's that?" Tatum asked, not at all sad or comforting. It was hard to be comforting when I swear he somehow managed to dump more girls than he dated. Something about a year ago happened, though none of us were really sure what exactly it was, and he just started... well, flirting. Flirting with everyone and after flirting comes—dating! Briefly!

Willis shrugged, but didn't answer her, instead he unscrewed the top of the salt shaker and poured some of the contents onto the table, and began stirring it around with his fingers that were red around the knuckles from being out in the cold for so long. Tatum raised her eyebrows but didn't press the issue any further.

"So Mom and Dad are thinking of coming to visit again." Jenna said casually, "They let me know last time I was there asking for money."

"Oh but that must have been so long ago," I said sarcastically, "You hardly ever ask for money!"

"Hey!" She dared, pointing her pale finger toward me. "Dad's got a money tree in the basement and I want to make good use of it." He actually did. One day he decided he was going to buy a small apple tree, and keep it inside, which was fine... I didn't live there. He dug the basement deeper—which I didn't think was safe, but he did it anyway, planted a blasted tree and stapled money to it. Just to say he has a money tree

"Why do they keep coming over though?" Willis groaned, which usually would have been uncalled for, but for the past couple months they've been coming over at least twice a week for dinner. It was just kind of... lame. Not that we didn't love them and all. We even agreed to start calling Willis' mom _our_ mom, and Willis did the same with dad, but living alone with your girlfriend, your two really cool siblings and five digimon was a blast. Then of course it was understandable why having parents come and invade our home would be disheartening.

"Is the help ever going to get here?" Mr Smith asked.

"Patience is a virtue," Tatum said politely.

"Well why is that?" Mr Smith asked, "Why isn't 'hurry the heck up' a virtue?"

"Why don't you go find someone and see what's taking them so long?" Jenna asked, "Instead of whining about it?" Mr Smith got up, offended and stormed off, his stolen chair scraping loudly against the wooden floor.

Betamon sighed with relief upon his disappearance. "Good Digi-God why does he have to come everywhere with us?" I laughed and patted his head gently.

"I think it's because he doesn't trust you," Willis said honestly, leaning back in his chair and cracking his shoulders. "Either he doesn't trust you, or your manager wants him to make sure you don't do anything you don't have permission to do." He shrugged his shoulders.

I nodded, leaning forward and propping myself up with my arms on the table momentarily before I realized how gross the tables were. I pulled back and furrowed my brow at the sight of the sticky substance that was now on my sweater sleeve. "I think it's both." I said, reaching for a napkin to wipe it off.

"I think you should stop telling him when we're going out." Jenna suggested.

"If he did that, then someone would get a picture of him and he'd get in trouble." Willis said without thought. "He can't leave without supervision. It's actually required by law. He signed a contract."

"Dummy." Jenna pouted, "You should have read the contract first."

"I... had my manager read through it." I said sheepishly. I'd realized the fault years ago, but the contract wasn't permanent, so that wasn't so bad. I could ride it out. Just a few more years. Jenna looked like she wanted to punch me—and she would have too, if she wasn't at the other end of the table.

"It must be horrible to feel trapped all the time, like you're in prison." Betamon said sincerely, reaching his fin over to pat my leg, "to not be able to get out, and feel like every decision you make is going to cause your downfall."

"Betamon," I said airily, stroking his head again. "I'm sorry." I didn't like when he brought up his time in captivity. Honestly I was fairly certain he didn't even know he was bringing it up half the time, just making conversation. It was everyone else who picked up on the subconscious hints his speech was pulling from his brain.

He shook his head and smiled, pushing his head into my hand like a cat wanting to be pet more. I smirked at him, but heard something behind me. It was the girl with the gravelly voice from earlier, but I didn't catch all she said, just 'prison'.

Were the people at the next table eavesdropping on us?

"What are we even doing here?" Willis asked, "None of us are getting anything, clearly."

"No one has come to take our order..." Tatum pointed out. Willis seemed a bit snippy today, but no one seemed to want to figure out why. I had a feeling it had to do with Tiffany, but who was I to make an assumption? I was no mind reader.

I absentmindedly reached up and started adjusting my hair using the napkin dispenser as a mirror during the silence that followed. It wasn't in place perfectly, though I couldn't really blame myself here, it was rather windy outside. But still, I had to look my best.

"You look fine." Betamon assured me. I turned to him to acknowledge him but saw someone standing behind him. I looked and saw that it was a man with a white mustache, but no hair on the top of his head. He pulled the chair right out from the table and dragged it toward the table where the deep voiced woman sat. Betamon leapt off of it and onto the floor, whipping around to look at him. "Hey..." Betamon mumbled.

"Yeah." Willis said sharply, dropping the salt shaker he had resumed playing with. He stood up and looked toward the man. "Someone was using that chair."

"Hardly." He mumbled. Or said? Maybe his enormous mustache just tampered with the volume and clarity of his voice.

"You took one of our chairs, and we needed it." The woman who we had spoken to earlier said. Her dry white hair flipping backwards as if she was going for some nineties wind swept look.

"And there it is." Willis said, not backing down for a moment. I helped Betamon up onto the chair in question, trying to ignore the argument. Some people were just jerks. Both Betamon and I knew that. Jenna and Tatum knew that too, though Jenna usually wouldn't let anything slide... she was just like that. But Willis would usually be the passive one. He must have really been in a bad mood. "It was empty. Why didn't you just take it back?"

"Don't mind if I do." One of the other men at the table said, a thick cigar held casually between the fingers on his left hand. He spun back and grabbed Betamon's chair, tipping it forward and dumping Betamon onto the ground.

"Okay." I said, slamming my hands down on the table. "Do you want to have a go?" I asked, jumping to my feet to stand with Willis who was already pushing my chair aside to get into their faces. Like I said, I was usually not one to get into an argument, but if the douche wanted to boil some blood, then he was going to get an angry Michael in return. Angry, in this case, with a capital A.

The man's friend took a long drag of his cigar and slowly blew the smoke out, grating my every nerve before he set the cigar down and stood up.

Well. He was certainly bigger than he looked sitting down...

"You want to fight me?" He asked.

I was about to tell him that my friend who Jenna and Tatum were now helping was a magical sea creature that could grow in size until he became an enormous metal snake that once killed the devil, as if that was even possible, but I didn't get the chance."What's going on!?" I turned sharply to see Mr Smith rushing toward us, his hands flailing about like a school girl. "What. Is. Going. On?" He panted, grabbing my shoulder roughly and pushing me away from the man. He slammed me against the wall and spun me around. "You fool."

"What?" I asked, annoyed, "I know I'm not supposed to cause a scene, but I mean, really—"

"Well if you know, then why were you doing it?" Mr Smith asked, "Why cause a riot when you know you are not permitted to do so?"

"Because he was—"

"Oh, I don't care!" Mr Smith snapped, both with his voice and with his hands. "Could you imagine what would happen if he hit your face? You'd be out of a job. And so would I. You're nothing without your face. Nothing without your looks. You think you can do what you want in this world—all you teenagers do. But you can't. You don't realize that we adults know better. Do you honestly think you could make it out there in the cutthroat world of media without me? You just do as I say and keep your face looking fresh. M'kay?"

"I'm not a teenager." I practically pouted. I didn't really know what else to say. I never did when it came to Mr Smith.

"Don't care, m'kay?" He said smacking his lips. "Let's go, alright?" This place is not good for publicity anyway." He grabbed my shoulder and began directing me roughly out of the cafe. I spun my head around and saw Tatum ushering Willis along as Jenna hurried behind with Betamon in her arms. Once we were out of the throng of people Mr Smith found the door and kicked it open, throwing me out into the fresh, and yet _freezing_ wind of the outside world.

"Mr Washington!"

I groaned, but turned with my usual carefree smile to the paparazzi. "Hey!" I smiled as the others finally made it out of the building. Jenna passed Betamon off to me as the flashes started going off. I held Betamon tightly and smiled the best I could until the man was satisfied.

Mr Smith waved him off politely and waited until he was gone before turning to me. "One more thing..."

"What's that?" I asked, checking my friends to see if they were alright. Willis looked even angrier than before, straightening out his jacket, but the girls looked fine. Cold, but fine. Betamon looked hurt—not physically though, so that was good. We'd just have to get home and cheer him up.

"You need to stop bringing Betamon around." Mr Smith said.

"No," I said quickly, turning to walk home. Going for a calming walk wasn't as fun anymore anyway. I just wanted to curl up by the fire and thaw out.

"It's just some friendly advice," Mr Smith said, following me like a puppy dog. Willis looked like he had a genius plan to trip Mr Smith into the oncoming traffic and pretend it was an accident, so I put my hand on his shoulder and he jumped, turning to me, he smiled—or tried to, but I knew he was still annoyed.

"I don't think it's really all that friendly." I shrugged. "In fact it kind of makes me feel the opposite of friendship toward you."

"What would that be?" Jenna wondered aloud. "If hate is the opposite to love, then what's the opposite to friendship?"

"I guess enemy?" Tatum offered. With a soft "Ahh." Jenna was satisfied.

"I just mean that you're getting a lot of bad press for carrying the little guy around." Mr Smith said. "I mean, he's cute and all, but that factor died out a while ago and now everyone is sort of upset."

"Is there a rule that says I can't bring him with me?" I asked, turning to face him.

"N-no..." Mr Smith spluttered.

"Then too bad." I snapped. "Betamon comes with me wherever I go. He's my friend." Mr Smith looked like he wanted to protest, but I didn't let him. I learned a few things from Jenna, and the look of pure evil that I was giving Mr Smith was one of those things.

I turned to set off home. We were going to watch movies, sit by the fire, eat carrots, Betamon's favourite—and have hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was to cheer Willis up. I didn't like seeing him upset any more than I liked seeing Betamon upset, and I was upset too. And I wasn't going to feel any better until they did. Tatum and Jenna seemed alright though... so they could make the hot chocolate while I peeled the carrots.

And Mr Smith? Well, he could just go home. I didn't want him around anymore.

_**Ken Ichijouji:**_

"This is awesome," Yakuin told me with a smile as he took a large bite out of his cupcake. They were painted with blue frosting with little silver handcuffs embossed on the top. He was right of course, the cupcakes were awesome. But not only that. This send off for the best boss ever was amazing. Tons of people who'd been affected by him while he was the Chief Superintendent, past employees of his, and his current team—including me and Yakuin—were all here to celebrate his long term as our Chief, and to celebrate his retirement. He could finally relax!

"I'm going to miss him though, I think," I said thoughtfully. "Who could possibly replace him?"

"Dunno," Yakuin said. "But he better be awesome too."

"I hope so," I said. "I don't like that we're losing the best boss ever so quickly after gaining employment. I wouldn't change what we've experienced with him, but I almost wish we'd gotten out of school after he'd already retired. It's almost guaranteed that the next guy will be a disappointment."

"Now, now," Chief Keishi said, sneaking up behind us and scaring me half to death. "Morestuna is a very capable man, plenty experienced and well qualified for his new position. He might take some getting used to. No two Chiefs are the same after all. But just stick with it. He'll settle in nicely. Just wait and see."

"He's no you, sir," Yakuin said, sucking up to him.

"Well, I'd hold your tongue boys," Chief Keishi said. "Morestuna is going to make an appearance tonight. I'm going to officially introduce him as my replacement. This is a way for you to get to know him in a slightly less formal setting, so that by the time you actually start working together, you'll already know what to expect. Pretty genius plan, if I do say so myself."

So he was a little vain. Who wasn't?

I could actually think of quite a few people who weren't... But he deserved to be. He was a brilliant Police Officer in his day—which was why he was promoted all the way up to Chief! He was the best man I'd ever met. Which was saying something, because I knew several people that literally saved the world...but he was out there with us actually trying to defend the world against Yggdrasil's robot army. It was one of the main reasons I was so keen to be on his team. I didn't think he knew that I'd been a part of saving the world, since Katsue's video mostly dealt with the happenings on Earth, and I was in Yggdrasil's den at the time, and was kind of in the background when it came to the final battle.

I'd watched the movie like twelve times trying to find myself. It was sad really. Miyako actually banned the movie from our apartment, saying it wasn't healthy to be as obsessed by it as I was.

Which was probably true...

"You are _so_ right, sir," Yakuin gushed. "It's probably the best idea I've ever heard."

"Now I _know_ you're just sucking up," I muttered. Yakuin looked down to me. He was taller than me by several inches—a fact he was never going to let me forget. He looked rather sharp in his uniform, which we were all wearing. I kind of looked like I was drowning in mine. It wasn't as bad as when I'd started though. I'd really packed on some weight since then.

The good kind of weight.

Muscle.

I needed it to be an effective officer of the law. I was still working out daily, trying to get properly toned. It was a process I started in the academy, but I hadn't been taking it nearly as serious as I should have. Now that I was out on the force, I needed to be able to chase after suspects that decided to run—which actually happened. It was something I hadn't expected, since it happened on all the television shows, but it was actually true. After Yakuin had managed to catch a perpetrator when I'd nearly passed out—after just fifteen minutes of running—I knew I had to get my act together. He acted like it was no big deal mind you. He said fifteen minutes of straight out running was impressive. He did manage to let it slip that he could run for forty five minutes before getting tired.

So my new goal was fifty minutes.

Just to beat him. Granted all of my written work—reports and the like—were far better than his. He had a tendency to forget about them until the last minute, and then throw a bunch of words at the page. So, I mean, we both had our areas that we excelled in.

I just wanted to excel more than he did. Was that so much to ask?

Anyway, he was tall, sturdy, and while Miyako had assured me that I was much more her type, it was clear that he was very attractive to the ladies. He looked generally what a police officer might look like on television. It was kind of annoying, but he was a good guy, so I tried not to dwell on the fact that he'd be the main character and I'd be delegated to the sidekick role.

"I am not," Yakuin hissed at me.

"You are," Chief Keishi said with a smirk. "But it's okay. I kind of like it. Not that it matters anymore, since I'm not your boss. You should really be thinking of getting on Morestuna's good side. Ah look, here he is now. Morestuna! Glad you could make it."

I looked to my new boss and stifled a groan. He was nothing like Chief Keishi. I could tell even before he started to speak. He was as tall as Yakuin, but looked nothing like him. He didn't have the good looks of a television star. He had a very severe haircut too. Military style: extremely short on the sides, with a little extra hair on top. His face was clean shaven, and he wore a well pressed uniform. Nothing stood out of place. He wore a badge, and I could see his gun in its holster at his waist. Why did he need a gun for a retirement party? I didn't want to ask. He stood like a soldier at ease, his arms folded behind him and his feet shoulder length apart. He looked around thirty five, maybe a bit older...thirty seven maybe? His eyebrows were thick and bold. I wouldn't call them bushy though. Every hair was perfectly in place. All sloping down over his eyes, furrowed as they were. He looked angry and strict.

Chief Keishi was shorter, rounder—though not overly so, just in a gentle sort of way that reflected his personality. He was only strict when he had to be. He was slow to anger. He was the perfect starting boss. I didn't want this scary new guy.

I didn't have a choice.

"Sir," Morestuna said firmly, nodding briefly in Chief Keishi's direction. "It's an honour to take your place. I do hope to do my best to improve upon your success and wipe the streets of crime."

"It's a big task," Chief Keishi said lightly. He looked a bit out of sorts. Morestuna _had_ basically told him he hadn't been doing a good enough job. "But I'm sure you're up for the job."

"I am indeed sir," Morestuna said. His voice was stiff, cutting through the air like a hot knife on butter. No one would ever dare speak while he was. I could just tell he wouldn't stand for it either. "I just hope this team if up for their new management."

"I suppose many of them _did_ think the new Chief might be one of them," Chief Keishi admitted, causing several of the higher ranked officers to gulp nervously, praying that Morestuna didn't identify them and their ambition. "But I think the higher ups were right. We did need some fresh blood in the place. _Experienced_ fresh blood."

"There are new recruits then," Morestuna stated. He didn't ask. He didn't need to.

"The newest are Officers Yakuin and Ichijouji," Cheif Keishi said, gesturing to Yakuin and myself. We both stood at attention under Morestuna's scrutiny. His eyes passed over Yakuin quickly enough, deeming him decent. He took his time with me though. I wished then more than ever that I wasn't standing next to Yakuin. Any other time, in any other circumstance, it wouldn't have mattered. But I didn't look like much of anything next to him. Especially since I didn't quite fill out my uniform perfectly. Most people didn't notice, but I did. And I was sure he did too. His glare intensified and I almost wet my pants.

"There's room for improvement," Morestuna announced. "In the small one especially."

"RMoretsuna," I muttered before I could stop myself.

"Care to repeat that?" Morestuna said. But it didn't leave room for choice. He wanted to humiliate me in front of my co-workers, more than he already had. But I wasn't going to give in. No matter how much he terrified me.

"I said 'I agree,' Sir," I said loudly.

"Good," he said coldly. "At least you're aware of it. There won't be time for parties or gossip under my command. We will fight for the people against any and all threats. We will lay our lives on the line to ensure that justice will prevail. You all took an oath. I intend for you to stick with it. If that frightens any of you, the door is over there. You can leave the squad with your old Chief, and search for another career, because obviously this one is not for you. This is the only time you will be offered this choice. I will be tightening the ropes around here. We will be a well oiled, well manned machine. We will do our jobs down to the letter, and I expect every man and woman in this room to follow my directions explicitly. Is that understood!?"

"Yes sir," we all chorused. I saw Chief Keishi out of the corner of my eye. He didn't seem so pleased to be giving his reigns over to Morestuna anymore. In fact he looked horrified. He hid it well, but he'd never been too good at disguising his eyes. They always told us exactly what he was thinking. Well, that, and he had this habit of sweating at the back of his neck when things were getting to him. And his neck was glistening. His hands were shaking ever so slightly; he was straining to keep them from becoming fists. He couldn't do anything to help his work 'family' as he'd called us all. Not without giving up his retirement and even _that_ wouldn't necessarily help us. He could just be reassigned elsewhere. Besides, not a single one of us would ask him to give up his retirement years just because we were afraid of his replacement. We wouldn't do that to him. Never. We'd just suck it up and get through it. It couldn't last forever, right? Chief Keishi was only chief for the last twenty years.

Twenty years...

I wondered how long it could take for me to get a transfer.

"No takers?" Morestuna asked, raising one of his thick eyebrows out of his glare. "I thought for sure there'd be at least four, including the small one."

No.

I wouldn't get a transfer. I'd suck it up too. I'd work harder than ever before. I'd been faced with end of the worlds scenarios multiple times and always pulled through. I had a team this time too. No, they weren't digidestined, but they _were_ police officers, and they were well trained, which is more than I can say about _any_ of the digidestined. We could do this as a team. We _would_ do this as a team.

"I'm almost impressed," Morestuna said. "_Almost_. I expect one hundred and ten percent from each of you each and every day. We _will_ win the war against crime. Understood."

"Sir!" we all shouted in agreement.

"Dismissed," he said.

"But the party," Chief Keishi said.

"Is now over," Morestuna said. "You're no longer in command, and as this is now my station, I want it cleared off all party goers. Get home and get some rest. We begin the fight tomorrow!"

"Sir!" we all shouted again.

"Now march!" he ordered.

Everyone raced to the door, trying not to look _too_ pleased to be out of the new chief's presence. Chief Keishi followed out after Yakuin and me. He didn't look very happy.

"Cheer up, sir," I told him. "Your freedom starts today."

"At the cost of all of yours," he said miserably.

"Don't worry about us. You've earned it," I told him. "I know for a fact that your wife's waiting at home for you. Maybe you two can make some travel plans now that you've got all of this free time."

"Maybe," he said. I waved down a taxi, and sent him on his way. I would miss him _very_ much.

"Why'd you do that?" Yakuin said. "He might've stayed. If we'd asked."

"We can't do that to him. He's done so much for this city. So much for all of us," I told him. "Not one other officer even thought to ask him to stay."

"Stop making me feel guilty," Yakuin said, bumping my shoulder. "I'm scared to go in to work tomorrow."

"Me too," I said. "But I'm going to show up. Because he doesn't expect me to. He thinks I'm going to quit. That I'm not cut out for this. I am though. And I'm going to prove it. I also really need this job. I've got so many stMoretsunant loans to pay back, not to mention rent and..."

"And...?" he asked, looking intruiged.

"Nothing," I said awkwardly. Miyako hadn't even told _me_ yet, I couldn't go around telling other people. I mean, she didn't exactly _know_ that I knew, but she wasn't exactly _hiding_ it well.

"Fine," he said dramatically. "Be that way. Go home to _your_ wife and plan your escape route. I'm thinking of transferring to Tokyo, but I doubt they'd take me."

"An officer running from his boss?" I said skeptically. "Somehow I doubt it too."

"See you tomorrow," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Bright and early," I told him sternly. We both started laughing, but cut off abruptly when Chief Morestuna walked out of the building behind us. I took the coward's way out this time by waving down a taxi and hoping in, feeding the driver my home address. I could hear Hawkmon singing to himself from the hallway. Wormmon's voice was warbling right along with it, though his was much softer, and I didn't hear it until I'd unlocked the door and slipped inside.

They were not good singers.

At all.

"Oh, hi Ken," Miyako said. She was smiling, but the skin around her eyes was tight, and I knew it was forced. "How was the party?"

"It got cut short," I told her. And then I told her all about Morestuna, and how I really didn't want to work for him, but I _had_ to, because I had so many loans, and we needed food and shelter. We had four mouths to feed. And that was just _right now_.

"I guess this isn't a good time to tell you that I quit _my_ job," she said quietly.

"What? Why?" I asked. It came out a little harsher than intended, and she winced. I felt like a huge jerk for scaring her. "You loved that job," I reminded her in a much gentler voice.

"I know I did," she said. "And I still do. But I can't do it right now. The things we do there. There are a lot of experiments, and sometimes things don't get contained very well. And usually it's not so bad. And I didn't want to get moved to a desk job like my old co-worker did. I wouldn't do good at a desk job, just answering phone's all day. But I _can't_ keep working there. It's not safe."

"What kind of experiments do you do?" I asked horrified. "Have they always been unsafe?"

"No," she said. "They're actually safe for most people. It's just right _now_, I don't think it's safe for _me._"

Oh. It was one of those things.

"Is there anything you'd like to tell me?" I asked. "Like why it's only not safe for _you_?"

"No," she said. "I just don't feel comfortable there anymore. So I thought, why not ask Mari if I could work at the library again. There's nothing potentially dangerous about working with books."

I could've listed a few things, but decided to let her have her way. It didn't look like she was going to tell me any time soon.

"Did you eat anything before the party was cancelled? I can make tuna sandwiches, and you could tell me if they need _more tuna_. Get it? 'Cause your boss's name is Morestuna? It sounds like more tuna?" she said. Wow. She really didn't want to talk about it. Not if she was offering me Daisuke level jokes.

"Sure," I said. She smiled and proceeded to practically _run_ from the room. Hawkmon and Wormmon looked to me, having stopped singing to watch her hasty exit.

"She still hasn't told you, I take it?" Hawkmon asked.

"Nope," I said.

"And she still thinks she's hiding it?" Wormmon asked incredulously.

"Yep," I said.

"But she keeps the pills on the counter," Hawkmon said.

"Uh-huh," I said.

"And she leaves books all around the house," Wormmon said, pointing to one of them on the coffee table right in front of him.

"I know," I said.

"And she left the _test_ in the bathroom," they said together.

"Yeah," I said. "She's really not good at hiding anything. Do you think I should just tell her I know?"

"No!" they both protested.

"She's really proud of herself, I think, for keeping it a 'secret' so long," Hawkmon explained.

"But she should tell _Ken_," Wormmon protested.

"It's not really up to us," Hawkmon said. "I still don't understand how it works." I opened my mouth to explain, but he held a wing up to me. "I don't want another lesson. It's not necessary for me anyway."

"I know," I said. "But it's really frustrating me. Did you know she left a note on the counter reminding her to call Kiyoko to see how much he'd charge to design a nursery? She's going to tell _him_ before me. Maybe if it was Hikari, it would make sense, but _Kiyoko_? She doesn't talk to him. Like...ever!"

"Who don't I talk to?" Miyako asked, coming in with a tray of tuna sandwiches, enough for all of us.

"Uh..." Wormmon said nervously.

"You know..." Hawkmon said, coming up with a blank.

"Koushiro!" I shouted, picking the first name that came to mind.

"You know," she said. "You might be right. I should call him and see what he's up to. Maybe we could talk over coffee later this week. Well...I won't drink coffee, since I've decided that it's bad for me, but he can, if he likes."

Sure, it's bad for her. More like bad for the baby. But I didn't officially know she was pregnant. Because she hadn't told me. I really wished she would though. I was getting sick of being excited in secret. I wanted to shout it to the world. I was going to be a dad! That was huge. But she didn't want to share with me. _Why_? I didn't know. But if she didn't tell me soon, I'd have to trick it out of her.

_**Mimi Tachikawa:**_

"Thank you for visiting Mimi's," I said to the customers that were just leaving the restaurant. "I hope to see you again!"

I was on hostess duty, since Michan, my newest employee was getting frustrated by it. If I'd known she'd be such a terrible worker, I might not have hired her, but she was a friend of mine once upon a time, and I felt like I owed it to her to try and get that friendship back. She was one of my many friends from before the Digital World, and was the one I held onto the longest after finishing my first adventure. Our friendship wasn't strong enough to last through the distance, after the hit it took from my adventure, and I'd always felt bad about the way things had ended between us.

Besides, I really did need a new employee. Hideto and Izumi were great, but I was only one person, and I couldn't handle both the business side of things _and_ being a full-time employee anymore. Not that hiring Michan helped, since I was still doing both things _and_ paying _her_ for doing next to nothing. But I didn't want to stir the pot. I wanted the friendship to grow, not get utterly destroyed by firing her. Besides, I needed to have more non-digidestined friends. My one friend that hadn't been one, Izumi, turned out to be the one responsible for leaving the crests in the first place. And my second attempt was Hideto, and well, he was evil for awhile, and then he joined us with the crest of Pride. I was just hoping that Michan didn't turn out to be the mysterious digidestined of trust. I didn't think I could handle it if it happened again.

Not that I thought I would. She'd never once mentioned the word digimon to me. And I was a part of that documentary that Katsue released just weeks after the final battle. My face was right there for the world to see, just like my mother always wanted, only I didn't have to pretend to be someone I'm not for it to happen. It was nice that we both got to win.

The bell on the door rang, and I straightened up, looking to see that there were three men coming through the door. I grabbed three menus and smiled brightly at them.

"Hello, welcome to Mimi's," I said to them. "I'm Mimi. A party of three today?" They nodded, looking disinterested in my speech. I wasn't particularly into it either, but I was at least putting effort into the charade. They could too, you know. "Alright, if you'll follow me, I know just the table." I led them to a table in Hideto's section. Izumi was in the kitchen today, so he got to be the waiter. They liked to switch it up every now and then. They hadn't offered Michan the same deal. She was always late, and complained a lot. I didn't trust her as a waitress, let alone the chef. Hideto was very good at putting on airs and appearing pleased even when faced with difficult customers. Not that I wasn't giving these gentlemen the benefit of the doubt. It had just been a long day and there were several financial statements that I needed to get through, and I'd really have preferred to be doing that. Even though it was terribly boring work. I just wanted to be done with work when I went home, instead of bringing work home with me. I was turning into Koushiro. No. I was becoming worse than him, because he'd started asking _me_ to put my work away. You know things are bad when you're working more than Koushiro. He never sleeps! He prefers to be working during that time.

I was strung out and exhausted, and I really didn't care whether these guys were just antisocial or not. They were going in Hideto's section, and he could deal with them. And then, I'd get Michan to refill the salt shakers or something else that she couldn't possibly screw up.

"Here you are gentlemen," I said with my rather amazing forced smile. "Would you like a moment, or could I get you started with some drinks?"

They rattled off their drink order, and I smiled at them before whisking myself into the kitchen. "Hideto, you've got a table of three," I said. I went immediately to the dishwasher, preparing to unload. I pulled some glasses out, and set them on the counter. "And Michan, can you get three glasses with ice?"

"Can do, _boss_," she said with a wink, like I wasn't actually her boss. But I was, and she still hadn't moved to get those glasses. I continued unloading, hoping—praying really—that she'd get off her lazy butt and do something. But she didn't.

"I'll get them," Izumi said rolling her eyes. "It's not like I'm cooking for the customers right now or anything." Of course the sarcasm was the thickest I'd ever seen it, since she had four pans going simultaneously. She stopped though, so that she could go get the glasses and fill them with ice, glaring at Michan the entire time. And Michan did nothing other than sit there, smiling at me. But she was my friend. And I wanted her to be, so I clenched my hands into fists and smiled at Izumi.

"Thank you for taking time out of your very busy schedule to do someone else's job," I said sweetly, but I could see Michan's smile falter. "I hope this didn't inconvenience you in any way."

"No problem, Mimi," Izumi said purposefully saying my name. It was probably in some show of dominance. I wasn't just Izumi's boss. I was _her_ friend too. And she didn't need to prove it. Why couldn't Michan be even _half_ as good an employee as Izumi. Or even Hideto. Koushiro would do a better job at this, and it really wasn't his forte.

"What else can I do, _boss_?" Michan asked.

"You can reload the dishwasher with the latest dishes, and then proceed to wash them," I suggested. "Which really, is _always_ an option. Or you could check and see if any sugar dispensers need filling. Really, any of that sort of thing. Or, you know, you could go back to being hostess."

"I'll fill the dishwasher," she said sounding bored. As if all the options weren't important enough, or _interesting_ enough. Every little thing has to work together to keep this restaurant running. Including the financial reports, which I _needed_ to be working on. Also, my shoes were starting to hurt my feet. I wasn't wearing running shoes like Izumi always suggested. Those were too boring. I needed to wear something fun. So I was wearing fringed boots that sort of pinched my toes.

"Apparently, they want a few minutes to think it over," Hideto announced, swinging the doors to the kitchen wide open. "Of course they let me stand there like an idiot for five minutes before telling me that. Why can't people ever tell you exactly what they want? Why do they expect you to assume?"

"Some customers like to be troublesome," Izumi said with a shrug. "It's in their nature."

"I'd better get back to the hostess stand," I sighed. "Unless _you'd_ like to Izumi, so I could cook?" I batted my eyes at her. She snorted.

"Not on your life," she said. "You didn't hire me to do that."

"I didn't hire myself either," I grumbled.

"Then why not get rid of her?" Izumi whispered to me, careful not to let Michan hear.

"I can't do that," I said tiredly.

"Why not?" she wanted to know.

"I don't even know anymore," I said shaking my head. But of course I knew. She was my friend, I wanted to keep it that way. I continued to repeat this to myself over and over. It became my mantra as I seated more and more customers. I kept an eye out on those three men though. They ordered more drinks, but they continuously waved Hideto off, saying they needed more time. The hours went by, and still they didn't move.

"These guys are really ticking me off," Hideto growled as he passed by me and two new diners.

"Have you asked them what they want?" I asked, getting more stressed as each hour passed. When were they going to order? There were only two hours until closing. And we were busier than ever. I really wished they'd just order so they could eat and get out of here. I could really use that table.

"Consistently, every five minutes since they got here," he said, exasperatedly. "Six hours ago. Six! Who sits with a menu in front of them for _six_ hours? It's ridiculous."

"It is," I agreed. "Tell them that they need to order, or leave. This is a no loitering zone."

"Will do," Hideto said. He was grinning at the idea of finally being rid of them.

"You're really sending _him_?" Michan asked, sounding disappointed, sneaking up behind me. She startled me, and I dropped the menus I was carrying, making me look incredibly unprofessional in front of my two new customers.

"Get to work Michan," I hissed. "Now."

She looked upset by my harsh words, and I caved and apologized. But still sent her on her merry way. My two diners were starting to look unimpressed by our services, and so I gave them one of our best tables. It was one of the few that actually gave the diners a sense of privacy. They seemed to like it at the very least, so I wasn't too worried about them.

I didn't exactly have time for it though.

"What did you just say to us?" one of the men I'd sent Hideto to get rid of growled loudly. Everyone—diners and employees alike—stopped talking at once, turning to stare at the interaction.

"I said _get out_," Hideto snarled.

"You don't want our patronage?" the second man asked, snorting. "Isn't that what restaurants need to continue functioning? You really need to get your head on straight."

"Yeah," the third laughed. "Now send us what we asked for."

"No," Hideto said. "That's not an option."

"We saw a girl here," the first said. "She'll do."

What in the hell were they fighting about? Did they not want a male server? Didn't they know that servers had sections? And did they not realize that if they'd asked for a female's section I would've given them to Hideto anyway, because that could end up in a creepy territory.

"Excuse me," I told my newest diners, and started walking toward the protesting customers. "What is going on?" I used my cold, commanding voice. One that I hardly ever used, because it wasn't all that cute, but it usually put people in their place, and that's really what I was going for.

"They refuse to be served by anyone other than Michan," Hideto said, his voice bordering on murderous.

"She's not trained yet," I told the men, plastering on a fake smile, and trying to placate them. "Hideto or myself are the only options."

"See, that's not gonna work for us," the first guy said. "We've been waiting patiently for someone to serve us, but _he_ kept showing up. And then we realize that you're no better."

"Say what you want about me," Hideto said. "But leave Mimi out of it."

"We should've known," the second guy sighed. "If you hired one, you were bound to be one yourself."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said impatiently.

"No!" Hideto shouted, trying to shut the first guy up when he opened his mouth to explain. Of course, the man's distain for Hideto kept him from actually listening.

"You were in that movie. You _help_ those monsters. You're on their side," he said.

"What, digimon?" I asked incredulously. "Of course I am. They're the good guys—_most_ of the time."

"Isn't there anyone is this wretched place that _isn't_ working with those creatures?" the third guy asked. "We refuse to be served by anyone who thinks positively of them."

"I'd be happy to help," Michan said bubbly. "What can I get you?"

"Michan," I said slowly. Hideto's eyes widened, and he took a step back. Evidently he could tell I was about ready to explode. "If you take these men's orders, you're fired."

"What?" she gasped. "For doing my job?"

"You're not doing your job. You've _never_ done your job and I'm sick and tired of always picking up your slack. You were _not_ hired to be a server, and therefore you will never be a server. You were hired to host, but even that is too far out of your range of capabilities. You were given orders today, and I can tell by looking at the tables that you gave up on that after about a minute. How hard is it to fill freaking salt shakers?!" I yelled at her before turning to the three men. "And YOU! You will get out of my fine establishment, and never come back. You've been banned. And if I ever see you again, I will alert the authorities. Digimon are good, digimon are better than that. Palmon is my best friend in the entire world. She was literally _made_ for me. And in case you didn't realize, this restaurant—the old version at least—was the home base for the digimon in that movie. I don't know why you thought you could get any service here that wouldn't be connected to digimon in some way."

"Mimi," Hideto said warily. "Maybe you should breathe?"

"I wish I could, Hideto, I wish I could. But Michan won't do her job, these complete IDIOTS won't leave when they're told! And I haven't had a break in three weeks. If you three aren't gone within the next two minutes, I'm calling the cops," I hissed.

"You can't do that," one of the men dared to say with a laugh. "That's not going to fly with the police. You need a real reason."

"Good day gentlemen," I said with a sickeningly sweet smile, pulling my phone from my pocket. One of them seemed ready to speak again, and the smile melted from my face, being replaced with what Hideto had dubbed my you're-dead-to-me look. The one that made grown men cry. "I. Said. Good. Day."

The three men stood up and acting all casual, like it was their own idea to leave, headed towards the door. "You haven't seen the last of us lady. You'll wish you'd just gave us our way."

"That sounds like a threat," I snapped. "And wouldn't you know it, police take _threats_ very seriously!"

The door finally closed behind them and I was able to breathe freely. I sank onto one of their chairs and let my head fall to the tabletop. My shoulders started shaking uncontrollably, followed by my hands. I drew in broken breaths, and I couldn't help but to start crying—sobbing really.

"Mimi?" Hideto asked, gently rubbing my back. "I wish you would've just let me handle this. It's kind of my thing. Look at you. You're a mess."

"I heard what happened," Izumi said.

"It was hard not to," Hideto laughed.

"Mimi, I think you should go home. We can deal with things here. Michan is useless, yes, but Hideto and I? We can handle just about anything. We always have," she told me confidently. "You though? You need rest. Go home, curl up with a cup of tea and watch a movie. Just...relax. Okay?"

I thought about it, and nodded. I couldn't exactly get any words out, the sobbing was coming too strongly.

"I'll handle everything on the floor," Hideto assured me. "Izumi's on kitchen detail still. I'll whip Michan into shape, you'll be surprised when you come in tomorrow." Izumi elbowed him hard. "Or the next day, or whenever you're ready."

A bubble of laughter found its way out of my throat. It was kind of gross sounding, but they understood. Izumi found my purse, and Hideto grabbed my coat, and then they pushed me out the door, before heading back to the like thirty customers we still had. I felt horrible for not helping, but they hadn't really left much room for compromise. And the customers had all seen me break down. It was definitely best if I went home. Maybe I could actually watch a movie. No. There was so much that absolutely needed to be done. There wasn't any time for lazing about.

Why hadn't any of us digi-destined become an accountant?

Oh yeah. Because it's boring. And who _likes_ paperwork anyway. Why didn't I just go into acting like Mom wanted me to? I didn't want to pretend to be someone else. It would have made me miserable. But really, wasn't this paperwork doing the same thing? I _was_ miserable. I wanted to be a chef, I didn't want to be an office worker.

I missed cooking.

My sobs had subsided, and my crying was reduced to two small trickles of tears running down my cheeks. People stared at me on the bus, but I was too busy mentally preparing my depressing evening schedule of work to really be bothered. I made my way home from the bus stop in a daze, and I tried to unlock and already unlocked door, before just walking inside.

"I'm home!" I called, trying to disguise my misery.

"Mimi?" Tentomon asked, flying in from the living room. "You are early."

"Sure am," I said. "I got kicked out."

"Is that so?" Tentomon asked, sounding genuinely curious. "Why?"

I decided I couldn't tell him the whole story. It would just make him feel bad. I would protect our digimon from anything, even words if they could hurt them. "I'm just stressed."

"You have been crying," he noted.

"I have," I admitted. "Don't even worry about it though. What's for supper?"

"Koushiro stopped by Daisuke's noodle-cart and brought ramen home for each of us," Tentomon said.

"Ramen, that sounds good," I said with a smile.

"By each of us, I was referring to Koushiro, Palmon and myself," Tentomon clarified.

"Right," I said. "Because I usually eat at the restaurant. That makes perfect sense."

"You aren't mad?" Tentomon asked cautiously. "You seem upset."

"No," I said, waving my hand as if it _didn't_ bother me. "I don't need to eat."

"I disagree," Tentomon said. "I was under the impression that that is one of the few things humans actually do require. Sustenance."

"Yes...well...I'm too busy to eat," I said frustrated. "I've got paperwork coming out my ears. I'm going to commandeer the desk."

"Koushiro is actually using it right now..." Tentomon said, trailing off when he saw the sheer stack of paper I pulled out of my purse—it was more like a backpack really, but I needed it to fit a whole bunch of stuff!

"I know," I whined. "Look at it all. I'll be working until morning. And then I'll have to go to work without any sleep whatsoever, and I'll be even worse than I was today. When will I ever get a break?"

"I suppose you will get a break when you next schedule one," Tentomon said, being entirely uncomforting. I rolled my eyes and kicked my boots off in the general direction of the shoe rack, and sort of stomped my way over to the desk—where Koushiro was working on something that looked super important. It had to be, since he didn't even look up when I was making so much noise. I sighed and dropped my stack of papers on the coffee table and fell to the floor. I looked at the first page and groaned. Finances. I _hated_ finances.

"What's wrong, Mimi?" Palmon asked. She was seated on the couch next to me and I felt bad for not even noticing her presence, despite the fact that she'd been making no noise and was buried in blankets.

"Everything," I sighed, trying to make heads or tails of the financial statement and giving up, moving on to scheduling for the next two weeks. Izumi and Hideto's were hard, because I didn't want to overwork them, mine on the other hand was easy, since I just wrote in that I'd work every single day. Michan's was the worst. I _knew_ hiring her was a terrible decision from a professional standpoint. I'd already had to pay overtime for _both_ Izumi and Hideto, and I couldn't ask any more from them...but I was paying Michan too. And really I'd rather pay time and a half for both of my good employees than pay anything for her.

Did that make me a bad friend? Or just a good businesswoman?

"What are all these papers, Mimi?" Palmon asked. "Can I help?"

"I wish you could, Palmon," I said. "But I wouldn't subject you to this. It's torture."

"What's torture?" Koushiro asked. I looked back at him, and he was closing his laptop. The lucky guy was finished work for the day. I had to admit I was jealous.

"Paperwork," I cried. All of my frustration came bubbling back to the surface and before I knew it, I was crying again. "I hate it. I hate all of it. I hate being a hostess because Michan won't do it. I hate mean customers, and I hate pinched toes. I don't understand half of the stuff I'm working on, and I'm miserable. I should be happy! I've got my dream. Why does my dream make me so miserable?"

"Because this isn't your dream," Palmon said. "Your dream was being the chef at your restaurant. You're not being the chef."

"I don't have _time_ to be the chef," I said, wiping my tears away with my sleeve. "I have to do everything else. I can't do it much longer. I need a break. I need help. I need to set fire to this stupid pile of paperwork!"

"Why don't you let me do the paperwork," Koushiro suggested, sitting down at my side and sliding the paperwork across the coffee table until it was right in front of him.

"I can't let you do it," I sobbed. "That would make me the mean girlfriend."

"This is my forte, Mimi," he said with a small smile. "Let me do what I do best, and you relax. You should've told me things were getting out of hand. I could've started helping a long time ago."

"I wanted to prove I could do it," I told him. "But I'm a failure. I can't do it at all. I'm not good enough."

"Maybe not with paperwork," he allowed. "But in the kitchen, that's your forte. That's where you're happiest. When I'm in the kitchen, it's just to find flyers for takeaway. That's the extent of _my_ abilities. We both excel at different things. If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree...and all that."

"Yeah, yeah," I said nudging him with my shoulder and leaning my head onto his. "Look at me. I'm an emotional wreck."

"You do something else for awhile, and I'll see what I can make of these," he told me. "Alright?"

"Yes sir," I said. "But are you sure you want to? I mean, you're already the head researcher, and you run your division, and on top of that you're on the Digimon Council."

"I live for work," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Besides, I don't mind adding to my workload if it'll make you happy. No one's happy when you're not. It's just a fact of life." I smiled at him. "Besides, I'll probably get this stuff done faster than you could. So it's really not that big of a deal to work this stuff into my future schedule."

"Whatever, brainiac," I sighed. He had to ruin a perfectly beautiful moment with something like that. It was admittedly the probable truth, but still. He could've waited. "I am hungry though. Maybe I'll whip something up. It's been ages since I've used a stove."

"I'll help!" Palmon volunteered. It wasn't long before the kitchen counter was covered with bowls and pans. I'd hate myself later, when it came time to do the dishes, but for now, I planned to have a ton of fun. I put a casserole in the oven to bake, and turned to Palmon who was putting the finishing touches on a Caesar salad.

"What next?" I asked.

"Oh! Cookies!" she squealed.

"Alrighty then," I told her with a wink. "I'm thinking sugar cookies."

"I'll get started on the icing," Palmon cheered.

I leaned back against the counter and sighed contentedly. Was it really just this afternoon that I was dealing with miserable customers and dreading a stack of paperwork? I wished everyday could be like this moment with Palmon. Just cooking whatever struck our fancy. We'd have the fridge stocked for a week with leftovers. No more take out for my guys. Palmon was just happy to be in the kitchen with me.

"How do you feel about fresh buns?" I asked her.

"With butter?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement. I nodded. "That sounds delicious!"

I grabbed the bag of flour on the island and the nearest bowl. There was a lot of baking to be done before the night was out. And it wasn't going to do itself. I couldn't wait!

_**Taichi Yagami:**_

I let out a rather loud exclamation of frustration. Where the hell could he be? I've looked all over my stupid, way-too-big house and I couldn't find him anywhere. Why didn't I plan something smaller, like the cottage Kiyoko originally pitched me when I asked for real-estate designs? But no, I had to go big. Big enough for Greymon if that's what form he decided to be in the house. It made it practically impossible to find anyone when I needed them.

"Still haven't found him, huh?" Rei asked, dropping slices of lemon into the pitcher of lemonade in front of her. God I loved her. Not only was she super awesome as a person, but she made everything from scratch in a way my mother just never could. Even something as simple as lemonade tasted like a gourmet dish when she made it. Granted, anything anyone made was pretty much guaranteed to be better than anything my mother made. Except Katsue. I heard somewhere that she could burn water—and really, didn't that make her just a teensy bit worse than my mom? At least Mom could _make_ things. And most of the time they were edible. They just didn't taste good. At all. The asparagus and orange cake she made for Rei's and my first anniversary was proof enough of that.

"No," I said moodily. "Have you seen him?"

"Sorry," she said apologetically. "Have you tried the study? I know he likes to play video games."

Yes. I put my game consoles in my study. Don't judge me.

"It was the first place I checked," I sighed.

"Maybe he's gone in it since you checked?" she suggested, though we both knew it was a stretch.

"If I went by that logic, he could be in any room in the house, and I'd be on a continuous loop until I found him...if I ever find him. We've got a meeting in half an hour, and it takes ten minutes to get there," I complained. "If he doesn't show up soon, he's going to miss it!"

"Well, maybe one of your friends has seen him, or might at the very least have an idea of where to look," she offered. "If it comes down to it, I'm sure they'll help you comb the entire Digital World to find him. I'd go with you, but it's dangerous to leave Pal and Pul alone in the house."

"Don't I know it," I muttered. She thankfully ignored my mumblings. She was quite forgiving and knew that I said a lot of stuff that I obviously didn't mean whenever I was frustrated, angry, upset...just a lot I suppose. She was really good at knowing what I meant, versus what I said.

But, in this particular instance, there was nothing she could argue about. Those two were menaces. And while she never _called_ them as such, she couldn't really claim they weren't either. She just thought they were adorable. Annoying little bundles of energy, in my opinion. But the general consensus of almost all females is that they're adorable. And only about fifty percent of my male friends agreed with me. And that might be rounding up.

Even Agumon was on her side.

"Fine," I said decidedly. "Yamato's got a concert or something...Hikari's getting ready for her first big job, so I don't want to distract her. Jou's at work. Koushiro's probably already at the Temple... I don't really want to get the Knights involved if he's just hiding out around here somewhere..."

"Why don't you just give Sora a call?" Rei sighed. "I'm not jealous of your relationship with her you know. You _can_ bring her up in conversation."

"Sora?" I asked dumbly. "Right! She's back. Totally slipped my mind again. I keep thinking she's still away at school and keeping contact with her best friends in the entire world to a complete minimum."

"You goofball," Rei laughed. "Get on the phone, and invite her along. I hope you're the only one forgetting about her. I'd hate to hear she's stuck at home all alone because all of you abandoned her."

"I can honestly guarantee that she's not abandoned," I said confidently. "By _most_ people. I'm sure."

"Get going," she said, rolling her eyes. "Chicken or beef for dinner?"

"Beef," I said, heading towards my office. "Always beef."

"Why do I even ask?" Rei said with a smile.

I collapsed on my desk chair and grabbed my phone. It's always a dangerous thing, to let me sit in that chair. It was the best chair in the entire world. It swivelled, it changed heights, it leaned back. It gave freaking back massages! It was the best thing ever. I was so caught up in my love for that chair that I forgot I was even trying to call Sora. I did remember though. Eventually.

She must've been sitting next to the phone, because she answered after only one ring.

"Hello, this is Sora Takenouchi speaking, who may I ask is calling?" she said formally.

"You've got caller display, Sora," I reminded her awkwardly.

"I know that," she insisted. "I was just testing it out. Does it sound professional? Please tell me it does. I've been trying it all day and no one will take me seriously. My own mother just laughed at me."

"It sounds way more professional than when I answer the phone," I said.

"There's that at least," she said with a sigh. "So, what can I do for you?"

"I need your help," I admitted. "I seem to have lost my very best friend somewhere in my house, and I cannot find him no matter where I look."

"Dummy," she said with a laugh. "He's not lost in some hidden crevice of your house. He's here with me."

"What?" I asked. My mind could not comprehend what she was telling me. She _stole_ my digimon partner? Hideto was like the only who'd ever done that to another digidestined before, and he only did that when he was _evil_. Did Sora come back from school with evil tendencies? Was I ready to face an evil Sora—one that wasn't just a vision created by Kurayami to induce nightmares for months?

"What are you going on about?" Sora demanded. "I'm not evil Taichi!"

Whoops. I guess I said that out loud.

"Then why'd you take my digimon without asking!?" I wanted to know.

"For your information, Taichi, I _did_ ask. I asked Agumon," she said smugly. "He's got a mind of his own, Taichi. I needed his help—help only _he_ could provide me—and he agreed to help me. I didn't ask you because it's not really any of your business. Stop snapping at me and just tell me what's gotten into you."

"I'm just stressing out, okay?" I asked. Well, I more or less screamed it into the phone. I'd thought I'd done a good enough job at hiding it, but apparently that was not the case. Not if Sora could tell something was up through the phone. She couldn't even see me to point out all of my tell tale signs.

Although one of those signs was being unnecessarily mean, and unlike Rei, Sora was never one to just overlook it and figure out what I meant. She would just fight against me until one of us eventually cracked—usually me. Then I'd have to explain everything to her.

"About what?" she asked sounding proud of her deduction skills.

"You know, I'd love to just hash things out with you, but I'm on a bit of a time limit, and I don't have the hour and half it would take to explain everything," I said peevishly. "I need Agumon, like ten minutes ago." Of course, we wouldn't have been cutting it so close if I hadn't gone off to La-La-land thinking about my chair, but I wisely didn't mention that.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked. "He said he was free all day."

"He was wrong," I told her smugly. "Because we've got a meeting with the Digital Council today, that I'd really rather he didn't miss."

"I'll send him right through," she said calmly. "But really, Taichi. All you had to do was ask nicely and we could've gotten him there a whole lot sooner. And don't think I'm letting you off the hook mister. You're explaining things as soon as you find the time. I won't take no for an answer."

"What," I asked a little snidely. "Looking for you next gossip fix?"

"You are _so_ lucky you're on the phone and not talking face to face," she warned me.

"Just send him," I said. When there was an awkward silence I caved and gave her what she was waiting for. "_Please_."

"He's on his way," she said. "And I'll expect an apology with the explanation."

"Whatever," I said, hanging up the phone rather pouty. She always won our arguments. It wasn't fair.

That's about when I realized I was acting like a petulant child, and _not_ like the ambassador of an entire world that was late to a meeting. I grabbed the briefcase I took to every meeting. There were a few notebooks and pens in it, and a couple of snacks. But I hardly ever used it. Koushiro was the one that took all of the notes, I only jotted things down sometimes to appear invested in the subject matter when they were boring me to sleep. Usually I ended up playing hangman with Ogremon.

The computer on my desk lit up, and I slid my chair out of the way. Agumon was standing there when the light dimmed, looking at me with suspiciously.

"Is there really a meeting today?" he wanted to know. "Or are you just mad I made a decision without asking you first?"

"There's really a meeting buddy. There's a meeting every week on this day, at _this_ time. We're already gonna be late," I said. "can we _please_ not be any later?"

"Fine," he said. "But I'm going to keep helping Sora. She's our friend, Taichi. And while she was wrong when she said I was the _only_ one that could help her, she really did need me."

"I know," I said childishly. "I'm already gonna get a lecture from Sora. I don't want one from you too. You're supposed to be on _my_ side!"

"Let's go, Taichi," he said with a laugh. "You're weird when you're stressed."

"I'd be less stressed if my partner wasn't pulling digi-disappearing acts," I said stubbornly.

"Sure you would," he said sarcastically. "I'm not the reason you're stressed Taichi, and we both know it."

"Yeah," I said. "And I'll be more stressed after the meeting, I'm sure."

"We'll see," he said. "But I'm sure it'll be _good_ news today."

I really hoped he was right.

Rei was standing by the door, looking at the clock. She heard us walking towards her and her eyes brightened. The dazzling smile that spread across her face literally stopped me in my tracks for a moment. She was _that_ beautiful when she smiled. "You found him," she said happily. "I knew you would. I'm going to make extra for dinner, because Neo's coming over with Dracomon. I thought about asking over Hikari and Takeru too, but we don't have enough potatoes for what I'm planning, so I thought maybe next week we could invite them and your parents over for a special dinner."

I opened my mouth to answer but she held up her hands and shook her head.

"I know," she said. "You're late. Just think about it if there's any boring bits, okay?"

"You're the best," I said, kissing her soundly.

"Eww!" Pul groaned. "Why do you guys always gotta do that?"

"Shut up, Pul," Pal said dreamily. "I think it's beautiful."

"It is not," Pul protested, sticking his tongue out at his sister.

"You're just asking for a fight," she told him, putting her fists up in the air. "Let's go little brother!"

"You're on!" Pul said, accepting her challenge.

Agumon and I slipped out the door as quickly and quietly as we could, wishing Rei the best of luck dealing with her little digimon children. They needed so much attention, it was like having a pair of toddlers in the house. Only, without actually having toddlers. Thank god. I didn't think we could handle kids. Not that I wouldn't maybe want like _one_ in the future or something. But by future, I was thinking the far, far, _far_ off future. Like ten years maybe. I didn't know how Jou managed. And I didn't know what to think of Daisuke.

But that job was not for me, and I was always thankful of it.

Agumon and I rushed to the Temple, and pretty much ran up all the stairs and into the room, where everyone was just sort of sitting around, waiting for me to get there. Some—like Babamon and Tinkermon—looked annoyed by our lateness, but overall, most of them didn't seem to mind, which I was very thankful for.

"I see you finally decided to grace us with your presence," Neo drawled. Yeah, he was on Babamon's side. He always was.

"Agumon was digi-napped," I told him. "I was held up."

"I was not," Agumon protested quietly, slipping into his seat next to Gabumon. The two quickly started a whispered conversation, tuning out the outside world. They were gossipers that almost rivaled Sora.

"Okay, let's get this meeting started," I said. "Unless you've already done that, in which case, let's just continue."

"We'll start," Babamon said. "_We_ are considerate enough to wait for you to begin."

"Neo, we'll start with you," I announced. "How're the Knights."

"Bored stiff," he said. "They've gone on small scouting missions a couple of times, but nothing big is going on and most of the time, they just want to go out and find a battle. Well, I mean it's mostly Dorumon and Kotemon, but the others are getting restless to."

"Don't they realize that having _no_ problems is a _good_ thing?" Tinkermon wanted to know.

"I understand where they're coming from though," Benjamin said. "Training ceaselessly for a battle that may never arrive...well...I don't know if I know of any more dedicated digimon in existence." Centarumon and Andromon—both official Knights—preened at his praise. Just a little bit. They were classy fellows. I could be sure they'd pass on the compliment if Neo didn't. Agumon and Gabumon looked pleased as well. The Knights were still their pet project, and they insisted that at least one of them sat in on any training sessions that went on. They didn't want Neo to change their original game plan too much. But after a couple of years, they've decided that Neo was trustworthy enough to run the Knights' training by himself at least twice a week.

"Alright," I said. "So we come up with _something_ for them to do. I don't think that's going to be too hard. Divermon's not here again."

"I'm getting worried about him," D'Arcmon said. "Do you think there is unrest in the water domains?"

"You'd think we would've heard about it by now if there was," Tinkermon said. "This is the fourth meeting he's missed. It takes less than a month for news to travel over the Digital World. And he's not the _only_ digimon that travels from the sea to the mainland."

"You're right," Babamon told her, sounding very surprised by her own admission. Tinkermon for her part looked like she wasn't sure whether to preen or scowl.

"Someone should definitely look into it," I said. "We can't leave one of our own to face a potential threat on his own."

"This is all assuming he's not just shirking his duties, of course," Ogremon said.

"I think he has too much pride in his position to do that," Leomon protested. "He cared deeply for his place on the council, and for bringing a voice to the water digimon."

"He was a tad arrogant," Ogremon agreed. "But I haven't heard even the faintest of whispers of any upcoming attacks from a dark digimon. If there's something going on, it's either a sneak attack, or a civil dispute."

"You think the water digimon could be at war with themselves?" I asked skeptically.

"Why not?" Koushiro asked. "The insect digimon were at war for centuries."

"Well they're not anymore," MetaLifeKuwagamon reminded him. "Maybe it's some other type of digimon's turn. I for one wouldn't be too surprised. I'd like to see how someone else handles the problem. You were always complaining about _my_ methods."

"That's because you never did anything!" Tinkermon told him.

"It was a difficult situation," he insisted. "I had to try _very _hard to remain unbiased."

"Okay, so the insects are doing fine?" I asked. When both Koushiro and MetaLifeKuwagamon nodded, I continued. "And the dark digimon aren't up to anything..." Ogremon shook his head. "What are the plant digimon up to?"

"Photosynthesis, I suppose," Babamon said dryly.

"Very funny," I said. "I'm going to assume nothing strange is going on there."

"Your assumption would prove true," she said.

"Production is at a standstill," Andromon said. "But, more machine digimon are moving back to town with each passing month. Soon Factorial Town will once again be a thriving part of the Digital World."

"That's actually great news, Andromon," I said cheerfully. "I'm happy to hear so many digimon are making their way home. I was worried for a long while there. It's been so long since the Dark Masters took over the place, and Devimon created his black gears. I was starting to think I'd never get to see Factorial Town in all its glory."

"It's a shame you'll get to," Babamon snipped. "It was so much better when it wasn't expanding and taking over the forest."

"It's not like it creates any pollution," Agumon defended. "Just be glad we're not on Earth. The factories _there_ poison the air."

"No," Babamon and Tinkermon gasped.

"It's true," I said. "You guys got lucky with this atmosphere and general perfection."

"I must admit that I haven't travelled far from the Temple in this last week," Centarumon said. "And unlike Andromon, I did not have a messenger picked out. I do not have much to report."

"Sorry, Taichi," Koushiro said sheepishly. "We needed his expertise in the research lab."

"Between the research and the Knights, I didn't have much time to gather Intel," Centaurumon said with shame.

"I travelled far throughout the continents of Server and Folder," Leomon told us. "There were many whispers, but no solid rumours I can report on."

"Keep trying," Neo suggested. "Something's going on. I don't think Divermon _can_ come. Something's messing with our peace."

"How can you tell?" Andromon asked.

"I can feel it in my bones," Neo told him. "I've only felt something like this twice before. Once when my plans were finally starting to bear fruit and Sigma hacked our way to the Digital World, and the second was when Rei started crossing that road. Both times had horrible outcomes."

"Don't you think you're jumping the gun?" Agumon asked.

"Yeah, relax," Tinkermon said. "I haven't heard anything off about the flying digimon. And Neverland's been a dreamland. There's nothing bad to report at all. And while I'm at it, I fly over deserts all the time, and they've been unusually _peaceful_ recently."

"That could be a bad omen," Neo warned her.

"Or signs that the peace the legends spoke of is finally upon us," Centaurumon offered, though it didn't look like he believed it at all.

"You heard anything, Gabumon?" I asked. He shook his head, stubbornly refusing to answer in a room so crowded, despite the fact that he'd been a part of the council for years now.

"There has been no issues with the holy digimon either," D'Arcmon offered, though everyone rolled their eyes at that. There was _never_ any problems to report on those _angels_.

"The Temple's actually doing really well," Benjamin reported. "More and more shops and stalls are opening up, and as such our financial security is secured with their seasonal rent. The introduction of the tea shop has really brought more of the refined digimon to our little city, and it's a nice change of pace. Everything looks spectacular too. Kiyoko's designs are getting better with each new project."

"Speaking of Kiyoko's new projects," Tinkermon said excitedly. "I have the new plans right here for the chain of spas we've been working on! Okay, now we're obviously going to have different sized buildings depending on the location and the target digimon customers. A Tyrannomon isn't going to fit in a building that's designed for say...Lilymons. I've even got all of the spa packages sorted out!"

I zoned out after that opening. I had a lot to think about. We were going to have to send someone to check on the water domains. See if the seas were at war with one another. And if they weren't...well...it looked like there was job for the Knights after all.

The other problem at hand?

Did I really want to sit through a whole dinner with my parents _and_ the horrendously adorable couple that was my sister and Takeru? I didn't think I'd make it through the meal. It was always awkward to have Dad at my house. He just wasn't comfortable with the idea of being digital matter whilst in the Digital World. It gave him the heebie-jeebies. And it was cavity inducing—nearly tortuous—to witness "Takari" in full force. Was I really thinking in couple names now...?

I looked around me and realized that Koushiro was now rambling—with Centarumon's assistance—about his discovery of the week. I didn't need to listen to that. He'd already told Neo, Agumon, Gabumon and I at our last digidestined dinner meeting. He was really excited about it though. I pulled my notepad out of my briefcase and started up a game of hangman. I nudged Ogremon, and he smiled. Let the games begin!

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Slugs Attack as we try to catch up with the digidestined after their three year absence from our stories. Yeah, like what's even going on, we don't know because I don't even think there are many 'Moments' to go between 05 and 06. So, you should probably read this to find out.


	2. Slug Attack

**U/N: **So since my last authors note was so long, this one will be short, and I'll say thank you for reading chapter one, since if you're reading this you probably already have. Read chapter one, I mean. So thanks :D This is a really short chapter, which feels weird.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 1: Whispers**

**Chapter 2: Slug Attack**

_**Jou Kido:**_

As the doors were pushed open, the cool wind roared, rushing directly into the faces of the crowd emerging from the stuffy building. The air still smelled like butter and popcorn to the point where I could feel it seeping into my skin, but it was now mixed with the smell of early spring, freshness, budding trees and everything else coming back to life. Unfortunately, the air was very cold. I pulled on my jacket to try to keep warm, but logic won out again, and my plan did not work.

"It wasn't even a good movie," Yamato mumbled as he held the door open for some of the others who had seen the movie with us. A pair of girls giggled as they passed him and he smiled nervously at them. He was right though, the movie was awful.

"And whose fault is that, mister?" Mimi asked. Her arms were crossed, though, the question remained: were they crossed because it was cold, or because she was trying to act stern? "You were the one who told me to close my eyes and point."

"And it was a good plan." He grinned at her, "Right up until the movie started."

"Oh the plan fell apart long before that," Taichi laughed. "The movie was called 'Slug attack'." Taichi prodded Mimi with his elbow at the title of the movie which caused her to shudder. I couldn't blame her. The entire movie involved throwing slugs at other people. It was disgusting.

"It could have been a movie about gladiator bugs," Koushiro offered, shrugging his shoulders in an attempt to defend Mimi.

"Now, _that_ would have been a good movie," Taichi grinned, throwing his arm around Koushiro and motioning to the sky, ranting about what the movie could have been like.

The five of us had gone out to see a movie together, just like we'd do once a month. Sometimes others would join in, usually Hikari and Takeru would come along, but today they were busy doing something more important. Just like the rest of us should have been doing. Even now Mimi was looking nervously around her trying to find an excuse that could bring her back to the restaurant. It was still open, and Hideto and Izumi were still in charge. Taichi didn't seem too worried about his list of tasks, but I knew that was because he had temporarily forgotten them, and I for one wasn't going to be the one to remind him. Yamato was relaxed as per usual, and Koushiro was as tense and anti-social as always.

As for me, Gomamon was angry with me again. For slacking off on my duties, which was something I'd never normally do, but there really was no choice. This was the first break I'd taken other than sleeping and eating in more than a month.

"_What do you mean?" Gomamon had asked, a bit annoyed, "You have a busy schedule? You always have a busy schedule!"_

"_I know," I said quietly. "But look on the bright side. If I get a break, so do you."_

_Gomamon gave me a dirty look and shook his head. "But seriously, how do you not have time? The people over on File Island need a doctor, and they haven't been seen in over two months. You have to go over there."_

"_I would if I could Gomamon," I said with a rather dramatic sigh. "But Momoe is going to work, and I have to watch Emiko, and then I promised the others I'd meet with them and—"_

"_Get Jun to watch Emiko," Gomamon reasoned. "Tell the others you're too busy, they'll understand."_

"_Jun's busy too," I told him. "She's planning her wedding. Her big super dramatic wedding that has to outshine everyone. Even those who haven't been married yet. And really that just doesn't seem possible. How can she outdo people who haven't even been married yet? They can look at hers and steal the whole thing, but make everything just a tiny bit better and then voila! They're wedding will be better."_

"_Jou, stop beating around the bush and just say that you don't think Jun could beat your wedding." Gomamon rolled his eyes._

"_She can't," I admitted with a grin. "Mine was the best. She wouldn't know I guess, having not been there, but it was better than any normal wedding I'd say." _

"_So you can bring Emiko with you," Gomamon said, jumping back to his point without hesitation._

"_But I need to take Emiko shopping," I said, sighing._

"_You're letting digimon be ill because you want to go shopping?" Gomamon asked sharply._

"_No," I said. "I have been putting my entire life on hold because every digimon in this world is sick at least once a year. I'm the only doctor, and I can only do so much. My daughter is starting school next week. Can you believe that? School. She's going to get suspended, I just know it... but not if she doesn't have any school supplies! Then I'll be the one in trouble. I need to get her ready. She can't even read yet! And I'm not going to let Emiko go through this important milestone without me. I'm sorry Gomamon, I love the digimon of this world, and I will do everything I can to help them out, but my daughter comes first. I'm not going to be a crappy parent."_

_Gomamon looked up to me and nodded. "I understand," he said quietly, "Just, hurry back okay? They need your help."_

Even though he had seemed so understanding, I could tell he was a bit annoyed. And honestly, he played the guilt card perfectly, because I was annoyed too. I wanted so badly to rewind time and not have gone to this stupid movie. It was a crappy movie, and in the two hours it took to sit through it I could have helped numerous digimon on File Island...

A loud snap brought me back to reality and I found myself staring at Taichi, pointing a stick to Yamato who was on the ground, his own stick broken in half.

"I've defeated you," Taichi said in a dramatic voice. "What will you do now?"

I raised my eyebrows in amusement. Mostly because I wasn't the one subjected to being defeated this time. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw Mimi, staring up at the stars absent-mindedly, and walked over to her.

She was still holding herself tightly, rubbing her arms with her hands that were covered by green and pink mittens that it looked like she may have made herself... She let out an audible sigh which caused a burst of fog to erupt from her mouth. "You okay?" I whispered, standing next to her. She looked up to me and nodded.

"Of course." She smiled weakly. We stared at each other for a brief moment and she caved. Faster than usual. "No," she said with a sigh. "It's a long story though. I don't really want to go into it."

"Okay," I said nodding, even though I really wanted her to go into it. Sometimes being mature meant that you had to stifle your curiosity...

"I love how you do that." She smiled with disbelief. "When I say I don't want you to push, you just don't. No one else I've met can do that."

"Well if you want to talk about it, talk about it," I said, shrugging my shoulders, "If not, don't. But if you're saying you don't want to talk about it even though you do, just to test how much people care by making them beg, then I don't want to, like, feed that side of you, you know? I just don't want—"

"Okay, you're ruining it," Mimi said, stopping me with a hand on my shoulder. "But thank you anyway," she said hugging me. "Now, a brief exaggeration of reality is in order." She turned around and walked over to the group, and looked at her wrist where no watch was placed. "Oh my goodness, look at the time! I had no idea it was so late. I really should be going."

Koushiro's face lit up in recognition and he walked to her side, his hands deep in his pockets. Mimi shook her head. "No, you stay here," she said. "I'm fine."

"No, I'll go," Koushiro replied with a smile. "It's no big deal."

"No, it'll be like a guys' night." Mimi smiled.

Koushiro turned around and looked to Yamato, Taichi and I and then back to Mimi. "I'm alright."

Mimi laughed, pushing him back to the others. "No," she grinned. "You stay here. You'll enjoy yourself, I promise." She kissed him on the cheek and then messed up his hair, and then she was off, waving goodbye to the rest of us.

"Strange girl," Yamato said slowly.

Koushiro nodded, coming toward us all, trying, a little awkwardly to incorporate himself into our now dubbed 'Guys Night'. "Well, that stands to reason." Koushiro nodded, giving an uncomfortable thumbs up. "I'm strange as well, so it would only be natural for me to find someone who is of the same level of oddness as me."

Taichi laughed, but Yamato and I nodded politely. Koushiro glared at Taichi and then shoved his hands back in his pocket, storming toward the nearest store. At first I was confused, but upon hearing Yamato explain to Taichi that I needed to buy school supplies for Emiko, I was set in motion.

How could I have forgotten? Probably because I didn't want to remember. She was growing up so fast...

"So when is Emiko bringing back her first boyfriend?" Taichi asked, an enormous grin plastered on his face.

"What?" I gasped. "Never!"

Taichi laughed, and made some joke about how I was too strict of a parent. Which was sometimes true, so I found it hard to take as a joke. I let her pranks go only so far, but Taichi advised me to see how far she could take them. The last time I tried that she tripped me with a fishing line. On top of a hill. A muddy hill. In the rain. It was a disaster. I didn't know where the line between being a strict parent and a caring parent really was, so I was sometimes going back and forth.

"How is Emiko anyway?" Taichi asked, pulling me from my thoughts as he held the door open for Yamato and I to follow Koushiro into the building. He was waiting by the greeter for us; his mood seemed to have lightened greatly.

"She's fine," I smiled in response trying not to go too far into detail; Taichi was always telling me that I was being 'that parent', the one who never stops talking about their kids.

"Jou," Taichi said. "I asked you this time, you're allowed to talk."

"Oh," I said, a grin growing on my face. "Well you see, she's learning to ride a bike now. She wants to be able to bike to school on her first day, but I'll never let that happen. She's crazy if she thinks I won't be there for her big day. Also she's horrible with the bike ordeal. She keeps falling."

"Try training wheels?" Yamato asked.

"Oh she has those. She's just that bad," I said, ignoring the snickering of the two of them.

"I could teach her about physics and the proper formula for balancing on any device if you'd like?" Koushiro offered. "I recently helped Kiyoko's Piedmon learn to ride a unicycle." I didn't know how to react to that. I'd never in a million years think of Koushiro as that kind of person. I just smiled politely with a soft, "Oh, that's cool." He didn't seem offended though.

"She really likes music though," I said disappointed. "Like, a lot. She's obsessed with rock music and she plays it all the time. It's getting irritating. I don't know how Momoe handles it. She's there a lot more than me."

"I like Emiko," Yamato decided suddenly.

"Because she likes your music?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "She prefers your older stuff."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," Yamato laughed.

"She asks all sorts of questions I have no answers for. Momoe is so much better than I am," I told them. "Last week Emiko asked why purple wasn't an animal."

"That doesn't make any sense," Taichi muttered, trying to figure it out.

"I know," I nodded, reading the signs in the store quickly, and finding the paper aisle. "She's a little nuts. Momoe is used to crazy people. I mean she lived with Mantaru, Chiziru and Miyako for like eighteen years. I'm just used to the questions that have a real answer."

"Purple is a concept," Koushiro said quietly, popping up out of nowhere with a pile of pencils, crayons, and other school supplies, setting them gently into the cart Yamato was pushing lazily. "An animal is matter, an organism that lives and thrives using the three basic principles of survival. Purple is nothing but an intangible adjective."

"Yes," Taichi grinned, poking Koushiro with his finger. "But why?"

"Because reality is what it is," Koushiro reasoned without thought.

"I think we can all agree that reality can be altered every now and then," Yamato said. "I mean, when I was ten I thought reality was a simple one planed track of existence. Now I know there are nine worlds that all have a different opinion as to what reality really means."

"Perhaps," Koushiro nodded, crossing his arms in thought. "Though I wonder how their reality truly is different from ours."

"No," Taichi warned. "You're paid to learn the reality of the Digital World. Not the other seven worlds."

"Five," Koushiro corrected. "I find that the Tunnel of Time hardly counts as an alternate reality, though it would be an interesting tool to _create_ separate realities. And the In-Between is hardly a world of its own."

"Fair enough," Taichi nodded. "But the Digital World is still your job."

As we walked past a toy aisle Taichi elbowed Yamato and motioned for him to take a detour. I rolled my eyes but was unable to keep from laughing. Taichi was always fascinated by the newest toys.

"This!" Taichi shouted, drawing the attention of some mothers who were shopping not too far from us. I looked away embarrassed, pretending to not know him. "Jou! Man with glasses to whom I've known for more than twenty years!" I groaned and spun around. Taichi was holding a board game above his head and was standing on one of the ladders employees used to stock shelves. "You should get this game for Emiko. Hikari and I used to play it all the time, and I loved it. Because I always won."

Yamato laughed, but I just shook my head. "We stay away from board games." Taichi looked like someone had slapped him across the face. "It's just that... she has a thing about winning. She changes all the rules so she wins always. Once she was so far behind that she picked up the list of rules and read them to us."

"She can read?" Yamato asked.

"No," I said, flopping my head. "She told us that rule number two said that anyone who is a little girl always wins."

"That's not even creative," Koushiro said bluntly.

"I know." I sighed. "Since then we try to avoid things where she can lie to get her way. We read a parenting book that said the selfishness and obsession to be first in everything will go away with time."

"It won't," Taichi said, shaking his head. "She's been like that forever, hasn't she?"

"Since she could talk," I agreed. "But I have hope..." I really didn't. But I was willing to accept any change were it to come. Not that I didn't love her exactly the way that she was.

"Well, then there's no harm getting the game," Taichi smiled. "My treat." He put the box in the cart and I could only sigh. There was nothing a person could say to stop someone from giving a gift. Taichi was back to looking through the toys and he grinned, reaching behind the stuffed cats to pull out a strange plastic house with a monster and a princess inside. "I remember this!" Taichi laughed. "Sora and I used to play with this when we were younger. I'd be the monster and she'd be the princess and we'd take turns kidnapping each other."

"That does sound riveting," Koushiro said sarcastically.

"I think I remember that," I said slowly, thinking back to when the three of us had met.

"Speaking of Sora," Yamato said. "Have you all been to see her?"

"Of course." "Uhhh yeah." "Yesterday." Koushiro, Taichi and I said at the same time.

"Good." Yamato nodded.

"Have... have you?" Taichi asked, nervously placing the toy house back on the shelf.

Yamato shook his head and leaned against the metal shelves trying to play cool, but he knocked a series of toys off of their shelves, so he hurried to pick them all up, his face turning red. "No," he said, his back still turned. "I want to make sure I'm the last one to see her."

"That's not very romantic," Taichi said with a laugh.

"Well I wanted to be the first one," Yamato said with a sigh. "But Takeru and Hikari were there helping her unpack and then Mimi and you, Koushiro showed up to help paint her bedroom, and it just felt less romantic to be the fifth one to show up."

"So you're going last," Taichi shrugged. "Makes sense I guess."

"You are last though," I said knowingly. "Sora and I were out the other day and we ran into Neo and Allias III." "It makes no sense to still call them that," Koushiro interjected, but I ignored him. "Takeru and Hikari are there right now, and have been there numerous times. We've all seen her, Daisuke and Kurayami saw her a few days back I know because she was texting me about how cute the baby was—as if I didn't already know, Kura keeps bringing him to my house..." I trailed off.

"Miyako and Iori were there a few days after she moved in to watch movies," Taichi filled in. "And Rei told me that when the two were shopping they ran into Ken looking for a pair of new shoes to wear for work."

"Is that everyone...?" Yamato asked, counting us all off on his fingers, "You're sure?"

"You've forgotten those who reside in America," Koushiro pointed out.

"You see?" Yamato clapped his hands together. "Good catch Kou, I'll wait this one out."

"I think you're forgetting the group meeting last week," Taichi laughed. "We were all there. All except you."

"Oh yeah..." Yamato said slowly. "Right. Well..."

"Well, it looks like you have no more excuses," Taichi said with a smirk. "She's probably waiting for you. Go see her!"

Yamato mumbled something, but as none of us could hear him, we couldn't further the discussion.

After a few more minutes of scanning through the toys, Taichi was satisfied and we were off to find backpacks and lunch bags. Yamato found one with a zombie, and though I was reluctant to admit it, I knew it would be the one she'd want most, so I took that one, and we were almost ready to leave.

"How is she feeling?" Koushiro asked. "About school I mean?"

"I don't know if she knows she's going yet," I said slowly. "She's never fully... _there_ when I'm talking to her."

"Well she's in for a surprise then," Yamato smirked.

"Well, we've been preparing her by keeping a firm structural schedule for her at home," I explained, even feeling myself how stupid it sounded. "It... was in a book. We're doing what we can." Taichi was shaking his head and biting his tongue.

"Just let her have fun." He shrugged. "I dunno. Kids seem easy."

"Easy?" I asked, maybe a little too sharply. "I have to raise a daughter while still finding time to save the life of every single digimon in the entire Digital World because I'm the only doctor in the entire place. And of course I have to find time to make sure Gomamon, Bearmon and Monmon find time to feel included—and I have a wife who I barely see—and Momoe wants another kid!"

"Ew." Yamato seemed unable to stop the word before it came out. He started waving his hands, trying to take it back. "I just mean that's maybe not a good idea, you've already got six of you in the house!"

"I know," I said calming down. "I mean, I think having another child would be good. Not only for us, but for Emiko... I just don't know how to find time. I'm a little stressed out with work is all." I froze and my eyes flicked to Taichi who started gritting his teeth, the memory of work flooding back to him.

He ran his hands through his hair, which he had still kept quite short, and he sighed. "You know what Jou, I think I have a solution for you."

"You do?" I asked, excited, if anyone could give me a good solution it would be Taichi, he was the only real governmental figure we had in the entire Digital World at this point.

"I'm stressed too, and so is everyone else," he said slowly, pointing to the shortest of the lines at the checkout counters, and steering Yamato's cart in the in the direction of it. "But yours can be fixed easily if you're willing to take a pay cut."

"Honestly," I said a little sheepishly. "I don't need all the money you're giving me."

"Well you're the only doctor," he said with a shrug. "So all the money that's given to us for the medical funding goes directly to you."

"So if you hired another doctor, the pay would be cut in half, but so would the work load," Yamato said, just as the realization came to my own mind.

"Exactly," Taichi nodded. "I don't know why you didn't come to me sooner, Jou."

"The pay cut won't be too harsh either," Yamato pointed out. "You'll be making much more than a regular doctor still anyhow, and that is certainly not something to be ashamed of."

"I could be of assistance locating the new member of the medical team," Koushiro offered.

"Sounds good," Taichi said, nodding, but I could see he was still very stressed himself and I wished there was something I could do to change that.

"Hey," I said coming to the realization suddenly, reaching into the cart and pulling out the board game Taichi put in there. "Want to play?" I asked him. His face lit up instantly and I knew I'd found my way to fix his bad mood.

Unfortunately, the moment we had left the store my phone began ringing and Momoe was on the other end telling me that she had to talk to me, and it was very important. I told the others I had to go, which gave Koushiro an out as well, but the others made him stay to go get dinner together. Taichi took a rain check on the board game, and I was heading home.

The drive home was peaceful, which was a beautiful change of pace. The rain started about halfway back, and the repetitive sound of the droplets splashing onto the windshield was so therapeutic and relaxing. It had been such a long time since I'd had a chance to breathe, and now with Taichi's new solution to my problem, it looked like nothing could put a damper on the new happiness I'd found.

Momoe's car was in the garage when I pulled up, but all the lights were off in the house. I knew Momoe and the others would be in the Digital World addition to our house, so I set Emiko's new school supplies on the counter and headed into the study.

I came through the portal in the living room, where Bearmon was curled up on the couch under a fuzzy blue blanket watching the TV with the lights dimmed. He'd been sick for a few days, but he looked like he was getting better.

"How are you feeling?" I asked, putting my shoes on the mat next to the computer.

"A bit better," His weak voice responded.

"You'll get there," I promised, patting his head on my way by. "Is Momoe in here?"

"She's out back," Bearmon tried shouting. I followed his orders and moved through the 'Snack Room'. Momoe called it that, she felt pretentious having two kitchens, so she dubbed it something different and put all the junk food here instead of in the main kitchen. Sliding open the back door I found that the air in the Digital World was so much nicer than that of Earth. It was fresher, warmer and cleaner. It had obviously just rained though, judging by the puddle of water I had stepped in. Momoe leaning against the railing of the elaborate porch Kiyoko had designed for us. She was staring down, presumably at Emiko. Momoe was wearing her relaxation clothes, which she always put on immediately after work, and her hair was up in a ponytail of sorts.

I put my arms around her, creeping up on her and she screamed, spinning around in fear. She laughed when she realized it was just me and punched my arm. She turned back to Emiko, fixing her hair a little. I stood next to her and saw Emiko scream up at me with excitement and start running toward the stairs. She tripped a couple times in the mud, but got right back up again with a little help from Gomamon and Monmon, and was on her way again.

"Before she gets here, I need to talk," Momoe said quickly. "I'm thinking about quitting my job." I tried to speak but she didn't let me. "Listen first, I know Emiko is going to be away at school a lot now, but when she comes home she's going to need me, and I'm going to need her, and honestly my work—"

"Daddy!" Emiko was hugging me around my legs and I bit my bottom lip hard. She was muddy and wet, and now, so was I.

"I missed you," She said, rubbing the mud in on purpose. Momoe stifled laughter, but I just turned to Emiko and knelt down.

She looked excited, and I knew that she knew I got her something. "On the counter in the kitchen there's a whole bag of stuff for you."

"I can't get it," she said quickly.

"She lost her digivice." Momoe sighed. "Again."

"Again?" I asked, poking Emiko in the nose, making her giggle. "It's okay. They've got tracer's on them. I'll find it."

"Okay!" she cheered.

"You should be getting ready for bed though!" Momoe called after Emiko as she rampaged through the house. We didn't care as much about keeping this house as clean as the one on Earth because we never had company over here, so Momoe just let her go with Monmon following closely behind.

"Did you get me anything?" Gomamon asked.

"I did," I said. "Sort of." Then I explained how Taichi was going to hire another doctor which helped the digimon in the long run and Gomamon was ecstatic and relieved. And then he was off, back down the stairs to tell his friends the news.

Then I turned back to Momoe. "If you want to quit your job, I'm all for that," I told her. "We've got enough money. We're rolling in it right now and I honestly don't feel like me. We have two kitchens for goodness sake!"

"Snack room," she corrected with a smile.

"Besides, anything that's making you uncomfortable I don't want you to have to deal with. Because I love you."

Momoe leaned in and kissed me on the cheek and smiled up at me. "Oh hey!" she said brightly, "Speaking of uncomfortable, your favourite person is coming for dinner tomorrow!"

My stomach seized up. "I'm hoping you're not being sarcastic, and that it's you who's coming for dinner."

"Aww," Momoe cooed. "No, it's not me," she said very seriously. "Your dad and Aimi are coming."

I decided to pretend that wasn't the case, and I turned to enter the house. Momoe was following me, talking to me about her day before work where she spent time with Kurayami who needed someone to talk to. Because of Jun's wedding Momoe and Kurayami were both enlisted to help Jun while Daisuke and I were instructed to help Shuu. Which was totally fine and cool. Just that Shuu never wanted to plan anything. He wanted it to be Jun's special day, so we never did anything.

Kurayami though, had time to bond with both Jun and Momoe. Today she was apparently talking about therapy and how she was frustrated. Kurayami apparently broke down crying a couple times, but Momoe passed that off as being a new mother. Momoe shared some horror stories with her about when Emiko was a child and it made Kurayami feel better somehow, and then Momoe had gone to work, had another terrible day, and came home to find that the babysitter fell asleep on the job again and Emiko had gotten into the snack cupboard and ate everything she could possibly fit into her stomach, and Momoe was forced to fire the babysitter.

She'd had a much worse day than I had.

I didn't know exactly what to say, but I was pretty good at cheering her up, but just as I was about to, Gomamon was back in the house.

"Jou!" he shouted. "A Koromon not too far from here is suffering from the flu, he's gonna need your help!"

I looked to Momoe apologetically and she nodded. "Go for it." She smiled, kissing my cheek again. "Good luck Mr Superhero." I grinned down at her and then was on my way out the door.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Offsprings and Accusations! You should keep an eye out because we may have thrown in a lot of red herrings, but we also threw in a lot of foreshadowing. It's like a game. Figure out the ending!


	3. Offspring and Accusations

**Y/N: **I remember having a lot of fun writing as Miyako in this chapter, and I had an interesting set of supporting—and minor—characters for her to play with. It was fun having them interact in a non-battle setting. And I just had _way_ too much fun with a certain digidestined's family.

**U/N: **So you'll notice a lot of new characters. Some are important and some are not, and that's going to be annoying for you as it was annoying for us. Just try to keep track, and if you need assistance you could always go to Yukiraking's bio on her page where we have a list of all the characters you'll need to keep in mind. :)

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 1: Whispers**

**Chapter 3: Offspring and Accusations **

_**Miyako Ichijouji:**_

I would've thought, with it being a public library, the librarian might show up at some point. Granted Iori and I were the only ones in the building, and it wasn't like we were going to steal anything. We would never do something like that. And Mari kind of owned the place. Stealing from her would be a horrible idea. I'm not saying it's the reason I wouldn't do it...but it helped me make the decision for sure.

Also...I don't really need to steal books. I don't even read physical books all that often. I like digital copies. I can read them on the go, I can have as many as I want without cluttering the house, and Ken doesn't need to know how often I purchase them.

It's a winning situation all around.

That being said, I was reading a book at that moment, leaning against the main desk. I had the book spread out in front of me, and was resting my elbows on the desktop, using my hands to prop my head up. I just couldn't seem to help myself. I was compelled to read as many of these books as I could, regardless of the fact that they all shared the same information with me. It didn't matter that I'd already read them, I _needed_ to continue to read the same facts over and over again. I needed to get as much information on this topic as possible. I was running out of time!

Okay. Take a deep breath, Miyako. Phew. I actually had plenty of time, but it honestly felt like each day was going by faster and faster, and at some point I knew I wouldn't be able to keep it to myself anymore, but weren't you supposed to wait to tell anyone? I thought I read somewhere that it was recommended to wait three months. And I was planning on doing that. Ken would know soon. And after that, I'd just wait until people noticed before I said anything. I didn't want them to pester me with questions.

I did that exact thing to Kurayami during her entire pregnancy, and I didn't want her to retaliate. I hadn't realized how annoying I'd been. But really, Ken and I had wanted this for awhile. And it was a good thing that it hadn't happened until now. Ken was out of school and we were doing well with paying back his loans. It _did_ help that I had a little extra money coming in from my work with the Teenage Wolves. I'd thought that once they became a household name they'd drop me like a hot potato and get a professional in, but Yamato took our partnership very seriously, and since I'd never messed up, the other guys didn't seem to mind. That money on top of my salary from HYPNOS really kept us going. I used my official job to pay for our rent, and utilities, and he used the money from his part time job for groceries and other expenses. The Teenage Wolves money went right into the savings account I'd set up for his student loans. He had also set up an account and deposited small amounts of his pay checks into it—all without telling me. He told me under no uncertain terms that he wasn't using _my_ money for _his_ loans, and so I decided that it would be funds for our baby, whenever I got pregnant.

It was a lifesaver.

I'd been looking up strollers and cribs and playpens...and it was all really expensive. And I wanted good quality products. I didn't want some cheap imitation. I wanted a house full of kids someday. I might think differently about that after having this one, depending on my experience, but at the moment? I still really wanted that. I didn't want to have to buy _new_ for every child. I could save a lot of the stuff from this first baby for any future baby. Like the stroller, crib, and playpen.

"You might want a highchair," Iori commented.

I looked down and realized I'd been jotting down a list. I'd even jotted down wet wipes and soothers before thinking of the high chair! How careless of me.

"Thanks," I said, adding it to the list. "Not that I know what you're talking about."

"Really?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at me. "_That's_ what you're going with?"

"I'm just thinking of the future," I insisted. "I need to know price-wise if we're ready for a baby. And I think we could do it. Probably."

"Okay," he said, totally believing me. God I was so good that this hiding stuff thing. I wouldn't want to get used to it. It was kind of annoying, keepings something so exciting to myself. "Natsuni wants you to come over for dinner."

"Really?" I asked. He totally didn't even press for information. I rocked!

"Yeah," he said. "She said something about wanting to put the hostess skills that her mother instilled in her to good use. There's someone at our apartment all the time. Mostly it's Takeru. Do you know how annoying that is? Hikari and Takeru together? It's almost nauseating. They're happy though, and that's all that matters I guess. Meiyomon's over a lot too. Natsuni loves him. He acts like a toddler around her. He's childish on a good day, but he really plays it up for her. She just dotes on him. It's ridiculous."

"Sounds like you might be making a list like this soon enough," I said with a laugh. "Do you want it?"

"Don't even joke about that," he said with wide eyes. "My mother would kill me. We're not married."

"Well, is there going to be a wedding soon?" I asked.

"Nope," he said. "We're happy the way we are for now. It's so _easy_ to live with her. To just be able to be together without sneaking around and hiding it? We did that for so long, and it was really a _relief_ to _tell people_."

"I have no idea what you're getting at," I said rolling my eyes. "But I don't see why you aren't ready to get married. You two act more like a married couple then Ken and I. And that's saying something. Because Ken and I _are_ a married couple. And have been for like, ever."

"It's been five years, right?" he asked.

"Five years," I agreed. "Well, once our anniversary rolls around."

"That's crazy," he said. "It doesn't feel like it."

"No," I said, nodding. "It feels like just yesterday that your mom was calling me to come babysit you, and now I'll be calling on you for the same thing. It's so surreal."

"Miyako," Iori said seriously, putting his hand over mine, encompassing it completely. "Are you pregnant?"

"What?!" I said panicked. "I don't even know where you got that idea. I mean _that's_ crazy. CRAZY I tell you."

"Miyako," he repeated.

"Fine!" I cried, dropping my head in shame. I ruined the whole secret by _accident_. I didn't even know how he found out.

No.

Wait.

_I'll be calling you for the same thing._

"How could I be so completely stupid?!" I shouted to the skies. Or to the ceiling of the library I guess. It was a really high ceiling though, and the screams bounced off it and hit the walls and reverberated. And _wow_ was I loud.

"Calm down," he said.

"How can I calm down?" I demanded. "Ken was supposed to be the first person I told. And then Hawkmon and Wormmon in that order. And then my _mother_ and Momoe and Emiko! I just screwed it all up. I had a plan!"

"Your plan was flawed from the start," he told me.

"How can you be so cruel?" I cried, dropping to my knees dramatically.

"Miyako, you're reading a pregnancy book. Right in front of me. And you're writing a list of baby things, and bringing it into conversation while pretending it's not important to you, but the fact that you care enough to talk about it, means that it is. Also, almost everything you've said for the past couple of weeks was about babies," he said slowly. "Your book is called 'What to Expect While Expecting'. If that's not a clue, what is?"

"You mean I'm being obvious?" I asked pitifully.

"To me anyway," he said quickly. "You're probably fooling everyone else though."

"You really think so?" I asked.

"Maybe," he said nodding. And I thought he _just_ might be right. I relaxed a bit and smiled at him. I could finally talk to someone about it!

"So yeah, I'm two months pregnant, and soon the first trimester will be over and I'll be able to tell everyone about it. And I'm so excited! I've wanted this for a while now. Actually Ken and I both want this, but it just wasn't happening for us, and I was starting to get worried, you know? Because, like, Kurayami got pregnant by _accident_ and it just wasn't fair. But now I'm pregnant, and I'm so happy I could sing! But I can't, because I can't tell anyone," I ranted in a single breath.

"Well..." he said, trying to process everything that just spewed out of my mouth. "I'm happy for you. And I'd be honoured to babysit for you."

"Really?" I asked, tears springing to life in my eyes. "Because it would mean a lot to me. I babysat you all the time, and you were just such a good kid, and I know it sounds weird, because you're not all that much younger than me, but knowing that it could come full circle like that? Wow, look at me. I'm a mess."

"No you're not," he said, rolling his eyes.

"You're sweet," I said, wiping the tears from my eyes as best I could, but they just kept coming. I knew what I looked like. I wasn't a very pretty crier. And I was crying so often these days. Everything was just so touching to me.

"What's going on here?"

Mari, dressed to impress—as always—in her four inch heeled boots and her skin tight, green dress, was walking over to us, a hamper of freshly dried laundry on her hip. Her hair was as tamed as it could be, and had been wrangled into a French braid. She had big, dangly earrings that sparkled in the ample sunlight that shone through the giant windows that created a good portion of the library's walls.

I looked to Iori in a panic, begging him with my eyes to keep my secret from Mari. It wasn't that I didn't want her to know, it was really just that I needed Ken to be next. I owed that to him.

"Nothing much," he said aloofly. "Miyako here was just—" I had a mini heart attack at this point. He wasn't really going to tell her, was he? "Wondering if you'd be able to help her out. She quit her job and wanted to know if her old job was still open."

"Oh," Mari said. She looked around the place. "It's not very lively anymore. And it might not be open to the public much longer, but until I close it down for good, you're welcome to a job."

"Really?" I asked, excitedly. "Oh thank goodness. With Ken's new job on the force things will get better, but I really can't afford to not be working right now."

"Welcome aboard," she said with a shrug. "You guys are the only people that have shown up today though."

"That's okay," I said. "It'll be easy work."

"Yeah," she said. "You could help me with inventory I guess. I'm looking to get rid of duplicates, text books, all but one encyclopedia set. I'm going to go through the titles after that and get rid of the ones I hated, or the ones I've got no interest in, I guess. I'm not going to need _all_ of these books if it's not a library anymore, right?"

"You're really shutting the place down?" I asked. "Wasn't this your grandma's pride and joy?"

"It was, yeah," she said. "But I'm not a librarian at heart. I know that. I love books though, so I'm not getting rid of everything. I've got plans for the place. Don't worry. But don't mention this to anyone, okay? I haven't decided a hundred percent yet."

"I don't even know what I'm keeping secret," I said, crossing my heart, mostly for show. I glanced at Iori, and he nodded. I would keep this secret better than the baby secret. I had to. My honour as a secret keeper was under question!

"Good," she said. "So, this is kind of awkward. I don't know if I've ever really spoken to you."

"We talk all the time," I reminded her.

"I'm sure she meant me," Iori pointed out. Oops. I'd forgotten he was here again. I really needed to stop zoning out. "No. I don't think we've ever conversed."

"And that might be why," Mari noted with a smirk. "Do you ever relax? Or are you always formal, all the time."

"He's usually formal," I sighed. No matter how much I prod at him. I'd grown up with the guy, I'd _babysat_ him for goodness sakes! I knew he was less formal with me than some people, but still. I thought I deserved some familiarity at least.

The bell that was placed above the front entrance jingled, signaling that we were no longer alone. A tall man stood ramrod straight, head held high. His hair was bright blonde, nearly lemon coloured. It was perfectly in place, and his cheek bones were fabulous. Very prominent. His jaw was squared, and he dressed in black slacks, a dress shirt with a white undershirt vaguely visible, and a pair of black suspenders. He had square toed, glossy black shoes and looked all around like a movie star.

A woman stood next to him. She wasn't nearly as tall as he was, the tip of her head matched with his shoulders, but her head was also home to a perfectly styled crop of blonde hair. Darker blonde this time. It shone in the light, kind of like Mari's earrings, only this was because of the sheer amount of hairspray or gel in it. It was like a helmet. Nothing was going to move that hair out of its perfect do. Her eyebrows were over-plucked, giving her a constant look of surprise, but whatever she'd done to her eyes wasn't helping matters, only making it more pronounced.

"What percentage of her face do you think is real?" Mari asked Iori and me, hardly paying attention to the newcomers. "Like, ten percent? I could argue up to forty, but like that's the limit."

Despite the obvious work she'd had done, she _was_ still beautiful. Her makeup was tastefully applied, and didn't distract from her award winning smile. She walked with grace and poise, and seemed to act as though she were in front of an adoring audience. It was all in the way she carried herself. She was dressed in a bold, bright pink shirt, with a rounded neck. It was form-fitting without being too snug, and she had a knee length, flowing, white skirt. She paired it with pink heels that matched her shirt, though the heels looked comfortable and not at all dangerous, like the kind Mari usually wore. I actually really liked them... She had a glimmering, pearl necklace around her neck, that followed the collar of her shirt, and she had matching earrings, just little round pearls, yet they still looked fancy.

The man and woman were accompanied by a child. She could only be ten, eleven, maybe twelve years old. She had hair that matched her mother's in colour, though it seemed to get its temperament from her father, since she didn't need to superglue it in place. It fell down just passed her shoulders, she wore a white headband that matched her dress to a T. She wore a baby-doll styled dress, that reached down to her knees. The top piece was embroidered, and created a straight line across the bottom of her neck. She wore lacy socks and little shiny, white Mary-Jane shoes. She was the picture of perfect innocence.

All three of them had bright blue eyes. Well, not _blue_ exactly. They were more aqua in nature. I'd seen them before. Lots of times.

"Oh God," Mari gasped.

They were _her_ eyes. She got her cursed fluffy hair from her mother, but the colour from her father. I could recognize her mother now, underneath all that plastic surgery. But Mari had _never_ had a sister. She would have told me if she did.

I had to be wrong.

"Hello," the woman said with the perfect amount of warmth in her voice. It seemed so calculated though. Maybe it was just because I was on guard, what with my guess as to who they were. But it seemed so fake. Just like her face.

Oh God, that was so mean.

True.

But _so_, very mean.

"Good afternoon," I said forcing the brightness into my voice. "Welcome to the library, if there's anything we can help you find, just let us know."

"There is, actually," she practically purred. "We're looking for Mari Rebecca?"

"Goutokuji, or some other one?" Mari clarified.

"Oh dear," the woman said, clicking her tongue, her voice still sugary sweet. "We _did_ take that name away from her. She just has the two now."

"Whatever," Mari said rolling her eyes. "What did you need her for?"

"We're here for our daughter's inheritance," the woman said. "You see, little Aneko here was left this library, as it was clearly stated in my dear, late, mother-in-law's will that this building, all its contents and everything else the woman owned was to be left to her granddaughter. As we only have the _one_ daughter, we thought it would be fit to collect."

"She left this place to _me,_" Mari said firmly, though I could hear how much effort she had to put into it.

"No," the man said, finally speaking up. "She left it to my _daughter_. Aneko is my only daughter."

"I'm pretty sure I know whose body I came out of," Mari corrected him.

"Shield her eyes, Batsu," the woman said quickly. "This young lady is entirely too indecent for our dear, precious, little girl to look at." Batsu, the man, complied, hiding Mari from Aneko's sight by covering her eyes with his hands. Mari looked down to her skin tight dress. It had spaghetti straps, and came down to cover her butt...but that's about it. It was one of her more scandalous outfits, but she was doing laundry! Maybe it was all she had left. "Much better."

"You think you can just waltz in here and _take_ my library?" Mari said, trying to seem confident about her outfit, but I could see that her confidence was wavering. I wanted to help her, but I didn't know what to say. Iori was just confused more than anything.

"My mother's will states it goes to _my_ daughter," Batsu said.

But I'd talked to his mother a couple of times, and she held no real love for him. I doubted that's what the will said at all. In fact...I remembered a conversation that seemed to imply he didn't exist...

"_You're the married one, aren't you?"_

"_Yes, I am," I said bubbly. I still loved how it sounded._

"_Well, enjoy that happiness while it lasts. You'll regret it soon enough."_

"_I hope not," I said, shocked._

"_I regret my marriage. The only good thing to come out of it was Mari."_

"_What about your kids?" I asked, confused._

"_I don't have kids. Just Mari."_

I remembered it so precisely, because I'd been so confused at the time. How can you have a granddaughter without having a child first? I'd gotten my answer from Mari not long after.

"_Your parents...they don't get along with your grandmother, do they?"_

"_You're kidding right?" she said with a snort. "She disowned them. She says I'm all the family she needs. Which would be much more touching if she wasn't so crusty when she says it."_

I touched my stomach. I couldn't imagine _ever_ abandoning my child. And to disown it? Never. But really, I understood the idea. If this little fetus inside of me grew up and abandoned _its_ children? I would never forgive it. But I'd still love it. I think.

I hope.

No. I would. Because that's what _this_ mother would do. Even if I wasn't happy. I'd take in my grandkids in a heartbeat. Wow. Okay. Hold your horses, Miyako. I'm not even a mom yet, I shouldn't make myself a grandma so young, even hypothetically.

But all that aside, Mari's grandmother would _never_ have left the library to this other girl, no matter how sweet she seemed.

"You can just hand over all rights to this building," the woman—whose name I still didn't know—said with a smile. It was the most threatening smile I'd ever seen though.

"She doesn't have to," I snapped at her. She turned her smile to me.

"Of course she does," the woman corrected me, _sweetly_.

"If you want to contest the will, I'd advise you to get your lawyer, because you'll have to do so in court," Iori told the woman bluntly. He wasn't intimidated at all. I was so jealous.

Batsu and his wife laughed.

"I'm serious," Iori said. "Mari's lawyer is right here, present and accounted for. You honestly didn't believe you could take this without going through the court, did you?"

"You, a lawyer?" Batsu laughed.

"Damn straight, he's my lawyer," Mari said, gaining more confidence now that we were defending her. Also, Iori seemed so calm and confident, it was even rubbing off on me, so I had no doubt he was helping her.

"You'll want a lawyer, you're going to go the legal route," Iori said. "And we'll work out an airtight defence. I hope you intend to lose."

"We'll see about that," Batsu snarled. "Itami, Aneko, come! We're going to call our lawyer. We'll see you in court."

Itami didn't stop smiling her spine chilling, sweet smile the entire time she was walking out of the building. Clearly she had a better control over her temper. Either that, or her face was literally just stuck that way.

"Thanks," Mari said. "That should keep them off my back for awhile, anyway. I just can't believe they'd take this from me too. Well, I can believe it, I just didn't think they'd _do_ it."

"What are you talking about?" Iori asked her. "I'm not letting them take what is rightfully yours."

"Wait, you were serious?" she asked in surprise.

"Am I ever not?" he asked, rolling his eyes, and Mari shrugged. She really didn't know him that well. "We're going to work out a solid defense. To do so, we're going to need to research."

"To the law section!" Mari cheered. We all ran off different directions. "It's over this way though," Mari shouted after us. Iori and I looked at each other and laughed, racing off after Mari. We had a library to save.

_**Kurayami Motomiya:**_

"Hmm, no, doesn't look like it." Norn said, leaning forward and staring into the mouth of my sleeping baby. "I think if he had a fungal mouth disease you'd be able to see it."

"But I read a book where the main character—" I tried to explain, but she cut me off.

"Character?" She laughed, "As in, a fictional book? It's probably not even a real disease."

"It is! I looked it up!" I insisted. Norn laughed, and fell back into the big comfy couch that we'd bought to fill the place of the one Veemon and Labramon destroyed in their last fight. The fights were never serious though. Just... sibling-like fights. The room was brightly lit, and it was starting to irritate my eyes. My hair was tied back into a messy ponytail and it was dirty, but I just couldn't justify getting into the shower right now. Not with the baby needing so much attention.

The day after he was born I went straight to a salon and got my streaks back in. This time I opted for a dark blue to be a little more subtle.

"Kura," Norn said softly, grabbing my hand and pulling me down to sit with her, "You should rest." She insisted. Sometimes it drove me crazy to talk with her. She was so serious and mature sometimes, but laughing and childish the next moment. She was like a pre-teen. She looked more like a twelve year old though.

Wait...

"You have such dark circles under your eyes." She said softly.

"Gee, thanks." I groaned.

"I just mean that you look horrible." She tried to fix her previous statement, but there was no getting around the truth. I did look horrible. I'd had a baby seventy three days ago. He was seventy three days old, and I'd barely slept at all since then. What's worse, is that the sleep I had managed to enjoy was tainted by nightmares of my baby dying.

I didn't want him to die. And so I spent a lot of my time crying and trying to fix something that's not even broken. Hopefully not broken. Suddenly I was back on my feet examining his bones to see that they still worked. He was so small and quiet all the time. Maybe there really was something wrong with him.

"Kura, just go sleep." Norn insisted.

"No, I can't." I told her, "I have a therapy appointment today. I have to go to that, if I skip it I'll be wasting money. And as I'm already paying for university courses and this apartment's rent and food for my new baby, I may as well get my money's worth."

"How are you doing all that?" Norn asked in shock, "You don't even have a job anymore."

That was true. I'd had to quit my job when I'd had the baby because they didn't offer me maternity leave. It wasn't a special job anyway. I'd just have to get another one when the time came. As for now I'd have to use what little savings I had left and rely on Takeru's job at the coffee shop downtown and Daisuke's noodle cart to keep us all alive.

"I don't know," I simplified the answer for her, it was complicated anyway. "I've cancelled the therapy sessions, but I've already paid for the next six months, so I have to go to all of those, and hopefully by that point I'll have another job, maybe I can sell something. I'm good at making..."

"Sandwiches," Norn tried to be helpful, but honestly it just made me feel worse. I wasn't good at much. I was good at caring about people, and building emotional and mental walls. But that wasn't going to get me any money. "You'll figure it out." Norn promised, patting my shoulder. "Now, go have a shower."

"Are you sure you're okay watching him?" I asked her softly, while stroking the baby's face.

"Of course," Norn said brightly, "It's only for a few minutes. Besides, Daisuke should be home soon."

I didn't wait any longer to get into the shower. I wanted to be clean more than I wanted to sleep anyway, I was so sick of never having time to be clean, but I was super pleased to have a baby.

Now was obviously not the right time to have a baby, but I was married. And that was the obvious next step anyway.

Besides. It was an accident.

And Takeru lived here too, so it was perfect. He loved the baby too, and so did Norn, and with the four of us taking care of him, there, in theory, was enough time for us all to relax every now and then. But somehow, being the mother, I was saddled with most of the responsibilities. Which unfortunately made too much sense for me to form an argument against.

Not that I didn't want to be spending time with him...

Labramon, Veemon and Patamon enjoyed spending time with the baby as well, but none of them felt confident enough to take care of him on their own, and since Veemon was the only one who was capable of lifting the baby, I had to agree that they weren't ready for it.

I had a shorter shower than I would have liked and then wrapped a towel around myself, rushing upstairs to get dressed. And in no time at all I was ready. My hair was in two punk-like pigtails, I was wearing clothes that were reminiscent of someone who did not just have a baby, and with a little touch of make-up the bags under my eyes were less noticeable.

On my way downstairs I heard Daisuke's voice, and I couldn't help but smile. Somehow, with each new milestone of our relationship it just felt new again. And now with a baby between the two of us I was more in love than ever. I pushed open the door to the living room and saw him bouncing the baby up and down with a huge smile on his face.

"Hey!" Daisuke grinned upon seeing me. "Mommy's all clean!"

"Did you wake him up?" I asked, pretending to scold him.

"I may have." Daisuke admitted, "He's just cute when he makes funny sounds than when he's sleeping."

"That's so true." I smiled. "So how was the game?"

Daisuke then told me about the soccer game he'd just come from using a list of terms that I could only pretend to understand. But while I was certainly not an athletic person, Daisuke was, and I loved him even more for that. He knew I didn't understand too. I think he liked that there was something that went completely over my head.

"One day, I'll get to play with you instead." Daisuke said, pressing his nose into the baby's and smiling. "You'll be more fun to play with anyway. I'll show you everything there is to know."

"And then one day he'll be good enough to beat you," Norn smiled.

"Hey now!" Daisuke shook his head vehemently, though I knew he was acting. "No one can ever be good enough to beat me. Though one day, he'll be the second best out there."

"Right next to Ken?" I joked, "So where does Taichi fit on that list?"

"Taichi can be the fourth best." Daisuke explained with a thoughtful expression. "Ken is third, and of course, I'm number one."

"Oh, of course." Norn joked.

I was in the kitchen a moment later preparing a bottle of formula for the baby, and a sandwich for myself to eat before my therapy session. "Daisuke?" I asked, just as I was finishing up.

"Yeah?" He called in return.

I was in the living room a moment later, tossing the bottle to him so he could feed the baby. "Can you watch him today?"

"After work?" He asked.

I groaned, "You have to work?" He nodded apologetically.

"I'd offer to watch him, but you know, I'm kind of busy." Norn said smiling awkwardly, pointing to herself with both thumbs. "Queen of all nine worlds over here."

"Oh hush up," I laughed, tossing a pillow at her. "I guess I'll just have to take him with me. I guess that'll be fine, right?"

"We could get Jun over?" Daisuke suggested.

I raised my eyebrows and laughed, "No. Last time she tried to babysit she cried and vowed to never have children." Daisuke's face lit up with a sense of remembrance and he sighed. "It's fine. I'll take him." I checked the time and dropped my head dramatically. I figured I'd better get ready. By the time I got my boots on, the baby would be done eating. He was such a pig and totally got that from Daisuke.

And I was right. The baby was done, and my boots were on. I threw a coat over my t shirt and took the baby from Daisuke.

It took a while to force his arms into the sleeves of his little coat, which he hated wearing. But he looked so cute all bundled up for outside.

"Good luck," Daisuke said with an awkward grin.

"Thanks," I said as he kissed my forehead. "Have a good day at work,"

"I will," He assured me. I waved a quick goodbye to Norn and was out the door.

I was happy that Norn had let me take a shower, because the people out there on the streets were already looking at me like I was a failure, at least now I looked good while being a failure. Though I couldn't be sure why their squinted angry eyes were pointing in my direction, I didn't care. I was used to it. No one liked me out here on the streets. Possibly because I dressed like that Barbie your older sister would get her hands on and tamper with to make you upset. Possibly because I had a baby and looked no older than seventeen, when in reality I was twenty-two years old. Possibly because they knew me, they knew I wasn't ready to have a child, and possibly because they could see right through me, knowing I wasn't fit to be around them in this world...

Life away from adventure was hard to grow accustomed to, to say the least. Walking through the streets of a city with normal people, knowing full well that I am officially normal as well... I'd had a glimpse of that between Fanglongmon and Arkadimon, but at that time I was so shocked to have a freethinking mind to myself, and now here I was, trying to find all sorts of ways to entertain myself now that I was no longer a daring heroin ready to take on the next big danger.

I'd mostly busied myself with work, school and random activities. Bungee-jumping for one. Skydiving was next on my list, but now with the baby, it didn't seem likely.

Of course, I'd gotten married and had a child in the last three years as well. That was an adventure all on its own. Three years was certainly not a long time, and here I was, rushing through all the good stuff.

The wedding itself was small and poorly done, but neither of us cared. What mattered was that we were together and in love. That wedding happened about nine months ago. I was already two months pregnant, of course no one aside from me knew it at the time. I didn't want anyone to freak out—and by 'anyone' I meant just Daisuke. I'd run from the wedding realizing that I was tricking him into marrying me by not being honest with him, and I told him the truth, he said he didn't care and we got married anyway. He was always so sweet.

And of course, about seven months later out popped our baby boy, and I was officially a mother, with no job and no way to sleep a full night through. Not even finished my schooling yet. But that didn't matter. I loved him unconditionally. Even if that condition was that it tampered with my dream. He was my new dream. Temporarily. I'd still finish school.

Before therapy I knew I'd have to pick Labramon up from his work because he despised knocking on the door. He said it felt demoralizing to be the only one in the household to be unable to turn a doorknob. Daisuke offered to install a dog-door, but Labramon took offense to that.

He worked at a dog training center, which was ironic. At least to me. He was very good at communicating with the animals there, and was able to help quite effectively train them to maximum capability.

On the way up the steps to the training facility my baby reached weakly up and started playing with my hair as a stream of saliva started running from his mouth. I groaned, "ugh, you're such a child." I said to him softly, pushing the door open. The air inside smelled of dog, which was unavoidable really. The floors were tiled, and there were professional photographs of dogs all over the walls. Behind the counter in the corner of the room stood a woman who beamed at the sight of me. She was the friendliest person I'd ever met. Even more than Hikari—even more than Takeru. And that was saying something.

I made my way over to her and handed my baby to her absent mindedly as I knew she'd ask to hold him. She was very good with him, and she held his weak little neck, and kissed his tiny little nose, and whenever he fell asleep she'd make sure to lay him on his back if she had to set him down in the nursery at any time to avoid Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.

"How has your day been?" She asked me, not taking her eyes away from the bundle of baby in her arms, as she wiped the drool from his face with a tissue.

"Exhausting." I told her simply, "And I did nothing. Does that mean I'm getting old?"

"It means you're a mother," She giggled, "When I had Mika like a hundred years ago I was feeling the same as you. Always tired. You'll get over that."

"Really?" I asked hopeful.

"No," She said laughing. "But it's still worth it." She looked up to me through her glasses and smiled accenting the lines around her face. "Trust me." I smiled back but secretly wanted to run and fall over in a ditch somewhere and stay there forever and sleep. "Labramon is out back. He did such a good job today."

"He really loves it here," I told her, "He's having a good time having something to do every day. Secretly I think it started as a way to get away from this little one, right here." I pointed to the baby and he made a gross bubbling sound causing us both to laugh.

Then she looked up to me seriously, and glanced over her shoulder, then back to me. She spoke in a quiet tone that I had to lean closer to fully hear. "A man came in today to drop of his dog, and—now don't get too upset, it was all handled really well, but Labramon did bite him."

"What?" I gasped loudly.

"I would have bitten him too if I still had all my teeth." She laughed again, she enjoyed poking fun at her age, but I didn't laugh with her this time. Why would he just up and bite someone? He's never been this way before.

"I'll talk to him." I told her. "Could you watch him for a few minutes?"

"Of course, dear!" She smiled at me.

I was rushing back through the hallway and out the back door where the dogs usually were. There were a few that were fighting in the back while some of the employees tried to break them up. My favourite dog, the one who lived here at the kennel was lying by the door. He was old and always looked depressed, but his tail was always wagging excitedly, even now, though he looked to be asleep.

"Kura!" Labramon shouted from somewhere behind me. I turned and found that he was rushing toward me, away from a very pretty looking poodle off by the tall wooden fence designed to keep the dogs in. He was nuzzling his nose into my leg soon enough and then he looked up to me, "Time to go already?"

"Mhm," I hummed, leaning down to talk to him. I whispered even though I knew no one could hear over the roaring wind and the barking dogs. "Why did you bite a man?"

"Oh that?" Labramon shrugged it off. "I'll tell you on the way home."

"I can't go home yet. I have therapy." I told him.

"Then on the way there." He decided. "C'mon, let's go." I obeyed, and followed him back into the building and into the lobby where I thanked the lady whose name I could never remember and took my baby back from her. I told her I'd see her tomorrow, and we were off.

Somehow it had gotten colder since I'd been out in the dog yard like thirty seconds ago, and I was forced to hold my baby tighter to keep him warm. He was sleeping so there was no way to tell if he was uncomfortable, so I'd just have to trust instinct. Speaking of instinct though...

"I just _knew_ he was bad." Labramon said boldly during his recounting of events, "And I knew I'd have to be the one to deal with him. I'm getting really good at the cash register so I knew I could do it. And everything was going fine until he refused to pay me full price. He refused to pay me. He demanded a discount for horrible service! I thought I was doing swell. And so I bit him."

"Just like that?" I gasped, honestly I'd hoped there had been a better reason.

"Mhm, yep." He said, shrugging—kind of. "You know how I get when I'm hungry. I was just mad at him is all."

The rest of the way to the office I was lecturing him about the dos and don'ts of biting people you don't know.

The don'ts are: Bite people you don't know.

The dos of course were nothing. There are no dos in the acts of biting people.

"Can I come in this time?" Labramon asked when we were finally in the office that smelled strongly of cleaning supplies. I nodded to him and let the front desk lady know I was here.

"He'll see you now." She said after picking up the phone and pretending to use it. As I was walking away I noticed her slather some hand sanitizer on her hands.

I stopped in front of the big wooden door and sighed. I really hated therapy. I didn't like the dim lighting in the building that made me want to sleep. I didn't like that it smelled like a hospital, I didn't like that I was expected to trust a man I didn't know when I could barely trust my best friends. I didn't like that the man through this door knew all sorts of tricks to make me sleepy and let my guard down. I always felt so violated when coming out of the room.

"Are you gonna... go in?" Labramon asked slowly. I didn't answer, just stared another moment at the door, and eventually pushed it open.

"Kurayami," Dr Chiryo said pleasantly with his airy, calming voice. His grey hair looked so professional, as always, his half circle glasses hung low on his nose as he looked up to me with his light brown eyes. He was wearing a sweater vest, as always, all of his clothes were warm, earthy tones. I knew why. It was relaxing. And it was annoying how well it worked. He was a short man I knew from having been here for nearly five years now, though he rarely stood from his place behind his wooden desk. "So nice to see you,"

"You as well." I said, smiling at him.

"You've brought company?" He asked, eyeing up Labramon. There was a sign that clearly stated that dogs were not allowed in the area as Dr Chiryo was allergic to dogs and thus disliked them, but as Labramon had no makings of an actual dog aside from appearance I was technically allowed to bring him inside. Then his eyes landed on my baby. "The whole family I see?"

"Aside from... you know, the baby's dad, yeah." I nodded.

"What's his name again?" Dr Chiryo asked softly.

"Daisuke,"

"I meant the child." Dr Chiryo said, his eyes wide and thoughtful as he examined my baby.

"Oh," I said softly, it always came to me as a surprise when people wanted to hear the baby's name. I rarely spoke it aloud, and even in my head it never came across. I'd spent nine months calling him 'the baby' that it just sort of stuck. Even though I knew his name—I knew he was named for Daisuke's mother, I loved his name, and I loved that it meant something. I forgot sometimes that it existed is all.

"Haruki." Labramon filled in for me.

Dr Chiryo nodded slowly, "Haruki." He repeated. "I'll have to remember that. Now please, sit down, we have much to discuss."

I nodded and sat down on the patient's couch, throwing my legs up and leaning back to relax before Dr Chiryo informed me how important it was to relax. Labramon flopped to the ground with a relaxed sigh and closed his eyes, ready to sleep through the session. I let my baby—Haruki. I let Haruki lie on his stomach, on my chest and he resumed sleep.

Dr Chiryo relished in silences that made my skin feel separated from the air around me. The silences that were filled with ruffling paper and slow steady breaths, the ones that somehow made me uncomfortable and willing to open up at the same time. And that's what was happening now. He finally closed a folder that was open on his desk and pulled one single sheet of paper from inside, laying it on top of the pile. He took his glasses of slowly, folded them and set them to the side, then looked up to me with his unusually coloured eyes. "As you know," He said, breaking the silence finally, and effectively letting his calming voice wash across the room. "I am doing the best I can with the circumstances in front of me. Your case is much more bizarre than any I have encountered to date. And as you also are aware I am sure, I have recently been out of town at an event in which I thought was suitable to bring your particular case up for discussion."

I sat up slightly, holding Haruki firmly. "Anonymously I should hope." I said stiffly.

Dr Chiryo chuckled softly, and nodded, "Naturally, my dear." He then took a sip of coffee, and I suddenly recognized the scent of the room. No wonder I was so relaxed. I hadn't been allowed coffee in such a long, long time. "Now, in this gathering of sorts, I was surrounded by some of the most coruscating minds in the country. Each of them had a fascinating series of comments that could easily be helpful in your situation and I find that if we prepare propitious conditions, we will finally see some results."

I nodded slowly, "Okay, well, yes, that makes sense." I said, and it did. It made a little too much sense. Wasn't that the point of therapy? Like, to see results and stuff?

"Of course," Dr Chiryo nodded, leaning forward in his chair, "There is one thing I would like to talk to you about, Kura. I have been holding it back for some time now, unsure if bringing it up would cause more damage and create a thicker barrier in your mind. There was a man I'd never met at the gathering and although he was filled with far too many antediluvian values, he has been quite successful in his time, and I am ready to try anything."

"So do it." I agreed.

"The concept is to be upfront and honest with the patient, who in this case is you."

I nodded, "I know. Just try anything."

Dr Chiryo nodded and closed his eyes lightly, breathing softly, "Murder." He said gingerly.

"Kay don't do that." I said quickly, my heart jumping sharply, "I'd rather live."

"You have misunderstood me." Dr Chiryo said, calming my mind and heart quickly. "I have thought for quite some time that there is a deep memory in your mind that involves murder."

I sat up, throwing my feet so they were planted firmly on the carpeted floor, holding Haruki in my arms. "You're losing me." I said quietly, "And not because I'm stupid. I don't mean you're confusing me, so don't go there. I mean that you're kind of ruining the calming effect you had going, and you're scaring me."

"I apologize," Dr Chiryo said, "It was not my intention. I mean only to explain my findings to you."

"You haven't found anything though." I said sharply.

"Kurayami, I'd like you to calm yourself." He said, keeping his cool. Of course he could keep his cool, he had no idea what he was getting into. I'd only told him so much of my past. He knew everything I knew about my mother, he knew that I'd fought for the worlds, and he knew what that had cost me. He knew my mother murdered my brother, but that wasn't what he was speaking of. He was speaking as if it was a new finding. What did he mean? Why was he saying this?

"I am calm." I said, as relaxed as I could manage to be. "What do you mean?"

"I mean there has been death in your past that has been so traumatic to you that it caused you to conceal your inner most feelings and memories." Dr Chiryo said.

I shook my head. "I think it was Fanglongmon brainwashing me. I think it was the darkness I've seen in my life. There are worse things than death, you know."

Dr Chiryo nodded, "I understand why you would think that, but I disagree. I firmly believe that there has been great trauma in your past involving the death of a loved one." I decided it best to not point out that my brother, my mother and my grandmother were all dead. I knew that there was death in my life. And soon there would be more. My grandfather was in the hospital even now as we were speaking, on his last threads of life. I was so glad he'd lived long enough to see Haruki. But even this, which was sure to be one of the hardest things to go through was in my conscious mind. I knew of all these things, and I had no other loved ones.

"Are you saying I saw someone kill someone?" I asked quietly.

"That," Dr Chiryo nodded, "or perhaps you... you may have taken part."

I stood up so quickly that Haruki woke up with a sharp hiccup. "How dare you," I said loudly, staring down at his unimpressed form. "How _dare_ you?" I couldn't form any other coherent sentences, and although I wasn't proud, I was spluttering word after word, none of them forming any real thoughts, then finally, I bit my lip and took a breath. "You're accusing me of murder. You realize that don't you? You've known me for nearly five years, and you calling me a monster hurts. I thought you cared about me, but you think I'm a person who would commit such a crime? I'd never _ever_ kill a person. I know that, and so I don't care what you think, but I thought you knew me better than that."

I was proud of that, and decided to leave while I was ahead, so I reached for the door, and pulled it open with more force than was necessary. "Come on Labramon, we're leaving." I turned to Dr Chiryo as Labramon scrambled to get through the door. "I'm not sure if I'll be back next week or not. So don't be surprised if I don't come back. My schedule is pretty booked, there are a few people out there that I don't particularly like. Maybe I'll murder them and wipe some more of my memory clean."

"Goodbye Miss Higorashi," Dr Chiryo said, ignoring my awesome little passive aggressive attack.

"It's Mrs Motomiya now." I said proudly, slamming the door behind me. I had possibly been a little too dramatic, and maybe I was setting a bad example for Haruki and Labramon, but hey, at least I didn't bite him.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **The Lone wolf takes his place in the spotlight for the first time.


	4. The Lone Wolf

**U/N: **It's fun to use the characters who we don't normally use, and in this story, with a lot of the romance plots finding their conclusion we felt it was right to focus more on friendships, and not all of them are friends solely within their group of Digidestined, so that was fun to play around with.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 1: Whispers**

**Chapter 4: The Lone Wolf **

_**Yamato Ishida:**_

It was weird to feel so completely empty.

Being sad was something I was used to, I was good at getting over that, because sadness was usually caused by another person tampering with the way your life has been playing out. But feeling like a failure was something I hadn't felt in a long, long time. I felt like I'd screwed up, like everything I'd been working for had suddenly broken. Like I rolled an enormous snowball all the way up a hill just to have some kid break it and push me back to the bottom.

And that sucked. Like a lot.

My career was the one thing I had built on my own. Being in the band was my goal, and even though I'd achieved my goal so long ago, I never thought it would sizzle out this way. There had to be a way to fix it. I had to turn my luck around.

I may not have been a person who relied on the opinions of others to feel good about myself, but I was also not going to let my success fade out like a loser. I was going to win this. I was going to get back to the top and then quit while I'm ahead. That way I leave on a high note and people could remember me without laughing at how my career died.

I shivered, bringing me out of my thoughts. My ears, nose and fingers were stinging from the dry cold air around me. The sun had just finished setting, and already the world looked like it would never create warmth again. The piles of snow that had mounted up over the winter were melting, but slowly, and they were in that horrible state Spring always brought along, with stains of mud, and bits of garbage everywhere. The ground was glistening with what little snow decided to melt, and I knew I'd have to find cover soon or the sidewalks would be coated in ice.

I dug my hands deeper into the pockets of my jacket and breathed out deeply, walking through the fog of my breath. Looking up at the road signs I realized that I'd subconsciously walked toward the concert hall that a great deal of our concerts took place in. We'd planned a rehearsal for tonight, but the guys called it off last minute, and who could blame them? So many of our devoted fans had disappeared, and we were basically looking out to a half empty stadium every night. Who cared if we sounded good if no one was going to hear us?

I'd noticed a decline a few years back, but I guess the sheer amount of fans who had ditched us hadn't become apparent until recently. For me at least. It was too far gone though, was there any way to come back from this big of a slump?

I just needed to write a new album! The fans loved new things!

I froze, figuratively, not so much mentally even though I knew that if I stood still long enough in the dim lights of the cheap streetlamps I would literally freeze. I stopped because I heard screaming and at first I swore it had been someone in danger, but slowly realized that no one should ever be in serious danger again. World Peace and all that jazz. Though I guess that mostly meant the great evils were dead, not that no crime could happen...

I was running toward the sound of the screaming, and found myself darting through a particularly sketchy alleyway that was covered in graffiti of all sorts. I avoided looking at any of it because it was mostly crude drawings or words that honestly weren't funny at all, and eventually I had emerged from the alleyway, standing just across the road from the concert hall.

I saw screaming girls and boys alike jumping up and down trying to get an autograph from whoever was standing in the large arching stone entryway. I realized once again that this was where Rei had initially become paralyzed. Every time someone asked me for an autograph at that spot I checked to be sure no stragglers were in danger...

My gut wrenched upon the sight of the crowd parting to reveal who was handing out autographs, because standing there amidst the fans were Akira, Takashi and Yutaka. The Teenage Wolves.

'The Teenage Liars' more like.

I stood there for a moment, my arms folded over my chest as I stared at them with narrowed eyes, but they were too caught up in the attention they were getting. I checked the streets to be safe, and stormed toward them with what I hoped was an angry expression. They'd told me they weren't going to be here, so unless they had a good explanation for lying to me—

"Alright!" Yutaka said loudly, calming the roar of the fans. "We are done signing autographs. We'll sign more after we're done here."

"As you know," Akira said, puffing his chest out and running his fingers through his dark hair, "we're all here on a secret mission to replace our lead singer." My hands fell from their firm place and my entire reprehending look fell apart. "We realize he's the cause of the issue, and we want to start anew, in a state of mind where he won't be plaguing us."

"You've got to be kidding me." I muttered, grasping at the chilled air for something—anything. What was I supposed to say? How was I going to break this up and reveal myself?

Takashi put his hand on Akira's shoulder and sighed. "Alright Akira," he said politely, "Let's relax for a minute and stop pointing blame." Akira's chest deflated and Takashi stepped forward. "We are looking for a new singer though. So if everyone could form an orderly line we'll get this show on the road. I already feel bad enough about this, I don't want Yamato to stumble upon us and get hurt."

"I may have stumbled upon this," I said, stepping forward, finding my moment to reveal myself. There were gasps and one scream as the people separated. "But I don't think I'm going to be the one getting hurt."

Akira crinkled his nose and stepped forward. "Are you going to fight us? I don't see Gabumon anywhere, so I think we can take you."

I shook my head, trying to keep my cool, hoping that they wouldn't hear the hammering of my heart that was beating because of both rage and pain. "I'm not going to fight you. But Teenage Wolves is my band. I'm the lead singer. I play the bass guitar. You can't just replace me. No one would come see a band with no bass."

"We'll be getting a bass too." Yutaka scoffed, flicking his long dirty blonde hair out of his face. "Duh."

I bit my tongue for a moment and thought about how to respond, "Whatever. We were supposed to be in this together. We were supposed to be a team. But I guess you guys never felt that way. You were in it for the fame. A few people stop showing up and you think the best way to bring them back is to replace me?"

Akira nodded, Takashi hung his head ashamed, and Yutaka rolled his eyes. "Look," Yutaka said boldly, "We didn't tell you about this because we figured it would come to this, but the people aren't coming _because_ of you. It's your fault. Have you not been in the chat rooms lately? Sorry slash not sorry. It's the truth. Get over it. Now I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but you're fired."

"You can't fire me." I said sharply, "Because I quit!" It was cliché, but as Takeru always said 'cliché's were cliché's for a reason.' Honestly I was acting irrationally but it no longer mattered if I was fired anyway. They were just stupid. They always had been. Except Takashi—he was nice—but he was still going through with this so now, he was a jerk. Did they ever think for a minute about what I was supposed to do now? Did they care?

I suppose if it really was me who was the problem, and they'd talked to me, I'd have left the band anyway. That's only fair to them... but since they didn't talk to me—I was really angry!

"Good," Akira said, "That saves us a lot of trouble."

"Yeah," Yutaka agreed, "We can still be called the Teenage Wolves now. I thought we'd have to change our name, but since you quit instead, it's ours for the taking and we can save a lot of money on advertising."

"Whatever." I said sharply. "I don't even care."

"You do though." Takashi said, his mouth bowing into a frown. His expression said he was sorry but I didn't care anymore. I shrugged and turned to walk the other way.

"Have fun being the Teenage Wolves without your mascot." I said over my shoulder before spinning around and walking backwards for effect, "You know? The wolf." And of course, that would have been a good place to end it. Unfortunately, it didn't end there, "And I'll start my own band! And I'll beat your band to the curb. I totally have musically gifted friends." I didn't.

"You do that." Yutaka smirked in a way that I dare say qualified as evil. Akira was ignoring me now, chatting up some giggling girls who certainly better not take my place in the band. And Takashi was already walking inside, his shoulders drooping.

And me? I fell.

Being the idiot that I was, I was walking backwards and I tripped over the sidewalk, and landed on a sheet of thin ice over the concrete. Yutaka began laughing like a lunatic and pointing at me to draw more attention to me. I shot him an uncharacteristically childish look and pulled myself to my feet using the freezing cold streetlamp to my left.

I balled my fists and crammed them back into my pockets and turned to leave.

Well that gets rid of that problem. There certainly was no need to worry about the success of the Teenage Wolves anymore if I was no longer part of the band.

And I didn't even care. I could be skipping through a meadow of flowers and not know the difference.

Yes I could. I was angry and sad, and betrayed, and so, so cold.

But I could get a new career. Like an astronaut. I had all the training done anyway. I guess I owed Taichi a great big thank you for setting up the coolest back up career ever. But I really wanted my old career... I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to what few fans I had left... and I'd be a horrible astronaut. I didn't want to go to space!

Also, what was I supposed to do right now? Gabumon was working with the knights with Agumon, and Taichi was always either busy or tired, so that meant I had no one to go to for support.

Could always go to either Hikari or Takeru, but both of them would just give me obnoxiously optimistic advice. Who did I know that would just listen to what I had to say, know me well enough to know what kind of response I was looking for, and just sit with me watching movies and drinking hot chocolate?

Well that was obvious. I was at her place within twenty minutes, staring at the door. I was the last one to come see her. That was okay, right? She wouldn't be mad?

I clenched my eyes shut and knocked on the door three times, hard and clear. There was at least a full minute of silence before I relaxed. I looked around the street to take in the neighborhood. It was nice. The streetlamps here were bright and tall, shiny and new. The snow had no noticeable litter in it, and every building looked so nice and new.

The door opened behind me and I turned around, my heart beating quickly.

"Hello?" It was an old lady, staring up at me with big round eyes. "Who are you?"

"I-is Sora here?" I asked slowly. She squinted her eyes in response, unsure of who I was referring to. Or what I said perhaps, she looked so old I would be surprised if she heard me. I cleared my throat ans poke louder. "Sora Takenouchi?"

The lady pursed her lips and looked past me to think, "Hmm..." She hummed, "No, no she's not here."

"Do you know... where she is?" I asked, trying to smile.

"Yes, yes I do." The lady smiled at me. I paused, waiting for the answer. "Well, goodnight."

"No!" I shouted, grabbing the door.

"HELP!" She screamed. "Intruder!"

"No!" I repeated, louder this time, stepping back and throwing my hands up. "I swear, I'm not!" She didn't seem to hear me. She was backing into the house, shrieking. "_Stop yelling_!" I hissed. "I'm not intruding!"

"You're not?"

"No." I said through gritted teeth. "Just please tell me where Sora is."

The lady squinted her eyes and looked off again, thinking once more. "Sora Takenouchi?" She asked.

"_Yes._" I said through gritted teeth. I was already angry enough at what had happened tonight I didn't need some crazy lady making that any worse than it had to be.

The woman looked to me and finally nodded, I guess deciding I was worth to let in on the secret. "She lives next door."

"Thank you so much." I sighed, "Have a nice night."

"You too, Cutie." She winked at me. My hand froze in mid air and I laughed nervously, my face heating up. I nodded awkwardly until the door was closed and I spun around, jumping down the four stone steps that lead to the lady's house. That had been possibly the weirdest experience I'd had while looking for Sora, and that was a surprisingly long list.

I walked up the stairs, hoping I had the right house this time and knocked on her wooden door. There was a response immediately this time. Movement from within, and a couple seconds later, the door opened, I smiled down at Biyomon who looked up to me with her big blue eyes.

"Hello!" She chirped excitedly, her voice breaking, "I haven't seen you in so long! I was beginning to wonder when you'd show up, oh my god, I missed you!" She hugged my legs, "I'm sure you missed me too—brrr! It's cold out there, come in, come in!" I obeyed, realizing I was never going to get a word in edgewise and slipped out of my boots, placing them by the door, and tightened my socks as Biyomon explained what she'd been up to all night. "Anyway, come in! Sora's in this way."

My chest fluttered at the thought of finally seeing her, and I let Biyomon lead me to her. It was through the entrance hall that was lit with a white light to match the white linoleum floor and off-white walls, and into the hard wood floors of the living room that looked exactly how I would have figured Sora's living room to look. Comfy beyond compare with perhaps too many pieces of furniture, a large television, a bookshelf, some mismatched lamps and a calming red wall. Next was the kitchen where the sink was full of dishes—muffin trays and cake pans mostly. Sora always did love her sweets. I saw on the wooden table a tray of cupcakes, so I grabbed one, realizing how hungry I was and followed Biyomon to the stairs were the wooden floors melted into carpet. Up the quick flight of steps, and straight down the hallway was a door that was hanging open.

A tall lamp was casting a warm glow across the room, over the human shaped stands where some of her work hung, looking as wonderful as ever. I heard her humming an indistinguishable song, but still couldn't see her. It wasn't until Biyomon had ushered me inside that I got a good look at the room. It was bigger than the living room in my own apartment, the ceiling was tall and the walls were far apart, but even though the room was so big there was so little room to move. There was fabric hanging off of every possible surface, there were boxes of beads and sequence piled up on the desk in the corner, and of course manikins cluttered the actual floor space, each of them covered in a thick white sheet to keep whatever was on them safe from any damage.

And sitting with her back to me, sewing very precisely, holding the bright orange fabric up to her face, was Sora. Her hair was tied back messily with elastic and a series of pins, she was wearing a comfortable looking yellow sweater and pink pajama pants. I couldn't help but smile.

"Biyomon?" Sora said, stopping her humming, "Who was at the door?"

"Just me," I smirked. She stopped sewing and my smirk erupted into a grin. "Did you miss me?"

She looked around quickly and set the fabric down on the buffet style table behind her, and jumped to her feet, throwing her arms around me. It was kind of awkward because of the limited space we had, and the table that was between us, but it was nice anyway, so I hugged her back.

"I did." She said finally, breathing softly. Finally she pulled away. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," I smirked.

"I miss Hideto." A voice from somewhere in the room caused me to scream. Biyomon entered the room laughing and Sora chuckled too. An orange dinosaur stepped into view and he was giggling excitedly too. "Sorry," he laughed, "I didn't mean to scare you!"

"You didn't scare me," I said embarrassed. "I just... didn't see you there. What _are_ you doing here?"

Sora looked to me excitedly, biting her lip. "I'll show you." She turned back and grabbed the bundles of orange fabric and she held it up. It looked like... a bundle of orange fabric.

"It's nice," I said slowly.

Sora laughed, she seemed to be in an ecstatic mood, and I'd like to have believed it was because I was there, but I knew she only hummed when she was unable to keep the upbeat music in her head any longer. She was already excited. Here beautiful brown eyes were filled to the brim with exhilaration, and her lip was quivering with anticipation. "It's going to be an Agumon sweater. I've been using Taichi's Agumon as a model for a few days, but he's working with the Knights tonight, and I have to have these done as soon as possible. My boss needs to see them a week before the fashion show."

Her happiness was flooding through the air and whatever I was angry about before kind of disappeared. "What fashion show?"

"Didn't anyone tell you?" Sora asked, shocked, "That's so like them." She waved it off, "Always keeping secrets from each other until we're forced to pass a fork around the table revealing all the secrets we'd kept from each other." I chuckled, remembering Kurayami's past tactics, and Sora, set her to-be-Agumon-sweater down, and explained to me all about this fashion show she was setting up. She was supposed to be in her year abroad, but she chose Japan as her destination because there were so many opportunities filing in for her, and she was already signed up for her first fashion show. "And so I decided that the best first fashion show—even though I already had one, but it wasn't official and it was invaded by Kiyoko, Sigma and Piedmon... so my first _official_ fashion show will be featuring clothes based off of digimon!"

"Didn't you do that last time too?" I asked.

Her face fell, and she pouted a little. Clearly that wasn't the reaction she was hoping for. "Yes, but no one saw them and they weren't as good. _I_ wasn't as good. But hey! I'll show you something. It's my favourite." She looked excitedly behind me and gently pushed me out of the way and gestured to one of the thick white sheets covering a manikin. "Ta-da!" She cheered. "No, I'm just kidding. Look!" She unpinned the sheet and let it fall away to reveal a knee-length dress that was made of feathers and looked realistically like fire.

"Woah." I said, unable to come up with a better word.

"That's what everyone says!" Sora laughed, "It's based off of—"

"Birdramon." I cut her off. "I can tell." That seemed to set her over the top and she was beaming like a child on Christmas Day. More than that. A child who had never experienced Christmas and was suddenly bombarded with years of build up happiness.

There was a faint knock on the door from downstairs, and Biyomon fluttered off to answer it. I was a little annoyed that my time with Sora was going to be interrupted, but in reality, I had forever to spend time with her, and until her fashion show was over I didn't want to upset her with any less than pleasant conversations. So I'd look for comfort elsewhere, but right now I wanted to spend time with Sora.

"Anyway," She said, moving back to her seat. "I really don't have time to talk right now, because I have to get this done."

"Are you kicking me out?" I asked bemused.

"No, you can hang out with Biyomon if you'd like." Sora offered.

_Really?_ I'd not seen her in over three years—not including my dad's wedding—and she didn't even want to talk to me? That was a perfect way to end my night. More disappointment.

I really needed to stop being so bitter.

"Hello Sora," A voice sounded through the hallway. "I'm here to claim my Digimon."

"Hideto!" Agumon beamed.

"You can't have him!" Sora shouted in return, "I need him for more modelling!"

"Here's an idea," Hideto said, poking his head through the door, "Take a picture?" His eyes found me and he grinned, "Oh hey there Mr Rockstar, how's life?"

I glared at him. Yutaka had mentioned something about the chat-rooms and how the fans were hating on me in their comments. If anyone would know about that it would be Hideto he was the biggest closet fan I had. And his cover was entirely blown by Neo three years ago—but Hideto was such a super-closet fan that he still pretended it was a secret.

Hideto pushed the door further open with his hips and Neo stepped inside after him. "Yamato!" Neo said, stifling laughter, "How's life?"

"I already asked that." Hideto said out of the corner of his mouth, "All I got in response was a passive aggressive glare."

"Well for Neo I can make it an obvious glare if he'd prefer?" I said, pretending I was joking. I wasn't. Not that I had anything against Neo anymore, I just wasn't in the mood for fun and games. I was having a horrible night.

"I don't know why I didn't think of a photograph before," Sora mumbled to herself, snapping a picture using an big, expensive looking black camera. There was a flash of light and she looked pleased, "Okay, Agumon can you turn around?"

"Warg!" Agumon shouted, "Call me Warg." But he obeyed anyway and turned around.

"Right, sorry." Sora apologized, taking another photograph.

"Why 'Warg'?" I asked.

Hideto, who was still leaning into the room to get a look at Sora and 'Warg', looked over to me through his dangling black hair and smiled, "We talked about it at the last meeting. Weren't you there?"

"No," I said simply.

"Oh, I didn't notice." Hideto lied, "Well he and Melga—that's my Gabumon, decided they were sick of being confused for your Gabumon and Taichi's Agumon, and named themselves."

"Which, again," Neo added, "Seems only fair. We don't call each other 'Boy-Human'. Agumon is a species, not a name. I should think into naming Dracomon."

Hideto pointed his finger to Neo and barked, "Hey!" shaking his finger and his head he said, "Don't steal my thing." Neo threw his hands up and silently agreed not to name his digimon.

Sora took a few more pictures of 'Warg' and set the camera down. "Thanks for your help." She told him with a smile. He nodded in response and hurried off to stand with Hideto. "How was your night?" Sora asked him. "Did you see that movie?"

"We were going to," Hideto said, "But Mimi came by the restaurant the other day, and before I kicked her out again she told me it was horrible. Something about slugs. Anyway, we were going to go eat dinner instead, but happened upon a secret auditioning ceremony." I looked away, my fists balling up again, and my stomach flipping painfully.

"I'm not familiar with that..." Sora said slowly.

"Neither were we!" Hideto explained gleefully, "What about you Yamato?" I knew he was only playing but it hurt more than anything else. So I didn't answer. "Well, anyway," Hideto said awkwardly to break the silence, "We auditioned to be the lead singer of this band. I don't know if you've heard of them, but they're called the 'Teenage Wolves'."

Sora looked to me, her face blank, aside from her slightly open mouth. Her eyebrows slowly pointed upwards in a worried sort of expression and she looked quickly back to Hideto, "What about Yamato?"

"Fired, so the story goes." Hideto said, glancing over to me to judge my response.

"I quit." I told them quietly.

"Told you," Neo said with a shrug. "So we auditioned anyway." I looked to them with glaring eyes once more.

Hideto caved quickly and threw his hands up in defense, "Just to check out the competition of course!"

"That's not what you said before you went on stage." Neo hissed, causing Hideto to elbow him sharply and smirk. It honestly made me infuriated to know they were joking about the crap I'd just gone through, but I couldn't blame anyone aside from myself apparently. Or so says Yutaka. "Besides, Hideto didn't really audition. He passed out."

"True story." Hideto laughed, "The stage fright is real." He nodded awkwardly then shrugged, "Neo sang like a cow who was being milked and giving birth at the same time." Neo took a turn elbowing his friend.

"I think I'm going to go," I decided, finally aware that I had that option. I couldn't take anymore of this, and I didn't have to.

As I was pushing between Hideto and Neo, they both put a hand on my shoulder to stop me, "Yamato wait," Hideto said.

"You're not really upset, are you?" Neo asked. I nodded slowly and they both laughed, which kind of made me want to punch them in the face.

"Don't be." Hideto said with a very serious expression that calmed my nerves and frustration somehow. "They can call themselves the teenage wolves all they want, but guess what? You're the star. You're the singer, the song writer and the bass player. The bass is the one thing the critics have never criticized—they love you. And not only that. You're the face of the band. Even people who don't like you know your name and your story. They know you all around the world whether they can understand what you're saying or not. The 'Teenage Wolves' are nothing without you. You can start an acoustic career and still place on the charts. So chill. Your life isn't over."

"I never said it was." I said, taking a step backwards.

"No, but your face did." Neo added.

"Thanks though..." I said quietly. "You think I should start an acoustic career?"

"With a bass guitar?" Hideto laughed, "No way. It was just a motivational speech. You'll need a band." I nodded and laughed with him.

"I'm sorry to hear that though." Sora spoke up. We all spun around to see her. "I'm sorry your career took such a crazy turn. I'm sure it will all work out though Yamato. You've always been really good at that." The look of confidence on her face filled me with life. I couldn't explain it but having Sora believe in me meant everything to me. And what Hideto had said didn't hurt either.

And although I was in for a rough time, I knew I'd be alright, staring into her eyes.

"Now everyone leave." Sora said flatly, "I'm busy."

I couldn't help but laugh as Neo lead the way for the four of us to leave.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Takari make their debut! And as a couple to boot!


	5. Horrible Bosses

**U/N: **I did purposely leave TK and Kari to be the last people seen on page(?) because I thought it was fitting. I don't know. They're... well they're Takari! It made sense for them to be last. Kari's the eighth child, and TK takes forever to digivolve. Whatever, they're here now :D

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 1: Whispers**

**Chapter 5: Horrible Bosses **

_**Hikari Yagami:**_

My alarm went off at six o'clock, and I sat bolt upright, a giant smile on my face. I quickly shut it off and threw my covers off of me. The first thing I did was look to my phone which was flashing brightly. I picked it up and saw I had a text message.

_Good luck today, you'll be great. See you tonight! Love you! –Takeru_

I grinned stupidly down at the phone and sighed, and decided it was time to go. I set my phone down before leaping out of bed. I strode toward the large glass door at the other end of the room and threw the thick purple curtains apart, letting the glow of the rising sun pour into the room. I could tell as I basked in the warmth of the glow that today was going to be a good one. The weather looked warmer than it had been recently, the sky was clear and there were two little birds sitting on the ledge of my balcony. I smiled at them and slid the balcony door open, stepping outside.

They hopped down the line, afraid of me, but they did not fly away. I was right, it_ was_ warmer. I spun around in my bare feet for a moment, my pink nightgown fanning out, and my braided hair spinning around. When I stopped my impromptu dancing, the braid landed over my right shoulder, and the birds began chirping, one of them daring to hop a little closer to me. I waved to her and sighed, leaning into my hands as my elbows rested on the railing. I stared toward the sunrise momentarily, unable to remove the smile from my face.

Today was going to be perfect.

"Hikari," Gatomon's voice cut into my daydreaming. "Can you please come back inside so I can shut the curtains?" I spun to see her rubbing her eyes with the backs of her paws. She was standing in the open doorway. "I just got to sleep."

I shrugged, smiling at her, "I keep telling you to stop staying up so late."

"I'm a cat," Gatomon said, ushering me inside. "That's what we do." She slid the door shut the moment I was inside, and I closed the curtains for her. "Nocturnal."

"I know," I said, patting her on the head. "I'm sorry for waking you." I said, walking straight for the pink shuttered closet doors. I threw them open excitedly and stared at the options I had. It took a moment for me to pick something, and I pulled out a nice dark blue blazer and a pink skirt. I spun to Gatomon who was curled up on my pillow, trying to sleep. "Is this too formal?"

She opened her eyes, squinting toward me, "Or not formal enough?" She said groggily, "Ditch the skirt."

"Hmm..." I turned back to the closet and put the skirt back where it belonged. A blazer? Was I that kind of person? I shook my head. I knew what I was going to wear. I put the blazer back and pulled out a white dress decorated with small pink flowers, and pulled a yellow cardigan out to match. That's the kind of person I was. Grabbing a quick pair of white shoes and a broach from the closet, I knew I had my outfit. Perhaps it was a little _too_ old lady. But I knew it would be perfect.

Just like today. Today would be perfect. Even though I was teaching grade four and not kindergarten like I wanted initially. It wasn't too far off considering most people never lived their dreams, and I was going to make the most of the opportunity presented before me.

I was heading toward the door of my room when I heard Gatomon shout after me. "Have a good day!" I stopped and turned to her smiling. "Thought I should say that before I fall asleep and miss my chance."

"Thank you," I said, "You too!" And then I was skipping down the hall, humming to myself.

After a quick shower and a blow dry of my hair I was ready for my day.

I made a bowl of granola for breakfast, to be healthy, and sat at the table to make sure I wouldn't spill on my dress. As I was finishing breakfast Natsuni entered the room, rubbing her eyes the way Gatomon had. After a quick yawn she waved to me. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt that was far too big for her. The collar left one shoulder uncovered and the shirt itself hung down halfway to her knees. She winced as she stepped to the cold linoleum floor of the kitchen. Every morning she made the same mistake. She didn't like cold feet in the morning.

"You're up early." Natsuni said, her voice thick and tired, as she braved her way across the kitchen.

"It's my first day of work!" I said, unable to hide my excitement.

"Already?" Natsuni asked shocked as she grabbed a bowl and a box of sugary cereal from the wooden cupboards above the counter. I nodded and smiled up at her. "And I see you're eating... oatmeal. You know you don't have to be a good role model until you _get_ to school."

"I know." I sighed, "I wanted to eat healthy thinking it would start my day better, but it's kind of gross." I pulled the sugar dish from the center of the table and added more, hoping it would help the taste.

After a while of that awkward morning silence in which we pretended to not be listening to each other eat, though really it was unavoidable, Natsuni spoke, "Are you nervous?"

I nodded, and without thought, added, "of course!"

Natsuni reached across the table and grabbed my hand, cupping it into her own. "You're going to do great." Natsuni said, with a look of complete seriousness in bright eyes. "Trust me." There was no objecting, she was far too sure and somehow seeing that actually made me believe it. I had been building up to this day for years. And finally it was my time to show that I could teach a class of rambunctious ten year olds! I could do that!

Natsuni and I talked for a while longer before Armadillomon had entered the kitchen, coming from the room at the end of the hall that he shared with Goblimon. "Do I smell toast?" He asked excitedly.

"I should hope not," Natsuni responded looking between our empty bowls. "But I can make you some if you'd like."

"I really would." Armadillomon beamed up at her.

I checked my phone for the time as Armadillomon climbed up onto his chair in eager anticipation for his breakfast. 8:15. I had time still. Natsuni was back with some toast on a porcelain plate for Armadillomon, and soon she was listing off all the possible things she could put on it for him and Armadillomon was practically bouncing with excitement. When he decided on peach jam Natsuni was the one bouncing. She was always so good with the digimon, and I was pretty sure it had to do with how excited she was to one day have a baby. She even tucked Armadillomon and Goblimon in every night. She used to try with Gatomon too, but one night I woke up and thought she was a burglar.

It didn't end well. I felt horrible...

"Do you want anything?" Natsuni asked me, "While I'm up?" Before I could answer my phone began ringing. I picked it up quickly and answered, holding a finger up politely to Natsuni.

"Hello, this is Hikari speaking." I said into my cell phone.

"Hey," came Jou's voice nervously, "How is your day going?"

"Great!" I smiled, "yours?"

"Less... great." He admitted.

"Oh no," I sighed, "I'm sorry to hear that. What's going on?"

"It's Emiko." He told me in a quiet voice. "We told her she was going to school last night and she was excited, but this morning when we told her what school really was... she... sort of freaked out, and she's not looking forward to going."

"Tell her that she'll love it when she gets there!" I said brightly.

"I tried that." Jou said impatiently as something crashed in the background.

"Put her on the phone." I decided. Jou mumbled something in agreement and soon there was a screaming child on the other end of the phone making sounds but no coherent words. "Emiko?" I said loudly to be heard over her screams. "Emiko! Listen to me! Emiko!"

"Huh?" She asked, "Who are you?"

"It's me! Hikari!" I said as positively as I possibly could. I needed her to feel comfortable. "I heard you're feeling upset about going to school?"

"I don't wanna go!" She yelled.

"Why not?" I asked, "What's so bad about school? You'll get to learn, and play and meet new people!"

"I don't like new people!" Emiko screamed. I pulled the phone away from my ear sharply, and groaned, she didn't seem like she was going to budge.

"I'm going to be there though," I told her, and her screaming stopped instantly. "It's my first day too. We can go through it together!"

"Aren't you too old?" Emiko asked quietly.

"I'm not a student, I'm a teacher," I told her, finally it seemed I was going to get through to her, "but it's my first day on the job. I'll be going through the same things you are. How about we meet up after school to compare our days? See who made the most friends and who had the most fun?"

"Okay!" Emiko shouted into the phone, and then there was another smash.

Soon Jou had picked up the phone and was apologizing for her behaviour and thanking me repeatedly until we both realized we had to go.

"Wait!" It was Iori rushing into the room, wearing plaid pyjama pants and a purple t shirt. "Is that Jou?" He asked, and when I nodded he took the phone from my hand, "Hey! Hi, yeah Iori, yes." And then he was walking down the hall talking to Jou about how he was going to be late for their meeting this week. I put my coat on while I waited and after a minute he was back. "Thanks," He said handing me the phone. I smiled and opened the door, "And good luck." He grinned at me.

"Thanks," I said, and then I was gone, out the door, walking away from my apartment and toward my first day on the job as a teacher. I knew nothing could possibly ruin a day like today.

Ten minutes later I was resting my head down on the steering wheel in frustration. I was going to be late and I was stuck in traffic. So much for getting there early. I tried listening to upbeat music to try to take away the feeling of dread that was spreading through my stomach and suddenly I knew that this would also be the last day of work for me. I'd never get another job and I'd be forced to live on the streets under some lame cardboard box and cry myself to sleep every night because of a crushed dream.

As it turns out, that wasn't entirely true. I _did_ get to the school on time, but I was very nearly late, and found myself running through the hallways to get to my classroom. I was trying to be as quiet as possible, but the soles of my shoes were clicking loudly against the beige tiles of the school. I was standing outside my classroom when the bell rang and I decided to use this to my advantage and strode into the classroom dramatically, walking behind all the desks as the children spoke loudly to one another.

The classroom looked exactly as I had left it the night before when I'd been there to prepare. My desk sat in the corner with everything I would need spread out neatly across the surface. Each desk was sparklingly clean and the blackboard read my name in colourful chalk with drawings of flowers doodled around it. Perhaps that was too much... none of the students really seemed to enjoy it much, and it stood out against the wooden walls and floor.

I shook my head. It was too late for that. This was it though. This was how I was going to make my first impression on my very first class, and as they always said, the first class is the one you remember the most.

I was ready for this though. My heart may have been beating a thousand miles a minute, and my hands were starting to sweat a little, but I could do this. I knew I could.

I cleared my throat and every single student froze, became silent, sat down and then spun around to look at me. I stood facing them, my arms behind my back.

"Hello, class," I said politely, "As you can see on the board, you may refer to me as Miss Yagami—" I froze. Upon saying my last name my voice squeaked so dramatically that even _I_ couldn't understand what I'd said. A few of the boys in the back corner snickered at me, but I ignored them, walking briskly across the floor to the front of the room. I spun around and pointed at the name on the board, "You get the point."

"Yeah," The boy with the spiked up blonde hair in the back corner said, his friends laughing behind him, "Miss Squeaky."

"That's not even funny," I said aloud before I could stop myself.

"I think it is." The boy said, "Miss Squeaky." I turned my back to him and rolled my eyes. Taking a deep breath and preparing myself.

"Look," I said, dropping my arms to my side. "This is my first day, let's make this a good one, okay?"

"I'll see what I can do." The boy said, smirking.

"Yay..." I said under my breath sarcastically.

That boy, Yuto was his name, was the kind of person that made people want to curl up in their room and cry. He was loud. Very loud. He made rude comments in the middle of everything I tried to say to the class as a whole, and a good percentage of the class seemed to not only enjoy was he was saying, but take that as an opportunity to speak amongst themselves. Yuto was also mean. He pulled the chair right out from underneath a girl who sat in front of him, and although I knew it was him, I hadn't actually seen him do anything so I had no proof, and his friends certainly wouldn't rat him out. He was also very good at aiming spitballs. Thankfully he was currently interested in hitting the globe in the window as often as he could to watch it spin with each new wad of paper. Unfortunately, I was aware that this would only last so long, and soon enough he would be hitting me instead. I was not looking forward to that at all.

"And," I said, having just remembered another subject we'd be running through. I'd spent the entire morning just talking to them all and getting to know them with little games, and letting them know what this year was going to be like. I learned when I was attending school in America that it was good to loosen the students up and make them feel comfortable. "We'll be doing a little bit of history, which isn't my favourite subject, but it's very important."

"No it ain't." Yuto scoffed, leaning back in his chair and popping a bubble of gum. I'd have to remember to ask if gum was allowed or not... "My dad says that history is for people too scared to look into the future. An excuse he says. An excuse to not look forward and face what's coming."

"I don't know," I said, "Even looking into the history of my own life I can find plenty events that you all could learn from!"

"Name one," Yuta dared.

"Do you all remember what happened three years ago?" I asked them, "When the white robots rained from the skies?" None of them answered, but the terrified looks on their faces told me that there was no way they'd be forgetting any time soon. "I was part of the team that took those down. Well, actually my friends Daisuke and Ken did that part. But my..." Was it okay to talk about my love life? I decided not to, "friend Takeru slew a digital dragon with a sword from an evil clown, and then the two of us rushed back to the fight and helped save the world with the powers of light and hope."

The class was entirely silent until, of course, Yuta spoke, "I don't believe you."

"It's true," I insisted, "I can show you my digivice if you'd like. Or bring Gatomon in one day for show and tell? I'm in the movie!" I sounded a little too persistent, what did it matter if they believed me or not? "I am. I'm in the movie." I finished lamely.

"It's true," A small voice came from the front row. A little girl had her hand in the air, "I remember seeing you. You were with an angel."

"That's Gatomon," I smiled at her, "She can digivolve to her highest form with the help of Takeru and Patamon."

"I don't understand most of what you're saying anymore." Yuta said. "But if you were with an angel digimon, then why did your friend kill a digimon?"

Wow. Okay, this was going to become a very serious life lesson very quickly. And on my first day too... I knew I had to handle this well. "Digimon are just like anything else. There are good digimon, and there are bad digimon. At first we tried to reason with the bad digimon, but when it came down to it there was no choice but to defeat them."

"So..." The quiet girl piped up, "You... killed someone?"

"Not me, Gatomon did." I explained nervously.

"Angels can kill?" Yuta asked.

"Only beings made of pure evil," I tried to explain.

"But you still killed someone?" Yuta asked, "You and your partner?"

"Dark beings, yes." I nodded firmly.

"I'm confused." Yuta admitted.

"Let's move on!" I said, clapping my hands together. I wasn't handling this as well as I thought I would handle it. The class insisted that I keep talking about the war, but I wanted to move on, and the debate lasted until the bell rang for lunch. I groaned and slumped into my chair as the kids all left the room as loudly as they possibly could, I swear.

I rested my head in my hands and clenched my eyes shut tight, letting the silence soak in. It only lasted a moment though because someone was at the door to the classroom.

"Knock knock!" I looked up and saw a familiar face holding up a basket. It was Noriko Kawada! Her hair was cut short again, but it was tidy and shiny this time. She was wearing a nice looking fuzzy sweater and a pair of tight black dress pants, "So the rumours are true! The new teacher _is_ you!"

"There were rumours?" I asked, tilting my head slightly.

Noriko stepped into the room and walked toward me, shaking her head, "No," She admitted, "I just wanted a memorable entrance." She grinned at me and set the basket on my desk, "I figured we could have lunch together to celebrate both of us making our dreams come true." It took me a moment, staring into her deep eyes to recall the memory of us standing side by side in the fight against MaloMyotismon, both of us admitting our dreams to become school teachers. "Of course, I did get the exact job you wanted, but you're not far off. Isn't that exciting?"

"It really is," I smiled at her, finally someone friendly seemed to be wanting my day to go the way I, myself, did. As I looked to her basket a horrible realization washed over me, "I've forgotten my lunch." I said blankly.

"No problem." She said, "We can share. I always make more than enough anyway just to be safe." I wanted to tell her that I'd done the same thing. I was prepared too. I made everything last night and put it into a new lunch box that Takeru had gotten for me, I'd just forgotten it in the refrigerator! But it really didn't matter. Soon enough we were eating Noriko's lunch. The bread was dry and the meat was tasteless, but she didn't mind. Her fiancé had made it for her, and even though he was so bad at cooking and preparing food she always let him do it for her because it made him happy to help her out.

They seemed really in love. She showed me a ton of pictures of him on her phone and she had hundreds of stories about him, and she kept sidetracking herself mid story to tell me another. I didn't mind though, she was happy and feeding off of someone else's excitement was always nice.

"Hikari!"

I turned to the doorway to see one more familiar face. It was Emiko! She was rushing toward me, her pigtails bouncing with her child-like run. She jumped up onto the stand my desk was sitting on and she hugged me awkwardly through the chair's arms. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"You have?" I asked in an excited voice, "Well, you found me!"

"You know Emiko?" Noriko asked, "She's in my class." Suddenly her face lit up, "Kido! This must be Jou's daughter!"

I smiled at Noriko, "It is!" then I turned back to Emiko.

"There's this boy in my class who stalks me I think." Emiko said, looking over her shoulder to be sure no one had followed her. "And my teacher is a bully."

"Emiko!" I gasped, "She's right here!"

"Yup." Emiko said, "That's her. That's the one." Noriko nearly spit out her apple juice in laughter, but she composed herself quickly. Emiko pursed her lips and shook her head the way Momoe always did when she reprimanded her. "My teacher told me I had to clean up everything."

"Did you make the mess?" I asked slowly.

"Uh, I don't remember?" Emiko tried.

I laughed patted her hand comfortingly. "You have to clean up your messes. If you make them it's your job to clean them up. Everyone has to."

Emiko was shaking her head again. "No, no one else had to clean up." I decided to not fight that, because I knew how stubborn Emiko could be. "Did you make any friends?"

"I think I may have," I said, looking up to Noriko.

"Her?" Emiko asked, one side of her mouth raised in disgust. "Well I didn't make any friends, but my invisible ones are better than that bully. I think I win."

"The day isn't over yet," I told her, raising one eyebrow in a way that I knew would let her know it wasn't nice to keep calling Noriko a bully.

Emiko clenched her fists excitedly. "You're right!" She cheered, "I'll go make two friends so I'm ahead of you!" And then she was running toward the door. As she was leaving the principal made his way through the door and Emiko immediately began walking instead. As she passed she shouted a warning, "Don't be her friend!"

The principal looked down the hallway after her with a bemused smile and made his way toward Noriko and myself. "Hello Noriko," He said politely. Noriko nodded in response as her mouth was full of a large bite of roast beef. "Miss Yagami," He said to me, bowing kindly.

"Please," I said, shaking my head, "Call me Hikari."

"Of course," He said smiling, "and you may call me Kota. I just came to inquire how your first day has been going?"

I hesitated for just a moment and then decided to answer simply, "Great!"

He beamed, "Good to hear."

"There was one little issue," I said crinkling my nose, "I sort of had a difficult time explaining the concept of good and bad to the kids when it came to people and digimon." Kota's face fell instantly and he pursed his lips in an almost disapproving sort of way. Noriko's eyes widened and she shook her head from behind him.

"Perhaps I failed to mention," Kota said powerfully. "We try to avoid speaking of digimon at this school. It is far too controversial. Much like religion, we find it best to avoid the topic altogether to prevent any uprisings, or debates."

"Oh." I said quietly, as Kota's chest continued to inflate. If he was trying to seem menacing it was definitely working. "Isn't... isn't that racist?"

Kota laughed and shook his head, his chest deflating back to normal size, "Ah, Miss Yagami, a digital creature is not a race." He then turned to leave and Noriko was sighing.

"Of course." I said sarcastically. "Well, have a good day Kota."

He stopped and turned to face me, "Perhaps it is best we keep on a professional level. I think you should call me Professor Ikeda." And that was all he said. His expensive looking black shoes were clicking all the way down the hallway, and then finally I let out the breath I hadn't even realized I was holding in.

"Professor?" Noriko asked with a laugh, "Please. He's no more qualified as a professor than Emiko is. I swear he got his degree online."

I tried to laugh politely, but was unable to. "Don't you find it horrible the way they treat the subject of digimon?"

"Oh, of course." Noriko said, "but I can't fight it. I really need this job. I have a wedding to save up for." And then she was off on a rant about her wedding, but I could hardly listen. I was thinking about digimon and how I was going to manage to pretend they didn't exist for six hours a day. When the kids came back to the classroom they were still going to ask questions about them, how was I supposed to handle those questions now that I knew I wasn't allowed to even speak of them?

This was certainly not the best first day I had planned...

_**Takeru Takaishi:**_

"I asked for an ice latte." Sneered the voice of my newest customer. Her lips were pursed and she was crossing her arms impatiently. Behind her was a large line up of customers, each of them with a solemn expression as they waited for their orders to be taken.

The place was a very warm environment, with the walls made of wood and the seats a deep burnt umber colour. There were three electric fire places in the seating areas, each surrounded by people who were apparently too cold to sit elsewhere, even though the sun was shining and the air was finally clearing up and becoming more like spring.

I however was trying desperately to keep my drooping eyelids open as I dealt with the series of mean people that flowed through here on a daily basis. "Look," I told the girl in front of me, "I can only say this so many times. The machine is broken. I can't make you something with a broken machine."

"Whatever." She said, her voice snappish. "Don't expect me to come back here ever again. You've lost yourself a valued customer."

I apologized, but she responded only with a rude hand gesture and by slamming the side door on the way out. I didn't know how valued of a customer she really was, but I'd never seen her here myself, and I'd been working there almost a year. Either way, I knew I was in trouble because Ai, my boss looked up at me with a stern shake of his head. He was basically the embodiment of mean. Not that he didn't have good qualities, but if you were to picture a mean person, it would be him. There was no other way to describe it. He wasn't grossly muscular, but he filled out his shirt enough to instill fear into pretty much everyone he talked to—but it wasn't his build that really did it. It was his face. His eyebrows were thin and angular, his eyes were always squinted into a glare, and his hair was spiked in such a jagged way, there was simply no way to take him any other way than mean.

He was wearing the same uniform I, myself, was wearing. A short sleeved light blue button down shirt, with the sleeves rolled once to make them slightly shorter. A pair of tight black pants and a white apron. We both looked dumb, but apparently he liked it, and even though he looked like a member of a boy-band he still managed to express the fact that he liked to squash bugs on the sidewalk in his spare time just by standing there.

Thankfully Ai turned away from me without saying anything for now, but it wouldn't have been the first time he yelled at me in front of a customer. I wasn't necessarily the best at my job because I spent most of my time thinking of things I'd gone through and deciding which ones were most important for my overall development as a character in my books. I sort of zoned out sometimes. Especially since Ai had assigned me twelve hour daily shifts beginning at five in the morning. I was just really tired all the time.

But I needed the money especially now that Kurayami no longer had her job. Haruki was another thing to think about though, and this time it was a serious real life issue. Babies. Not that I was ready for a child, but everyone else seemed to be gearing up and getting ready to have them. Did that mean everyone was finally becoming an adult? And by that logic, that meant that Kurayami and Daisuke would now either move out of our apartment soon, or ask me to do so. But there was no way I could afford an apartment by myself!

"Dude?" A man said, shaking his hand in front of my face.

I shook my head to wake myself up and apologized for not having heard him.

"It's cool." The man said stiffly, "Listen, I'd like a bagel, just toast it and butter it. That's fine. And a coffee." I moved quickly, getting his order ready and handed it to him at last.

With one look down he sighed, "This is tea."

"What?" I gasped, and upon seeing he was right I groaned. How many times in one day could I make a mistake that seemed completely unbelievable? Honestly. They weren't even made the same way! "I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's fine." The man said in the same stiff voice, though the look on his face said that it was not fine at all. He turned and left.

"Have a good day!" I called after him, hanging my head in shame.

"Can I talk to you when the lunch rush is over?" Ai asked me, sneaking up behind me.

"Yeah, of course." I nodded nervously, trying to flash a smile at him.

The lunch rush was horrible. I was yelled at numerous times, and I actually dropped a scolding hot coffee on some teenage girl who tried to pretend it was okay as her boyfriend yelled at me for being a 'clumsy idiot' which I told him wasn't a very creative insult, and he responded by coming up with many more creative ones that I'd never want to repeat.

After the hour was up I was feeling worse about myself than I had in a long time. It wasn't easy making coffee—which seemed like an easy thing to do, which was actually why I'd gotten the job in the first place, but for some reason I just couldn't do anything right, ever.

Ai was finishing up with cleaning the display case for the baked goods and looked toward me, eyeing me up. Thankfully another customer entered and I knew I'd have a chance to put off whatever it was he was doing.

The girl looked up, made eye contact with me and froze, then pretended to forget something and left. Was I really that memorable and horrible at serving people? I looked to Ai who had his normal mean looking face on as he walked toward me.

He stopped in front of me and threw the rag he was using over his shoulder, and stood, his arms folded over his chest. Somehow, even being the same height as me he managed to _feel_ like he was twelve feet tall. "Takeru," he said in a tone of immense disapproval. "How well do you think you're doing here?"

"I—"

He put a hand up to cut me off, "I don't want to hear excuses. I'll answer if for you. Not well. You're not doing well. I've never seen you do something right."

"I got a few orders right." I said quietly, shrinking under the look he was giving me. So I wasn't great with pressure, but everyone had flaws.

Ai's nostrils flared and his lips tightened, "I don't even believe you." He said loudly, "I don't believe that you're competent enough to do that. I hired you because you seemed like you had common sense, but you don't. You're not intelligent, you're not coordinated and you're not useful." He was breathing in short rash breathes now, and honestly I felt like crap. I was _trying_. Really I was, but I was tired and felt sick every morning from waking up prematurely, and then every time a customer said something wrong it felt like a knife stabbing into my self esteem, as they cut a piece off as if it were the bonus toy to go with their meal. As they day would go on, I would feel worse and worse about myself and my service would plummet parallel to the way I felt about myself. "I'm not even sorry to say this, but after today is over you're fired."

Suddenly the air had shot from my lungs, and I shook my head quickly, "You really can't do that!" I insisted. "Please don't! I have to pay rent—if I don't have a job how am I supposed to do that?"

"Figure it out," Ai said, "You've been my problem for far too long, and it's time you started figuring things out on your own. I bet you're the kind of person who relies on others to do things for you! The kind of person who sits around all day and has his mommy bring him lemonade, and a sandwich with the crusts cut off." I twisted my face into a 'what the hell is wrong with you?' kind of way, but he didn't let me speak, "I don't care what you have to say. Your excuses will only give me more fuel to be angry about. All year you've been useless, and I don't believe you've ever had to do a single thing in your entire life. You're spoiled and selfish and ignorant."

"You don't know anything about me," I tried, angry.

"I don't have to. I just know." Ai said, "I know you well enough to know that you're not a good guy. You're the kind of person that people hang around just to be nice, but secretly wish you'd go away."

I knew it wasn't true. Well I tried to know, but as it stood, it was fairly easy to believe at this point. After the day I'd been having, I was pretty much willing to believe anything. And besides, it wasn't totally untrue. I screwed up an awful lot.

"_Takeru, please tell me what I'm seeing isn't true." Yamato had asked me. But there was nothing I could say. I was sitting on the floor of his bedroom with his black, shiny guitar broken in half over my legs._

"_I didn't mean to!" I tried, but there was no way to excuse this._

"_I told you not to touch it!" Yamato shouted, "You never listen! Just... just go away." I tried to explain that it had been an accident, but he didn't care, and I had to leave._

I had only been twelve years old then. It _was_ a mistake, but how many mistakes could a person make before they learned their lesson?

I accidentally stood Hikari up last May when we were going to the theater—I'd fallen asleep since I'd just finished my first week of my new job that I was now losing. She was upset, but said it was okay. I told Sora about Taichi flirting with Catherine when we were in Paris—and that was okay, because it all ended up alright, but he was sure angry at me for a while. I forgot to pay the television people last month and Daisuke was pretty upset that we had to go a week without tv...

How many times could one person do wrong?

Maybe this was one of those times when you're reminded of things you do wrong and they all come back at once and you feel like you suck, but only because you can't think of the good you've done. Either way, I was officially sad.

"I know that's how I feel." Ai continued, his tongue between his teeth as he tried to keep his anger on hold. "I've been wishing you'd go away for a long time. Finally I have the justification to make that happen. It's been nice knowing you. I'm just so done."

I swallowed the lump that was forming in my throat as he walked off, leaving me alone at the front desk. My heart was pounding for a multitude of different reasons, and my head was spinning, and felt really light. I sighed and relaxed my head into my hands, my entire body collapsing, feeling weaker than ever. I couldn't wait until the new girl got back so she could cover for me to take my break.

I certainly needed it right then.

"Takeru?"

Slowly I lifted my head and looked up at Fumiko, who was standing at the counter, wearing a green dress, her facial expression showing deep concern. Oh crap. She was probably there for that whole thing... "Takeru, dear," She said, reaching out and placing her hand on my shoulder. "You're so pale. You really should eat something."

"I can't eat the food on the job." I groaned.

"He can't fire you now, can he?" Fumiko asked, trying to cheer me up. It wasn't working. She came in every day and ordered the same thing, leaving a large tip behind, and always making me smile. She was basically the saving grace of my day—every single day. I was always fairly certain she was only doing it because she felt relieved that I accepted her easily as a step-mom. Yamato didn't do that, and he made it clear he had only two parents, which was fairly immature in my opinion. Especially for someone who had always been so old for his age. Iori was even less subtle about not accepting us as his brothers though. He was friendly to us both still, but didn't want any brothers, and I thought it might be to do with Dad replacing Hiroki—Iori's father. I couldn't be sure though, Iori certainly didn't want to talk about it.

I glanced toward the baked goods, and for a moment was tempted to take one upon Fumiko's insistence, but I shook my head and collapsed back onto the counter. "That's true, but I don't want to be yelled at again."

"I'm so sorry, Takeru." She said softly, "I didn't mean to overhear..."

"He was too loud." I groaned, "I understand."

Fumiko was silent for a moment. "What about getting your frustration out? You can rant at me if you'd like?"

"I can't do that." I said, standing up. "I'm not upset with you." She looked upset and seemed to have nothing else to say.

"Do you want a coffee?" I asked her with a smirk, "I'll be sure to screw up the order for you, if you'd like."

She smiled and nodded, "See? There's the optimistic Takeru I remember!" She waited patiently for me to make her a coffee—that I was pretty sure was actually the right order. While my back was turned I heard the door open again and hoped it was my co-worker whose name I did not know, and would never have to know. However, upon turning back to Fumiko I saw that I was wrong.

The man standing in line behind Fumiko was enormous in every sense of the word. He was at _least_ a foot taller than I was, his shoulders were twice as wide as mine if not more, and his muscles looked like a bizarre rock formation. He was wearing deep green cargo pants and tall black combat boots. His hair was cropped so short I could see the deeply tanned skin underneath. His eyebrows were thick and bushy, dark, like his hair and eyes that were thin and cold. He had a scar that ran from his cheek all the way down his neck that was a noticeably different colour than his skin, and was somehow easily seen even through the short hair that covered the greater portion of his lower face.

I did not know who this man was, or what he wanted, but quite honestly, I _hated_ him.

I'd never really hated anyone before. I didn't even hate Ai, and he sucked! It was weird though. Maybe it was because I'd been around so many bad digimon before and I'd sort of picked up some sort of aura sensing abilities—I couldn't be sure, but there was something so negative and horrible about this man that I was entirely unable to ignore.

Fumiko hadn't even looked back and she looked nervous as well. She definitely sensed the same thing. Slowly I handed her the coffee I'd made for her and she paid before quickly side stepping and getting out of the man's way.

"Hello," I tried to smile up at him, but I was pretty sure my face just looked like I had gas or something because the man looked at me in disgust. "Welcome! What I can I get for you today?" I handled that pretty well considering my knees were ready to shake in fear. I'd never been this scared of a human before. The feeling he was giving me could only be compared to when Hikari and I were trapped in Taichi's house while Arkadimon was attacking us. Right before we confessed our feelings for one another.

"Just a black coffee is fine." The man said with a gravelly voice. I nodded and was quick to get to work, being sure to get his coffee perfect. It was simple because it was black, but sometimes people liked sugar in their black coffee—I didn't know what he wanted! What if he got upset?

I decided to go simply, and handed him the coffee, "If you want anything else, just let me know," I added for good measure. He nodded and paid me before reaching around the metal fence that kept the customers from the machinery and he grabbed a plastic spoon, dropping it into his coffee.

He stood still momentarily as he spun the spoon around lazily with one of his thick dirty looking fingers. "Nice day." He said flatly.

"Yeah," I agreed politely, "It's been getting warmer out there." I pointed out, trying to make conversation but with a sideways glance to Fumiko I knew she was feeling just as awkward as I was. The man merely grunted in response. He then turned and moved to a black armchair that was facing out toward the street.

"I'd better get going." Fumiko said politely, "Meiyomon's been asking for some cookies, and I promised him I'd bring him some back."

"I sell cookies." I said in a lame, desperate attempt to get her to stay until the man left.

"The cookies here are horrible." She laughed kindly.

I laughed with her, "That's entirely true." I said, "Well, bye! See you later Fumiko." She smiled and backed out of view from the man and made a face at him that had me stifling my laughter. Then she was gone. The moment the door clicked shut the elation in the air that she brought with her seemed to vanish and I was immediately returned to my weakened state of shock that Ai had left me in. And it didn't help that Ai had just returned to the floor. He looked to me with a sneer and started cleaning again, never taking his eyes away from me.

I ignored him to the best of my ability and looked out the window where Fumiko was trying to cross the street to no success, until finally there was a flash of pink light and Meiyomon appeared outside. I rolled my eyes. He wasted no opportunity to use any of his powers, and since he was not usually permitted to explode things, he found that the data streams were far more accepted. The enormous and dangerous looking man was staring out the window directly toward Fumiko and Meiyomon. He shifted himself in his seat and sat up straight momentarily before Meiyomon spun around in the street and vanished with Fumiko just before a car zoomed past, nearly hitting them.

The man in the chair laughed, and I realized my hands were clenched tight around the edges of the countertop. I released it and the colour returned to my knuckles. I relaxed and leaned back a little and I heard Ai off to the side scoff and when I looked he was rolling his eyes at me which was entirely rude because I hadn't done anything wrong this time.

The man in the chair turned to look at me, placing his coffee on the arm of the chair without letting go. While looking up to me, his eyes widened and I saw how dark they really were. "You seem like a bright young man." He said, his mouth hardly moving at all, slurring his words.

My eyes narrowed as I remembered Ai's earlier rants. "I'd like to think so."

"If you'd like an intelligent man to speak to, I'd try to avoid this one," Ai said, stepping around and using his hip to push me aside. "I'd be happy to help." The man in the chair raised his eyebrows but said nothing, and seemed amused at Ai's insult rather than anything.

The large man nodded and said, "How do you feel about the new inhabitants of the world?"

"You mean babies?" Ai asked, "I love em! Who doesn't love babies." I thought about telling him that the man clearly had to be referring to digimon, but if I was wrong again I didn't want to face Ai's wrath.

"No." The man said firmly in return. "I mean the creatures. What do you think of the digimon?"

I _was_ right.

Ai's shoulders bounced as he realized his mistake, "Ah, yes, I think they're kind of annoying to be honest. All of them have squeaky voices or speak in some bizarre accent that I can't even understand, plus they're taking up more room. We humans barely had room here, and now the digmion are taking up what little space we did have."

"That's not true," I said softly, "I know a lot of digimon, they don't all have annoying voices, and they're the ones who saved this world." Ai looked to me as if daring me to say another word, but the man seemed interested at least.

"You saw that documentary?" He asked me. "The one where the digimon fought against that Yggdrasil fellow?"

"You could say that, yeah." I nodded.

"And you honestly believe the digimon have any right to be here on Earth?" He asked me, "The monsters caused a great deal of the mess if you hadn't noticed, and according to the girl in the end of the film the digimon have been in and out of this world for centuries, but have been tampering with our memories. Such horrible actions would not go unpunished if it were a human in question."

I knew he was talking about what information Katsue had added to the end of her documentary, as we'd all taken a part in helping her write it out so we could get the exact message we wanted across to the nation. But he was twisting what she said into something bad—but that wasn't the case. The digimon were the reason the world was still alive. With a little help from us humans. I mean I slew a dragon—Koushiro saved the air flow, and in the end we all used the powers of our hearts to dethrone Yggdrasil and promote Norn to the Queen of all nine worlds.

"I think you're wrong," I said simply. "A long time ago the humans used the digimon as slaves, and when one showed compassion the humans banished them from this world. Since that day the digimon have been in a constant fight to save their own world, and the one they were born from. They've been saving this world repeatedly. They're the good guys."

"You certainly have read up on your history," The man said, impressed, "But did you know that digimon are also the cause of most, if not all of the so-called 'natural disasters' around the world? They're the reason the government is currently at a loss of what to do with our funding, and they're the reason families are turning against one another?"

I balled my fists and was getting pretty annoyed with this guy. He was the most biased person ever, and he caught me in a really bad mood too. I stayed as calm as I could when I responded, "Of course the digimon cause issues. They're very powerful, but humans cause issues too. The world wars were certainly not caused by digimon. They were caused by power hungry humans too caught up in their own greed to realize what they'd been doing wrong."

"Takeru," Ai warned with a hiss as he squeezed my shoulder painfully.

"Craving power is natural." The man in front of us said, turning himself to be more comfortable in the conversation, "A digimon is not."

"Digimon were born of this world just as humans were." I said sharply in return.

"I think it's time you go do that thing over there." Ai said quickly, pushing me to send me away, but his hands were squeezing my arms and it hurt, so I swatted his hands to get him to release me, and then he was reaching for my wrist.

"Let him speak." The man said in a commanding voice that caused both Ai and I to freeze. "You call me biased, when you know very little of the past. You say humans are the enemy when you have no idea what the digimon have done to this world and any other."

"I do know," I said flatly, stepping in front of Ai. "I've been heavily involved with the digimon since I was eight years old. I grew up in both worlds, and I know enough to know that you're wrong." Even though I was speaking through gritted teeth I knew that this was too far, and I'd not be able to stop myself from letting my anger out.

The man was standing now, and for some reason I wasn't even afraid. I knew he wouldn't hurt me here, not in such a public space. But he sure was bigger than I remembered. "Me? I am not the one who is wrong."

"You know what," I said, throwing my hands up, "Maybe I am wrong, maybe the digimon are bad, but at least I give them an equal chance that I give every human. Every being that I meet gets the chance to prove to me where their morals and loyalty lies. The digimon for the most part prove to be wonderful people, and those who decide they don't like the humans and try to kill us digidestined? Yeah, we kill them. We don't let racists live in the Digital World."

"Takeru, calm down," Ai said, his voice more feeble and shaky than it had been. "The customer is always right."

"The customer_ is _always right." I agreed loudly, turning on Ai, "You're correct there Mr Genius! That is most usually the case. Except right now, in which we are confronted with a customer who just so happens to be a racist bigot who stands there using his size to inflict fear into those who argue against him. No wonder he's so biased and one sided! No one has ever told him he's wrong before." I turned back to him to see his face turning red with anger as a thick vein popped out across his forehead. "But guess what Mr? I'm not afraid of you. And here I am, telling you right now, ready to tell you the truth. You. Are. Wrong."

"_Takeru!_" Ai screamed, "Get out. You're done. Leave. Now."

"With pleasure." I announced loudly, untying my apron and shoving it into Ai's arms. "I have to get home and cook supper for my best friend anyway." I stormed around the counter and straight past the now very angry man. I stopped when I was over by the door and turned around, "Did I ever tell you about him?" Ai was still pointing at the door, his face even redder than the other man's. "I really should have. You'd have liked him. He's small, orange—he can fly—and hey! He's a digimon." And with that, I could see I'd gone over the top to anger both of them. Even from the other side of the room I could see every muscle in the large man's body tense up as he stared toward me, his tight lips curled into disgust. And Ai had thrown his hands up in the air in frustration. "Have a good life." I said sharply before turning and walking right out the door.

I thought about calling Meiyomon to get an easier ride home and a more dramatic exit, but I needed the walk anyway, it would help me wind down before I got home.

As it turned out however, the walk home did not help me feel any more relaxed. In fact I was feeling exponentially more annoyed. I'd had just enough time to run through everything that had been said, and I thought of a ton of better comebacks I could have used, I thought of how I could have dealt with it better, and most notably, I had had just enough time to make everything the man had said seem even worse than it had. I always seemed to do that. I'd remember everything that had gone on, and take each sentence individually and tear it apart until I could figure out the motives behind it and why it was horrid.

"Takeru?" It was Veemon, sitting at the dining table with Labramon and Patamon. I had just stormed into the door and slammed it shut. "I didn't know you'd be home so early or I'd have made an extra sandwich."

"It's okay." I said, my voice sounding much more calm than I felt.

Patamon looked to me, nervous, "Are you alright?"

"Fine." I said sharply, striding toward them and pulling the chair out. I ran through everything that had happened and was not entirely sure what parts to tell them all so I finally settled on telling them the simple truth, "I got fired."

"What?" They all gasped.

"What happened?" Veemon asked.

"You're going to be okay!" Labramon insisted.

"What did you do?" Patamon asked, almost unimpressed, but still somehow supportive.

I simply shook my head and sighed, "I'm hungry." I sighed, slamming my head down on the table.

"You can have my food?" Patamon offered, sliding it toward me.

I groaned, and shook my head, "No, you eat that. Thanks though." I then reached for my phone and pulled it out, checking the time. It was just after three, and I had a text message.

_Worst first day ever, I swear. Can we meet earlier? –Hikari_

I didn't even think while responding.

_Worst last day ever for me. I'll be at your house in ten minutes. –Takeru_

I stood up quickly and pushed the chair back attracting the attention of all three digimon. "I'll be home later tonight." I said simply. Patamon flew from his seat and into my arms to hug me, and I hugged him back, neither of us said anything and then he fluttered back to his seat. I nodded, breathing loudly in the silence and then turned back to the door, grabbing my jacket from the coat rack. I thought about changing from my uniform, but it was normal-ish clothing, and that would have to do for now. I didn't have enough energy to change. I needed food.

I was at Hikari's apartment soon enough as the building was just on the other end of the block from the place Daisuke, Kurayami and I resided, and then I was pressing the annoying little buzzer button, waiting for her to respond. When a response finally did come it was Goblimon, and he agreed to buzz me in, and the door unlatched, so I was inside, walking quicker than I normally would have toward the elevator. I rode it straight to the eighth floor and stormed down to apartment 811, and began knocking on the door.

Again, it was Goblimon who assisted me, and he pulled the door open.

"Hey," I said, "Is Hikari here?" I asked.

"In her room." Goblimon grunted, gesturing down toward Hikari's room. I patted his arm and thanked him, kicking my shoes off and heading down the hallway to her room—the door with the polka dots painted onto it.

I knocked and pushed it gently open. "We have company!" Gatomon's voice sang out as I stepped inside. Hikari was sitting on her bed, brushing her hair roughly. She was wearing a dress I'd bought her, which at least made me a little happier.

"Hey!" She smiled, making eye contact through the mirror, "I guess you got my text?" She asked, letting go of the brush which stayed tangled in her hair. She pulled up her phone and read my message over, as I examined her hair which appeared to have gum stuck in the strands.

"Oh my gosh!" She gasped, spinning around, "What happened?"

"Fired," I told her with a shrug. "I'm apparently incompetent, unintelligent and prone to anger."

"You're certainly none of those things!" She said, jumping to her feet and hugging me, accidentally hitting me in the face with the hair brush. "Oh! Sorry!"

"Let me help," I decided as she sat down and I began to work at the gum in her hair as I told her all about my horrible day, ending with the storming out of the coffee shop. Her eyes were wide with shock, but she was unable to speak throughout the retelling, leaving Gatomon alone to react in the necessary places. Finally I'd gotten the gum from her hair and began brushing out the knots.

"That's horrible..." She said in a weak voice after a small silence. "Takeru... I'm so sorry you had such a bad day. That man is a horrible person."

"Don't worry about me," I shrugged, feeling infinitely better having ranted to Hikari and gotten all of my inner thoughts out of the way. Her positivity, though sometimes overwhelming to some, was always exactly what I needed to fix any problem. "Worry about your hair."

"Why?" Gatomon asked, moving to see what I'd been working on. The place where the gum had been was now broken and choppy, a lot of the hair had broken off.

"It's bad isn't it?" She asked, defeated. "There's more too." She turned her head to reveal another piece of gum and I let out a laugh.

"You're going to need a haircut." I told her, as she spun around to face me allowing me to kiss her forehead.

"I know," She said, laughing with me. "And that's my _good_ news." She then proceeded to tell me about the horrible boy in her class, and the horrible rules at the school.

I shook my head at the end of the story and threw my arm around her. "People suck." I decided, comparing our two stories. We'd both had pretty crappy days, and it all kind of sprouted from the same theme.

"I don't know," Hikari said, looking up at me with her round, brown eyes. "You're a people. You don't suck."

"You don't suck too." I told her with a grin as she settled into my hold.

Sure the day sucked, but I could deal with that later. Right now I had Hikari, and we had a date to go on. We were going to eat, and we could rant about our days and just feel all positive. And it would work, because I would be with her.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06**: Here's To Us! Our first look into some of the more obscure narrators... wonder who it is...


	6. Here's To Us

**Y/N: **This is the first and only time I'll be writing as Jun for this entire story. I know, it's crazy to think that we're not doing all sorts of chapters for all of the extra characters like we have in the past, but we're really reeling it in this time around. Since Urazamay has instructed me to do so, I'll remind you of which characters I'll be writing as: Taichi, Koushiro, Mimi, Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, Ken (who I don't hate nearly as much this time around! Yay!), Hideto, Kiyoko, Jun, Rei, Natuni, Momoe and there might be another one later, but I don't know for sure just yet, and I don't want to spoil anything... So yeah. Enjoy, and please leave a review if you'd like to share your thoughts.

**U/N: **This is Neo's very first chapter in part of a main story. Not that this is in the main timeline, but still—Neo is telling the story in an Adventure! That's exciting. For him. Also he's really fun to write as xD And anyway, we cut the parents narrations out completely, leaving only Jun, Momoe, Natsuni, Tatum and Rei from the previous stories, and now Jenna as well. I'll take the time now to remind you that I write Matt, Sora, Joe, Tk, Kari, Michael, Willis, Kurayami, Neo, Mari, Tatum and Jenna.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 1: Whispers**

**Chapter 6: Here's To Us**

_**Jun Motomiya:**_

This night was _not_ going according to plan. We were supposed to be gathered to prepare for my wedding. My super, duper, ultra-amazing, better-than-anyone-else's wedding. The one that I've been preparing for since well before Shuu proposed to me. You'd think I'd be done by now.

But I'm not.

Not even close.

My original plan was tossed out. There was no way a very classy, yet not too sophisticated wedding was going to compare to _either_ of Momoe's weddings. There was just no way. It was far too tame. I had to compete with digital kidnappings and end of the world drama. And that was just Momoe. Miyako and Ken's wedding was very memorable too, even though I really didn't have to compete with them in any way. I mean, I wasn't even invited to theirs. They weren't direct family members with either Shuu or myself. But Jou and Daisuke? They _were_ both directly related to us. And while Jou was the competitor I had to compete against, Daisuke's wedding wasn't exactly without drama of its own. Kurayami didn't show up. I wasn't planning on imitating her. I couldn't do that. I knew she had her reasons. But I was still upset with her. Seeing the look on Daisuke's face when he realized she wasn't planning on coming? I couldn't un-see that.

I would not be putting that same look on Shuu's face.

Yes, Kurayami and Daisuke still got married that day. Yes, they were happy and in love still with a sweet little baby. There didn't appear to be any negative side-effects to her actions.

Well...that wasn't exactly true.

Our father still refused to speak with either of them. He'd gotten better. He really had. He planned on making an appearance at Daisuke's wedding. I don't know how much of it was merely for appearance's sake, but he was still going to come. It meant _so_ much to Mom, and while I knew Daisuke had come to peace with the fact that Dad was never going to care for him the way he used to...I knew Daisuke had smiled—_happily_—when Mom had asked, oh so nervously, if Dad could come. He'd been _happy_ that Dad wanted to be a part of such a huge moment in his life.

But when Kurayami didn't show up...

He no longer had any appreciation for her whatsoever, not that he'd cared about her one way or the other before, but still... He actively _hated_ her now. I couldn't bear hearing him talk about her.

"_How dare that _woman_ sully our family name? And that boy. If he thinks I have any respect for him, he's wrong. She is not our family. She will never be our family. Neither is he. He lost any chance of that the moment she came crawling back to him. And he took the bait! He's letting her play him for a fool. Motomiya's are no fools!"_

Obviously, he never spent all that much time with Daisuke _before_ the digimon came along, or he'd be singing a different tune. I could even admit that I was rather foolish a lot of the time. I was confident enough in myself to say that. I wasn't always the most logical person. I was quick to bite people's heads off if they got me angry enough too. I threw my heart into things one hundred percent. It was always all or nothing with me.

And I threw my heart onto Daisuke's side of this argument. Dad knew it too. It was why I wasn't invited back home as often as before. Our relationship was strained, but I still believed it wasn't beyond repair. But if he thought I wasn't going to include Kurayami in my wedding, then he had another thing coming. I didn't care how much he hated her. It was _my_ decision. Not his.

I sighed heavily, and looked around the room. We were at mine and Shuu's apartment, in the living room. Our couch was a little worn, the once comfortable fabric was now scratchy and ripped in several spots. The material looked like it was stretched to its limit over the foam and springs that were stuffed inside. It was once bright yellow with deeper yellow stripes, but now was faded and gross looking. Maybe, I'd make Shuu's wedding present a new couch. If I could afford one after the extravaganza that would be our wedding.

Maybe a nice dark brown couch, with a little more seat room? That would be nice. As it was, just having Otamamon on the couch with Shuu and I was pushing it. And I was sure there'd be a time when there was more than just us living here.

And to be clear, I don't intend to be adopting more digimon. I meant another person. A much smaller person, if you catch my drift.

A baby. I meant a baby.

Not immediately, by any means, but soon. Real soon. I really wanted to expand our family. Shuu and I had talked about it extensively. We were ready. And I knew that if _Daisuke_ could do it, anybody could.

I turned my eyes away from the couch, taking in the wallpaper, cream coloured with scattered flowers. We should really redo that as well... Maybe it would just be best if we saved up for a house. That way we wouldn't have to rip everything up and start over again.

"Jun?"

"Huh?" I snapped back to attention, looking to Momoe, who had apparently spoken to me. Her hair was yet again pulled back into a messy ponytail. Evidently, being a working mom meant that she no longer had time to care for her hair at all. It was the _one_ thing I was determined to make different when I got around to it. My hair would not take a backseat. I looked like a porcupine when I _did_ have time for it. If I didn't put effort into it? Yeesh. I was not looking forward to finding out. Anyway, her messy ponytail was coupled with a pair of smudged glasses—from where Emiko had been pawing at them earlier—a sweatshirt, and dark jeans. She had one bright green sock, and one dark red one.

Clearly I wasn't what she considered real company, since she didn't put any effort into her outfit, knowing full well she was coming to my house. She was still my beautiful, best friend though, a little crazy sometimes, and a whole lot of fun. Even without putting any effort in. I wished I was that lucky.

She was perched on the arm of the couch, immediately to my left. Jou was next to her on the floor. As I've said, our couch was a little small, and Shuu, Otamamomon and I were already sitting on it, so poor Jou was on the floor. He didn't look like he minded though. He was leaning on Bearmon, who'd fallen asleep at some point during the conversation. Gomamon was curled up on Jou's lap, covering what looked to be a pair of kakis—very work appropriate. Jou paired them with a deep blue button down shirt, and he still had his white doctor's coat on over top of it. I didn't think he even realized he was still wearing it. He looked exhausted. So did Gomamon. I wondered briefly if they ever had a break from work. They were the _only_ ones that could do their job...

But no. I wasn't cut out for being a doctor. And I knew I'd be a terrible psychologist. I had to come up with a job that suited me. I couldn't depend on Shuu my whole life. Well actually I could, based on the sheer number of zeros at the end of his yearly income. But I didn't _want_ to. I wanted to take part in our lives, not just wait for it to be handed to me.

I'd really have to figure it out at some point.

But I had more important things to worry about. Namely my wedding. Which no one felt the need to discuss.

"Jun," Momoe repeated. I supposed I zoned out again.

"Sorry, Momoe," I told her. "I've just been really stressed about this wedding stuff."

"I'm sorry we haven't been very helpful," Kurayami said. I looked to her. She was seated in the armchair that matched our couch. We didn't sit in it as often, so you'd think it would be in better condition. You'd be wrong. Meramon once tried to sit down, it didn't turn out well. We had a patchwork quilt draped over the scorched fabric though, so it wasn't too uncomfortable. Sometimes Otamamon even used it as a nest. Not very often though. He says he doesn't really like the smell.

In any case, Kurayami was wearing a black dress that barely reached her knees, with a meadow green cardigan and socks. The socks hit about mid-calf. Haruki was nestled in her arms, and he was wearing a matching colour scheme. It was so adorable, it hurt. I literally was aching because it was such a cute scene. God I wanted a kid of my own. I'd be able to do stuff like that all the time! Labramon was curled up at Kurayami's feet, looking over towards Veemon, Daisuke and Emiko. The three of them were all sitting on the floor with their feet spread out, rolling a ball back and forth. Monmon kept trying to jump over and catch it. They seemed to include that into the game, and were trying to trick the monkey digimon into missing the ball.

Meramon was sitting in the only spot available to him. We already put a lot of money into the floors, so that he could walk around without destroying the place, but we didn't have a ton of money to spend on new furniture every day, so we found the one seat in the house that he couldn't burn: the toilet. We realized quickly that having a toilet in the living room would raise more than a few eyebrows, and Meramon was too embarrassed to sit on one in front of company. And then Otamamon pointed out that the bathtub was made of the same stuff, so we just got a nice claw footed bathtub for him to lounge in. He wasn't proud of it, but he could sleep in it too, so he was happy.

"It's fine," I lied. "I can just do it by myself."

"No," Momoe insisted. "We can still help you. I just don't think today's the right day."

"What gave you that impression?" Jou said wryly.

"I don't know," I said, trying to mask my frustration. "Maybe it was the step by step daily schedule Kurayami demanded of Momoe, so she could make sure Haruki is at the same stage that Emiko was at his age. Or perhaps it was Jou, Gomamon, Veemon and Shuu discussing work and the pros and cons of working in another world. Daisuke has been practicing being a dad on Emiko since he got here... It might've been something else though."

"I'm sorry I'm worried about my baby," Kurayami said, not sounding sorry in the slightest. And she shouldn't. She didn't need to be. It was actually really important that she asks these things. Maybe not as frequently as she asked them, but still. Haruki meant a lot to everybody present. We wanted to make sure he was okay. Granted, Kurayami was the _only_ one that was worried he wasn't.

"Look, Jun," Daisuke said, rolling his eyes. "We'll look at our schedules and see if we can't get together again soon. I know you wanted your wedding to happen like three years ago, but we can't make that happen. We _can_ make it the most kick-butt wedding it can possibly be though. You make a big list of things we need to go over for the next time, and we'll try to get through as many as we can before we all can't do any more. But today, let's just hang out and have fun, okay? I mean, how often have we just hung out in the past year?"

"Not very often," I admitted reluctantly.

"Exactly," he said with a grin. "You're the best big sister in the world." He ignored Momoe's indignant protest at that. "I want to hang around you as much as I can. I don't have a lot of time these days. With Haruki, and the noodle cart and all. I actually have to log in more hours than ever, since Takeru got himself fired. And Kurayami's not working either. And I don't want her to!" he shouted before anyone could point out how young his kid was, and how needed _she_ still was. "It's just... I don't know... I'd like to be able to talk to you about it all, I guess?"

"You can talk to me any time Daisuke," I said, sort of impressed by his speech—and also a little worried, since I hadn't realized all the pressure to provide for his family had fallen solely on his shoulders.

"I know," he said. "But every time I call you, I just get grilled about what sounds better, oyster or pearl. I don't even know what that means."

"I was talking about napkin colours," I said sheepishly.

"You told me sandalwood or ivory," Momoe said, quirking her eyebrow at me.

"She's severely undecided," Shuu said, ratting me out. "Why do you think she asked for your help?"

"Well, we'll all think of a colour scheme and pitch it at the next meeting then," Kurayami suggested. "Then you just pick which one you like the best. Or, Jun could just pick three different schemes and we could vote on it?"

"I like the second option," Jou said. "I don't really have time to come up with a colour scheme. There are too many digimon that need tending to."

"Don't I know it," Gomamon agreed with a great big yawn.

"Me too," Shuu said. "You're always so busy. You missed the last six family dinners, Jou. _Six_. One or two might be forgivable, but now it just looks like you're _trying_ to avoid them."

"And so what if I am?" Jou asked. "I've got next to no time to spend with my own family, why should I spend even a couple of those precious few hours with Dad and his _new_ family."

"You're still not over that?" Shuu asked in surprise. I really couldn't see how he was surprised at all. Momoe had to _force_ him to go to the wedding after all. Jou didn't want to witness his father moving on from his mother, and replacing his three sons with three new daughters. Or something like that. I never really _asked_ Jou what his problem was. All I knew was that Aimi was Jou's least favourite person on the planet. And the fact that Shin took to her so quickly irritated the crap out of him. Shuu was still reserved about it. He knew that the girls were now his step-sisters—he refused to refer to them as regular old sisters though, despite both Aimi and Isao's attempts at a perfectly blended family—but he didn't put any effort into getting to know them either. He _did_ accept that they existed though, which—from what I could tell, anyway—was more than Jou. I didn't know if Jou even knew their names.

"So," Momoe interjected abruptly, probably trying to stave off an argument. "I decided _not_ to quit my job."

"What?" I asked.

"Why?" Jou said, curiously.

"So many people are getting fired these days, I might as well just wait for it to happen to me," she joked. "I'd get a pretty sweet severance package. Also, I don't know what I'd do with myself during the day without it. Especially now that Emiko's in school."

"That's right," I said with a smile. "Emiko's in kindergarten. Emiko, are you having fun at school?"

"Nope," she said. "Mom won't let me wear my monkey suit."

"I'm lost..." I said.

"Me too," Momoe said. "Why do you think I won't let her?"

"Tell Uncle Shuu what you did during art class," Jou said. I couldn't tell if he was suppressing anger or amusement, but it was one of them.

"I made a box and I painted it gray and it was better than that stalker's box even though nobody thinks so 'cept me. And the teacher lady left the room and told us not to play with the super-duper strong glue, but then I thought, why not? She didn't tell us, and I wanted to know. So I put all the glue in the whole tube onto a chair, so see what would happen. And then the teacher lady sat on it! It was so funny," Emiko said with a giggle. "And she couldn't stand up at all, since her dress was stuck right on the chair. She had to sit there until all the way after school."

"Wow," I said, looking at Momoe. She nodded to me solemnly.

_**Neo Saiba:**_

I much preferred my own home, and I don't think anyone who knew me failed to understand that fact. My house was clean, it was white it was shiny, and it was better than anyone else's house. My house was brightly lit, with the large window in the den, the walls were all either white or grey, and the furniture was all black to match. The only real colour of the house was bits of wood in the furniture and of course, the floor. Not to mention my house was the only apartment on the top floor of my building.

And yet every week people kept forcing me to go do other things and see other places. It wasn't something I really enjoyed. I could stand going to Mimi's restaurant every week because the place was clean, it was nice and she always served good food. And even though I still did not know a great portion of the Digidestined it was alright, no matter how awkward it could get. Meeting in the Digital World, again, was fine. It was my job, so no matter how loud the room could get with the bickering between Babamon and Tinkermon, I knew that I was getting paid, so I could put up with it. Working with the Knights nearly every day could be tiring, but getting some fresh air was good for me and I knew that.

It was Hideto that was the problem, really. Unless something should come up, he would 'invite' Mari, Kiyoko, Rei and myself out to his favourite bar where we would all get together and talk about things, to ensure we were all still friends. 'Invite' was a loose term because he never asked. It was more like... he expected you to show up, and if you didn't you had deeply hurt his self esteem.

The whole idea was silly anyway. Of course we were all still friends. I was only ever friends with Hideto to begin with, and I still was friends with Hideto. Mari and I had gotten to know each other quite well while she was working with me in attempts to destroy the world, so she was easy to get along with. Kiyoko was harder as I'd never really known him, merely his body inhabited by Sigma—I liked him much better this way in any case. He was much less horrifying.

But of course, here it was, time to 'get out and be young again'. My least favourite time of the week. The bar in question was always disgusting, filled with yelling overweight people filled with beer and nachos, and both the people and the walls smelled of cigarette smoke as if they had all been soaking in it for years.

Which I was sure they had been.

"One more time," Dracomon piped up as I pulled my boots over my socks, getting ready to leave, "Where is the toaster?"

"On the counter." I sighed.

"What does it do again?"

"Toasts things."

"What kind of things?"

I scratched my head and looked over my shoulder to where he was sitting on the black leather couch. "Bread. Waffles. Stuff like that. If it confuses you, just eat some carrots or something."

"I don't like carrots." Dracomon whined as if I was sentencing him to a year's worth of grounding, which I'd actually threatened to do when I caught him trying to shove my piano out of the window a while back. "Can I have broccoli instead?"

"I really don't care what you eat if I'm honest." I said, blowing my hair out of my eyes. "Just don't break anything or burn anything." I said as a warning, standing up to get my coat. "And don't leave. Or answer the door—or answer the phone, or go into my room. Also don't—"

"Leave the fridge open?" He finished for me, "Use the oven? Dump the fish food into the toilet? Run a bath and forget about it? Play piano?"

"You can play the piano," I said, with a warning finger up in the air, "Just don't push it out the window."

"Then what's the point of it?" Dracomon asked, exasperated.

"Dracomon." I said sharply, "Don't."

"Fiiiiiine." He groaned, and then flopped down on the couch and sighed deeply. "Can I watch tv?"

"No scary movies." I told him.

He rolled his eyes and reached for the remote. I knew very well that I was a very strict partner, but there was nothing more to it than that. Dracomon was a careless digimon, and he needed order if he wanted to live in a house with me. I was very well organized, and he simply wasn't. I needed to ensure that everything was left the way he found it. After living with my mother for so long, I wasn't ready to fall back into a state of chaos again.

After buttoning my coat, I was ready to go, and I was standing by the door waiting for Dracomon to bid me farewell, but after a moment of waiting it seemed he was too upset with me for not letting him destroy my things and was passive aggressively taking it out by not paying any attention to me. I decided to let him have this one, and left, locking the door behind me, because I knew he wouldn't remember to do so. I hadn't reminded him after all.

There was no one in the elevator obviously, as I was on the top floor, which I always enjoyed, but as always, someone entered before reaching the bottom. It was an elderly lady which was exactly what I loved. Waiting impatiently for some old bat to get onto the elevator, moving her walker slower than Dracomon had the time he got that horrid sunburn.

After a great deal of struggle the woman was on board and we were going down.

"It's so nice of you to hold the door for me," She said, beaming up at me.

I raised my eyebrows, "I didn't," I informed her.

She looked to me shocked and then laughed in that way old people always did, "I thought I saw you hold it! You know, I made the same mistake a while ago..." I took a deep breath and endured her story until we reached the bottom where I really did hold the door for her, just to appease her. She thanked me and I made sure to use a different exit from her so I knew I wouldn't have to wait any longer.

I took the subway to the bar, which was obviously not my idea of fun, but it was the most direct route. I was wearing gloves, which was definitely a relief because the bar I had had to hold was certainly not sanitary in the slightest. There was a man wearing a hospital gown standing next to me the entire way. His hair was long and stringy, but he was bald on the top of his head and he was humming to himself, rocking back and forth with the motions of the train. He grinned at me whenever he caught me eyeing him up, and he was missing most of his teeth. I knew I wasn't the nicest of people, and so I felt no shame in simply raising my eyebrows at him instead of returning the grin.

Finally the subway reached my destination and I was quick to leave, walking at a brisk pace through the crowd of pushy, smelly people, and up the stairs where the night sky greeted me. I was mere blocks away from the bar, and so I marched quickly down the street, passing a man who was playing his guitar for some money, and a man who was yelling at the top of his lungs about the apocalypse.

The public was both disgusting and horrifying at the same time. I much preferred my house.

"Neo!"

I turned to see my sister wheeling her chair quickly down the street. I smiled to her and stepped aside so she could take her place in front of me. I took the handles of her chair and began pushing her so she could relax.

"Did you come all the way here alone?" I asked her.

"No," She said, swaying her head idly. "Taichi helped me out of the Digital World just a couple blocks away, and offered to take me all the way, but I told him I could do it."

"As long as he offered," I said coldly.

"I just said he did," Rei said, and I could tell she had rolled her eyes.

Getting to the bar took no longer than a few minutes and the bouncer who was wearing a form fitting black t shirt helped Rei and me into the bar. Rei thanked them, and I steered her over into our usual corner where I spotted Kiyoko sitting by himself.

The rest of the bar was filled, just like always, with loud, smelly, overweight people who wore clothes that didn't fit them, and who cheered at everything everyone said as if they had just scored the winning basket of a basketball game. The room, as I suspected, still smelled of smoke and, well, alcohol.

I moved a chair out of the way for Rei to take its place and she locked her chair's wheels. I took a small spray bottle out of my satchel and grabbed a napkin from the table, cleaning a spot on the rounded corner booth. The red leather seats were always filthy.

"Hideto's here too." Kiyoko said adorably, "He's over by the bar. He's getting us some drinks." Kiyoko always found the concept of drinking alcohol to be exciting. He'd only been legally allowed to do so for three years now, and he loved coming to the bars, even if he only ever took a sip of whatever Hideto bought for him and decided it was disgusting. "I'm getting 'scotch' this time." He used air quotes around the word scotch. "Hideto says it's amazing." He nodded, his eyes wide, looking to both Rei and I, "I bet it's not." He said, his face suddenly falling.

Rei laughed, "Aww, you're the cutest thing." She said, grinning. "But you're right, it's not amazing. It's actually kind of gross. You should get something with fruit in it. You have to work your way up to the gross stuff Hideto drinks."

"Like you'd know," I joked, "You don't like it, so how would you know?" She glared at me, in a joking way of course, but otherwise ignored me. Instead she turned the best she could in her chair and called out for Hideto. I saw him flash a smile in her direction from his place at the bar, and Rei was content, knowing that he would bring her what she wanted. Which was fair, there was no way anyone would make her go get it on her own. Not through this crowd anyway.

"So how's life?" I asked Kiyoko, using a new napkin and my spray to clean the table in front of me. "Anything new going on?"

"No," Kiyoko said simply. At first it seemed he didn't plan to elaborate, which wouldn't be unusual for him, but he eventually added, "I met a new person."

"Did you?" I asked, amused, raising an eyebrow in his direction. "A new person? What's that like?"

Kiyoko elbowed me and smiled, relaxing. For some reason using Hideto's brand of humour always set Kiyoko at ease, which I suppose stood to reason. "It's a girl. She lives in India. Her name is Mina. Koushiro told me about the Digidestined all around the world, so I asked for one of their emails, and now we've started talking. She's really nice."

"How can you communicate?" Rei asked.

"Oh, we're using the digimon language." Kiyoko explained, "It has all the sounds that we use on Earth, but this way we kind of know what one another are talking about, because we both are new to it, so we use simple phrases. I'm getting pretty good. I can write a few sentences from memory now."

"That's really neat!" Rei said, invested in Kiyoko's story. She was always so kind, and no matter what story was being told and no matter who was saying it, she could find something to invest herself in. She was very good that way.

"It is actually," I agreed, "If we could all memorize the digital language, then perhaps we could speak to each other in code."

"Code," Rei laughed, "Because it's... digital." Kiyoko laughed, but I could only smirk and shake my head. She was also easily amused, Rei was.

Kiyoko's laughing subsided quickly and he turned to look at me, his head tilted, "But why would we have to speak in code?" He asked.

"I don't know, it was merely a suggestion." I said, shrugging my shoulders, and stopping my scrubbing of the table. It felt clean enough to me.

Hideto was back soon after and had set a tray of drinks down on the table. He handed a short round glass filled with deep amber liquid and ice to Kiyoko, a tall curvy glass filled with a multitude of colours and a long striped straw to Rei and a bottle of water to me. He gave me a look of disgust while he did so. He was always upset that I opted for water, but I would usually do so. It was far healthier, and I wasn't getting any younger. I was nearing thirty years of age, and at that point, well I didn't know what was going to happen. I'd never thought about life after thirty.

Looking at life as a child I could only remember planning to graduate school, go to college, graduate that, get married, and then die. There was no in-between.

"What are we talking about?" Hideto asked, tossing the tray aside after removing his drink, which was simply a square shaped glass of tequila. He pulled his chair in tight, and crossed his arms on the table, looking to us all, excited for what we'd come up with.

"Not much," Kiyoko answered, which was clearly not what Hideto wanted.

"Well fine, I'll go first." Hideto decided, "Since Mimi had a panic attack I've been kind of taking care of things at the restaurant, which is cool and stuff, but that new girl Michan is literally the worst and every time I ask her to do anything she tells me, here's what she says," He cleared his throat and put on a high annoying voice "You're not in charge here!"

"Well, you're not," I felt the need to point out.

"Right you are, Neo," Hideto said unexpectedly, "So I asked Mimi the other day when she came into the restaurant if I had all the rights as a manager, and now I _am_ in charge. Michan did not like the sounds of that. I can't wait to get back to work now."

"Then why are we here?" I asked quickly and without much thought.

"Because we're friends you bitter old hag," Hideto said sharply.

I probably should have taken offense to that, but I found it difficult. Hideto just had a strange, and entirely abnormal way of communicating with others—particularly myself and Mari. Everyone else at least got a hint of his nice side. He mentioned something about it once—about how he knew Mari and I could take it. We knew him well enough to know that he cared even when he didn't say it.

I wasn't listening when he was explaining, so I couldn't be sure.

But I assumed that was what he meant, because it made sense. Mari and I could take his bitter side, and use it to be just as bitter. Besides, none of us were permanently bitter, we just kind of got into that mood every now and then.

But as Hideto winked at me, I could tell he wasn't in such a bad mood.

"Woo!"

All of us jumped as Mari entered with flair, as usual. She slammed a folder down on the table and nudged my shoulder. "Scooch," She said. I looked down to the space where Kiyoko had been sitting, and groaned. He'd already had the sense to move, but it was doubtful that he'd cleaned his place before his arrival. I hung my head and slid along the seat.

Mari sat down, careful to not let her short, skin tight dress rise too high as she did so. She crossed her legs that were, at this point, mostly covered with knee high black suede stiletto boots.

"You seem excited," Hideto smirked, sipping from his drink, "I'm glad. No one else had anything to say."

"I have loads to say." Rei defended herself, crossing her arms in a fake tantrum. "I've been knitting a hat for Agumon. I really think he'll love it."

"Okay," Hideto nodded, "Great. Mari's turn." Rei laughed and we all turned to Mari who straightened herself up and opened the folder she had left on the table.

She cleared her throat and lifted up a piece of paper, handing it to me. "What you'll see here is a copy of a legal document I found in my grandmother's old bedroom. What does it say Neo? Read it for the boys and girls." I smirked at her, but she was motioning for me to read so I got right to the point.

I decided there were too many words, so I skimmed for the important details, "...Legal documentation... Azami Goutokuji hereby disowns Batsu Goutokuji..."

Mari was nodding when I lowered the paper, "Mhm. Exactly. Legal proof that my dad has no rights to the library what so ever. But wait! There's more!" She pulled the second piece of paper up and passed it off to Rei. "You may be wondering," Mari said, "but she must have cut ties with me as well, just by association. You set the record straight Rei."

Rei cleared her throat and read the entire document which stated that Azami Goutokuji, Mari's grandmother, claimed guardianship over Mari herself, and as such, Mari was the only living relative Azami legally had at the time of her death. "What's it all mean though?" Rei asked. I was thankful, as I wasn't sure myself, but didn't want to ask in case I'd just missed something she'd said previously.

"Oh. Damn." Mari muttered, "I messed up my opening." She took the papers back and gently placed them back into her folder. "My parents came back—" Kiyoko and Rei both gasped dramatically, "—Yeah, I know. Anyway, they tried to take my library, so Iori and I are fighting for justice and peace."

"That's new." I noted.

"Right?" She joked, "Seriously though, I think we'll win the case. And to celebrate," She turned to me, "Neo, if you get me my drink I'll give you your nice clean spot back."

I jumped to my feet quickly and clapped my hands together. "Deal." I decided, sliding past her and heading toward the bartender. It was difficult to work my way through the tight knit crowd of gross individuals, but eventually I was there, waiting in what appeared to be somewhat of a line, waiting to be served.

"Hey!" A voice shouted in my ear. "You're Iori's friend, aren't you?" I turned to see a girl with cropped black hair. She was holding a fruity cocktail in one hand and her other arm was wrapped tightly around a kind looking man.

"Iori Hida?" I asked, "I know him, yes."

"I'm Noriko!" She shouted over the noise. "Nice to meet you!"

"I'm Neo," I told her, shaking her hand as she untangled it from her boyfriend.

"This is my fiancé," She grinned, "Isn't he the cutest? We love going to the bar, and the movies—and pretty much everywhere!"

"I'm glad." I said sarcastically, but she didn't seem to notice.

"We're getting married," Her fiancé grinned stupidly.

"Really?" I asked, again, sarcastically.

"We're really excited is all." Noriko said laughing. "Well, it was nice meeting you! Have a nice night!" And the two of them were off screaming excitedly as they ran back to their friends. As for me, I turned back to the crowd waiting to be served and found that it had died down considerably, but I'd still have to wait to be dealt with.

Eventually I found a space and I squeezed into the opening as someone tried to beat me to it, slamming into my side.

The bartender was the same woman it was every night we'd been here. Evelen. Her hair was long and dark, and her eyes glistened with promise and beauty. She was tall and beautiful, and she dressed in a perfect state of class mixed with fun—and best of all, she was always clean. Even working in this dingy old bar. Her hair today was tied into a ponytail high on her head. "Hey Neo," She said, eyeing me with a sideways glance. "What's up?"

She was still working with another man, getting his order ready so I shrugged, to make conversation, "Not much. Just here with some friends."

"Nothing is ever new with you." She said, smiling slightly. "Anyone ever tell you you're kind of boring?"

"All the time." I grinned.

"They're not wrong." She said, finally handing her customer his drink. She then turned directly to me, "So what can I get for you?"

"I was here first!" A high pitched, annoying girl squealed.

Evelen cocked her head a little to face the girl, "bite me." She snapped causing the girl to leave in a fit. I laughed, and ordered a whiskey for Mari. "Ooh, changing it up! Kind of a tough drink for you, isn't it?"

I thought about pretending it was mine, but she might expect me to drink some while I was here, and I couldn't do that. "It's for my friend," I subsided.

"Tall dark and mysterious?" She asked.

"Nah, the girl with the bushy blonde hair." I shrugged, using my thumb to point to Mari.

Evelen glanced over to her and nodded, impressed, handing me the whiskey, "My kind of girl." Then she was grabbing a wine glass and reaching under the counter, pulling out some red wine. "This is for you. I know it's all you drink. It's on the house."

"Thanks," I grinned at her. "But I don't mind paying."

"I mind." She said waving her eyebrows at me in an almost seductive way. She handed me the two drinks and was gone, so I left the money for the drinks on the countertop anyway. Either she'd take them or someone else would, and I wouldn't have to feel bad either way.

I slipped past the people and on my way back over to the others I heard Evelen yelling at someone in the background.

"Get off the table you freak!" She screamed, "And put your pants on!"

I couldn't help but laugh.

Evelen and I had met a long time ago, just after I'd been betrayed by Arkadimon. Rei kept trying to talk to me but I couldn't bring myself to say anything to her, and one day I sort of blacked out and found myself here, at this bar, where I was sitting, drinking, as always, a red wine.

"_You alright?" She had asked me when she noticed me sitting there staring, as depressing as I possibly could have been, into my drink_

"_No." I told her. "I made a huge mistake."_

_"Everyone has done horrible things." She said, giving her last customer their drink, leaving the two of us alone to talk. "Everyone has done things that they regret, everyone has baggage, and yet everyone has grown from those bad things. They've learned from them. Keep that in mind."_

_"I'll try." I said to her. "What horrible things have you done?"_

_"I won't ask you if you don't ask me." She offered._

_"I deleted the digital world, inadvertently killed two of my friend's partners, kidnapped my sister, manipulated my only three friends into doing what I needed them to do, imprisoned my own partner, and I think I played a huge role in the ultimate destruction of the worlds. They're going to end soon and it's all my fault." I told her. "Just saying."_

_"If this is a competition, you win." She said, "But just barely. Like I said though, it's not important."_

_"Are you going to tell me what you did?" I asked her._

_"Fine," She agreed. "I pulled the plugs on my sister when she was in the hospital."_

_"Really?" I gasped._

_"No," She laughed, "Like I said though, my past isn't any of your concern. I barely know you." She pulled herself up onto the counter behind her and talked to me that way. "But even through all of the bad things in life, I'm sure you've done some good."_

_"I... uh... not much." I told her._

_"Then you will do good things." She said, "I know you will. No one sits here being this upset about the bad things they've done without changing their life around. Life will get better, but only if you want it to. You're in control of your own life."_

_"You seem good at this." I pointed out. "Cheering people up I mean."_

_"I'm a bartender," She said quietly, "I find a lot of sad people." She was suddenly slipping off the counter when a group of people came in the door to the bar. "And remember, everyone has done awful things."_

_"I'm Neo." I told her quickly, before the throng of people could consume all of her time._

_"Evelen." She said shaking my hand. "Nice to meet you Neo."_

Ever since then I'd been meeting with her at every opportunity I could find. I didn't mind though. She was as bitter as I was, while still being prettier than anyone I'd ever seen. And she was secretive, and I liked that I couldn't fully read her. Everyone else I could read like a magazine. I was very gifted at understanding when people were telling lies or the truth. But with Evelen, no matter how often I asked her and no matter how many ridiculous answers she gave me, I could never tell what was true and what wasn't.

I knew nothing about her. And that was awesome.

I handed Mari her drink and she moved aside, allowing Hideto a clear line of vision to my alcohol which caused a grin to spread across his face. "Good boy!" He shouted. "Let's have a good night tonight!" He then chugged what was left of his drink and got to his feet to get another.

We did have a good night. Kiyoko decided to take Rei's advice from that point on and only get fruity drinks, which he didn't seem to mind at all, and he even joined in on our slightly less than sober fun. Even I was loosening up, which was when I knew it was time to go, before I did something stupid.

"I'm going to go home now." I told them a few hours later. "I've had fun and whatnot, but I don't want to be here anymore."

Hideto raised his hands and slowly motioned for me to sit back down. "You have no excuses. Until you do you may never leave."

And as if on cue my phone beeped and I pulled it out seeing that Taichi had texted me.

_There's a meeting tomorrow of the Council variety. Seven am. Sorry for no notice. Tell Rei I love her and stuff._

"Rei, Taichi says you're a penguin." I said. Everyone looked at me. That wasn't funny. Why did I say that? It was entirely time to go home. I stood up, told them I had to work, and was leaving, after making sure Mari, who was the least drunk of the lot, to ensure that Rei returned home safely.

I took the bus home instead of the subway hoping to avoid any insanely crazy people. It was a mistake because it took more than half an hour longer to go home than it did to get to the bar, and there were even more bizarre people this time around.

Eventually though, I was unlocking my front door and stepping into my apartment, which was a relief. I really liked my home. I wished I had more sophisticated friends so I didn't have to keep them all away. I'd be much more willing to hang out with friends if they came to me.

The lights were out, except for the flashing lights of the television, and I assumed Dracomon would be sleeping, which seemed hardly plausible with how loud the movie was. After removing my coat, satchel and boots I moved toward the couch and saw Dracomon, huddled up with a blanket around him like a cloak, he was shuddering.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. He spun toward me, his eyes popping and he screamed, jumping to his feet. "Dracomon!" I shouted, throwing my hands up in defense. "Chill."

"I didn't hear you come in!" Dracomon shouted as I grabbed the remote and turned the television to mute. "I... I..."

"You're scared aren't you?" I asked, eyeing up the television and seeing that it was a scary movie.

"Horrified." He admitted.

I sighed and moved to sit next to him, throwing my arm around him. "That's why they call them horror movies." He hugged me tightly, afraid. "You can sleep with me tonight if you want. But promise you'll never watch a horror movie again."

"I promise!" He said quickly, but excitedly. He never got to sleep with me. He was never even allowed in my room. But I'd make an exception to any rule once in a while as long as it was for him.

Except the piano rule. I didn't like the arrangement of that being on the sidewalk outside. I liked it where it was.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Winning and Losing? Ups and downs are a staple for the Digidestined, and yet lately it seems the latter is taking over. Find out why!


	7. Wins & Losses

**Y/N: **This is sort of a turning point for the story, and it's also a chapter where I got to write as two of my very favourites. I don't exactly remember doing the actually writing though... It's been done for awhile now... Haha. Also, sorry about missing a day. I was supposed to post this yesterday. I didn't, obviously. Sorry about that.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 1: Whispers**

**Chapter 7: Wins &amp; Losses **

_**Koushiro Izumi:**_

"So, what's this meeting about?" Neo asked, seating himself with natural grace. Every move he made always looked purposeful. Calculated. Even now, just sitting down, he was so refined. Compared to Taichi—who was seated immediately to Neo's left—he looked like the prince to Taichi's pauper. Taichi was slumped in his chair, clenching and unclenching his fists. His hair was a mess, as though he'd run his fingers through it in aggravation. There were deep, purple bags under his eyes, and his tie was a mess. He'd tied it in a knot, instead of taking the time to tie it properly. His dress shirt was only half tucked in, and he'd buttoned his jacket wrong. Neo, though. His hair was perfectly in place, as always. He never wore a tie, but his clothing, _also_ perfect. There were no bags under _his_ eyes. He held his head up high, confident. He looked the epitome of a leader sitting there. Taichi did not.

This was all the evidence I needed to know that the meeting was needed for dire circumstances. I was not pleased to discover this. Our eternal peace was meant to be underway.

"It couldn't wait," Taichi promised us. "It really couldn't."

"That's great," Neo said wryly. "But what is it _about_?"

"I called for it, actually," Benjamin said, walking into the room just as Neo asked. It was difficult at times to separate Benjamin—and his brothers—from Gennai. Their faces, their robes, their attitudes, their countenance. It was almost as if I was speaking to Gennai when I spoke with them down in the research labs. It was such a nostalgic feeling, being surrounded by Gennai's face. To hear his voice telling me things. It was _hard_, at times, to remember that he was gone. Long gone even. There was no reason for it to be hitting me now. After so many years without him. But, I supposed that grievance had no rules. And I didn't grieve for Gennai, not properly. There'd been too much to grab my attention after it had happened. Afterwards I got wrapped up in my budding relationship, grieving over a computer, rather than my lost friend. And he was a friend, despite his attitude towards the end.

For what seemed like the hundredth time I shook these thoughts away. Benjamin had something of importance to share. Everyone else was already focussed on him. He looked to me, like he could see right through me, into my mind. His eyes were gentle, not judging me.

"I have news," Benjamin stated, knowing now that he had everyone's attention. I pulled open a word document on my laptop—the same one I grieved over—and started to type down his every word, and those of the others as well. "It involves Divermon."

"Oh good," Tinkermon said. "I haven't seen him in ages. I couldn't find him at all. And I searched a really long time."

"I did too," MetalifeKuwagamon said. "I've heard nothing of him. Not even a whisper. How is it that you've found him, when none of us could?"

"That's just it," Benjamin said, his face solemn. His eyes cast down. He took a breath, steadying his voice, before proceeding. "He's not here."

"What?" Ogremon asked.

"Let me get this straight," Neo said. "You called us for an emergency meeting to tell us you_ haven't_ found Divermon?"

"We haven't found him, no," Benjamin admitted. That caused quite a ruckus. Babamon complained that it was a pointless waste of time, Centaurumon argued that Benjamin must have good reason, though Ogremon was determined to disagree. D'Arcmon was the one that finally quieted the council when Agumon was shouting full force against MetalifeKuwagamon's roars.

"Enough!" she bellowed. "We are a council. We discuss peace and ways to ensure said peace. We do not start war against one another. I thought we were above this." I chose to remain silent throughout the debacle. My fingers automatically typed out the words they were speaking—screaming at times. I allowed my mind to wander freely as they fought. My hands would stay on task, but my mind needed to be occupied. Mindless arguing wasn't enough of a distraction. Instead I chose to run through the figures of the last financial statement I'd written for Mimi's restaurant. Double checking my work based on memory alone.

"Benjamin did say he had news, didn't he?" Taichi growled out. "It's not pleasant. Sit down, and shut up. The next one to protest is being put on probation."

Everyone was silent then, though I could _feel_ the rage simmering just beneath the surface. Some didn't try to disguise it. It was painted clearly on their faces. Babamon was furious, Leomon was displeased, though he hadn't succumb to the rage Ogremon did. Agumon looked positively horrified at the very suggestion. Neo had schooled his features, not once looking anything less than perfectly calm throughout the entire argument. MetalifeKuwagamon's face wasn't as easy to read.

"Tell them, Ben," Taichi said. "Tell them what you told me."

"We can't find him," Benjamin said solemnly. "We haven't been out looking for him like you have. We went one step further. We searched the codes. Everyone in this room has a code. Even the digidestined. We _should_ be able to search the code and determine the location of any living thing in the Digital World. We. _Cannot._ Find. Divermon's. Code."

"Then he's not in the Digital World," Leomon concluded.

"I thought we established that he hadn't travelled to Earth," Neo mentioned.

"You're not understanding. We can't find his _code_. It's missing from the database," Benjamin reiterated. "He's not the only one either. Etemon's is the most notable, with the rumours that are currently circulating. But there are others too. I have a complete list. I went through the hard copies and compared them to the database. There are seventeen missing digimon in total. Divermon is among them."

This caught my attention entirely.

"Someone tampered with the database?" I demanded.

"Must have," Benjamin concluded. "My hope is that the files have simply been shifted into another folder. I don't have the resources to search any deeper than I already have."

"I do," I told him. "If the code exists, I can find it."

"Please do," D'Arcmon said softly. "We need to find them. All of them."

"I'll do a trace on their data," I promised. "I can start now, if the meeting is adjourned?"

"Yeah," Taichi said, rubbing his brow tiredly. "Do that. We need to find Divermon. If we can't, we're going to need to figure out what to do without him."

"He's still out there," Tinkermon stated firmly. "He _is_. He _has_ to be. Where else could he be?"

I didn't feel inclined to answer that question. Several images passed through my line of vision. Sora. Lalamon. Wizardmon. _Gennai_. No. I didn't think I could tell her what the other option was. She couldn't handle it. Most times, digimon didn't _understand_ the concept of death. Not in the human sense. It was the same with reproduction. No matter how often it was explained to them, no matter how simple the words used.

"Koushiro," Taichi said. "Head to the lab."

"Wait," Gabumon said, quirking his ears. "Something's wrong." He stood quickly, heading to the door. Agumon followed right behind. Taichi caught my eye, questioning me. I had no answers to share. Neo was already out the door, so Taichi urged me forward. Babamon groaned, realizing this was to be a council event, and that she would most likely regret staying behind. She coerced Centaurumon into giving her a ride. Andromon walked beside me. Dracomon and Tentomon—who'd been waiting on the bench Sora used to use—joined us.

I wished they hadn't.

I couldn't help Tentomon erase what we saw from his memory bank. There was a yellow, plant digimon tied up, from the top of his foliage to his roots. It was only due to my extensive knowledge of digimon that I was able to identify it as a Veggiemon from the few glimpses visible to us. We could see his eyes. The most desperate, depressing set of eyes I'd ever laid eyes on. He was pleading with us to untie him, all while looking so disappointed.

"There's a note," I told Taichi. He nodded and pulled the piece of paper off of the ropes. He handed it to me and got to work loosening the knots in Veggimon's binding. I decided the best course of action would be to read the note aloud.

I wished I hadn't.

"_Just returning this trash to the dump it came from_," I read out, cringing when the Veggimon starting sobbing. The ropes dropped away from him and Taichi pulled him close, enveloping the poor creature in his arms.

"It'll be alright," Taichi said. The words sounded fake to my ears, and were doing very little to comfort the recently abandoned digimon. "You know what? Screw him. He doesn't deserve a digimon as awesome as you. Not if that's how he treats you."

"It's my fault," Veggimon cried. "I'm made just for him. Exactly for him. I did something wrong. I had to have done something wrong. Why wouldn't he tell me how to be better? I wanted to do better! I needed to do better."

"You don't need to be better," Taichi told him determined to have this digimon see it his way. I didn't tell him how hopeless his determination would prove to be. "Your partner is the one that needs improving."

"No, no," Veggimon said, rocking back and forth in Taichi's lap. He was in the throes of a nervous breakdown. "It's my fault. I was wrong. I'm a monster. I shouldn't exist."

"Stop that."

I was quite surprised to find it had been my own voice that rang through the courtyard. The digimon that used the courtyard as a market place were gathering around us, invading this poor digimon's privacy. It was wrong. I wouldn't want them present were I in the Veggimon's place. I _didn't_ want them there when I _wasn't_.

I didn't want the Veggimon to keep talking either.

Every word that slipped through his lips was a falsehood. He wasn't the problem. Digimon weren't the problem. Never. They were created specifically to fit the needs of the human partner they would eventually have. They were literally the perfect counterpart. There was no chance that this digimon didn't fit the bill. The digimon was fine.

It was the bastard that abandoned him that was at fault.

"You are a good digimon," I said firmly. "You are. You do the right thing. You're generally positive. You see the good in others. Stop me if I've said something incorrect." He didn't stop me, so I plowed onward. "I look at Taichi and Agumon, and I see the perfect team. They are both impulsive, they're in sync with everything they do. They can give each other orders with one glance. But they didn't start that way. They grew into the perfect pair. Agumon taught Taichi everything about being the man he is today. Tentomon did the same with me. Wormmon with Ken, Palmon with Mimi. Our _digimon_ are responsible for everything good in our lives. We _might_ have come to the same end without their help. Some of us. I know I wouldn't have. It's not the digimon's job to change to suit the human. It is the human that needs to change. The digimon can already see the very best in their partners, the human just needs to bring it out."

"See," Taichi said with forced lightness. "If Koushiro says it's not your fault, then you know it's true. He's never wrong."

"B-b-b-but," Veggimon sobbed.

"Tinkermon," Taichi said. "Leomon, Centaurumon. I want you guys to take Veggimon inside. Neo, maybe you can bring him to the Knights later on. Keep him occupied, okay. An idle mind is most likely to wander. And we don't want his mind to wander back to...well...you know."

"Right," Tinkermon said, manipulating her voice into her regular bubbly tone. "Leomon makes the best cookies in the world. We should all go to the kitchen and like, help him whip up a batch, what do say fellas?"

"Sounds splendid," Centaurumon said calmly. His voice was gentle, and Veggimon relaxed at the sound of it. That was good. A good decision on Taichi's part. The three digimon were very different—bubbly yet vicious, strong and independent, calm and wise—they would keep Veggimon on his figurative toes. And their one common trait was their kindness. He was in good hands.

"What should we do about that," Andromon asked, pointing to the Temple wall. The human evidently didn't think he'd humiliated his partner enough by calling him garbage and tying him up for the world to see. No. He had to vandalize the Temple too. He'd spray painted a word that I'd never seen before. Nisemono. It wasn't hard to deduce its message.

"I'll take care of it," Ogremon said.

"I will assist you," D'Arcmon told him. Taichi almost smiled. The Holy and Dark digimon uniting against a common foe: graffiti. It was almost beautiful that such opposites _could_ unite. But I longed for the time that they didn't. When we _knew_ what was wrong, what we were facing. I loved mysteries. But this was one mystery that I _dreaded_ to solve.

"I'm getting to work," I informed everyone. I didn't stay after that. I turned on my heel and headed to the council room to collect my laptop, before descending into Temple's basements. That's where my lab was. I actually wasn't meant to be in today, so I knew my team wouldn't be present. Shuu was most likely planning his upcoming nuptials, though "upcoming" seemed to have a varying definition when Shuu used it. He'd been using the phrase for nearly three years now. Haruhiko, I imagined, was with his wife, Toshiko. Perhaps Sora was with them, as they celebrated Sora's return to us. Tatum was definitely in America, nearly fourteen hours _behind_ us thanks to time zones. She did a lot of her work through correspondence. It was much easier on her. Centaurumon helped us at times, though he was occupied with Veggimon at the moment.

Tentomon was ready to help, as was Andromon. Both followed me to the labs without hesitation. I felt bad that I had no instructions to share with them. Andromon caught on quickly that it was a one person operation, and took to cleaning the lab. It was something that was done far too infrequently for my tastes. Shuu and Haruhiko never seemed to notice the mess piling up. I was too engrossed in my research to want to put it off in order to clean. Tatum declared that she wasn't in charge of everyone's mess because she was hardly ever present to assist in making it. Tentomon didn't have fingers, and it was awkward for Centarumon to bend down to pick papers up off the floor.

It was a bit of a disaster area.

There were desks—practically counters really, with how solid they were—throughout the room, creating personalized work stations. One wall was made up entirely of computers. Large computer screens, as big as a flat screen television, were embedded into the wall itself, and the counter in front of it acted as desks. Chairs littered the area, never left in the right location. It was a challenge in the morning to get one in order to work. They were often on the opposite end of the room, because someone borrowed it, yet never returned it. The opposite wall to the computers was filled again with a long counter that stretched across the entire length of the room. It was meant for chemistry, biology, all sciences that needed space, and not simply dry erase boards or telescopes. The third wall was our library. It was filled with history texts—two of which I'd written myself—books on languages—again, I wrote one on the digital language I'd been translating for most of my life—atlases, folk lore, science textbooks. Both Earth and the Digital World were represented on these shelves. And one shelf was dedicated to Shuu and Haruhiko's work, which specialized in finding links between the worlds. Moments in time or myths that connect the worlds together. The Sovereigns were an excellent example. Shuu and Haruhiko knew more about the sovereigns than I'd ever dreamed they could, simply because of their in depth studies of Japanese folk lore. It was all very fascinating actually.

But it wasn't what I was there to dwell on the others' specialties. I needed to dig through the very code of the Digital World. I knew there were backup files. I just needed to find them. I'd done it once before simply by accident. How hard could it be to do it again? Simple really. It took me no less than five minutes before I was knee deep in backup files. The backup files were what caused the digimon to be reborn when they died. The files would simply re-copy themselves into the main database and the egg would form. It was an automatic process. It was happening even as I was searching for Divermon and Etemon's data. Just as it happened the last time I'd been searching the backup files.

But try as I might, I could not find even a partial file for either of them. Instead of despairing though, I simply ran through the list Benjamin had put together. Seventeen digimon. I had to find at least _one_ right?

Wrong.

Andromon ran back and forth, dividing his time between cleaning up and providing me coffee. The more stressed I got, continually coming up with absolutely nothing for all my efforts, the more caffeine my body required. I had never drank so much coffee in such a short period of time before. My hands were shaking because of the excess and _still_ I was no closer to finding them.

In desperation, I located Palmon's file. I knew she was on Earth. But I could find _her_ file. I contemplated asking Tentomon to visit the Land of Dreams, but knew it wouldn't change anything. His file was right there, alongside Palmon's, and Agumon's, and Gabumon's. And Gomamon's. And Gatomon's. And Patamon's. And Biyomon's. And where the _hell_ was Divermon's backup file!

I buried my fingers in my hair, pulling it as hard as I could, trying to loosen up whatever part of my brain that was keeping me from locating the files. They had to be here. I must've just missed them. Not that I'd ever missed something before. Well, something involving my computer in any case. I simply did not make mistakes.

"Koushiro," Tentomon said, pulling at my arm, trying to get me to relinquish my hold on my hair. "Koushiro, I think it's time for a break."

"No," I said, desperately. "I can't stop. I _have_ to find it. It has to be there. I won't accept that it's not!" I couldn't accept it. Not when I knew what it meant. If I couldn't find his code, then he didn't exist. Without his backup code, it would be like he _never_ existed. But he did. I'd seen him, hundreds of times! Tinkermon was still out looking for him, which means he _did_ exist. I just wasn't looking hard enough!

"Koushiro, answer your phone," Tentomon ordered. Absentmindedly, I accepted the call, and cradled the phone between my ear and my shoulder.

"Hey," Mimi said softly. "Tentomon told me to call you."

I sent a glare Tentomon's direction. He didn't look even _slightly_ apologetic.

"But I would've called soon anyway," she assured me. "You're kind of running late. I know how you like to be early when we all meet at the restaurant. But you, Taichi and Neo aren't here yet, so I thought you maybe got caught up at work? You're not the only ones missing, but still...are you coming or not?"

"I'm trying to find..." I said, trailing off. I sighed. "I'll be there in a couple of minutes. I'm going to have to come back after dinner though."

"That's fine," she said. "Just come and eat. I know you. All caffeine and nothing nutritious." I could _hear_ the wink. "Oh, Hideto needs me in the kitchen. I'm going to have to let you go. See you soon."

"See you," I said. It wasn't until after she'd hung up that I thought to say "I love you." I ignored the awkwardness of talking into a phone with no one on the other end, and gathered my wits about me. I'd be coming back to work on this. I couldn't believe the time. It was glaring up at me from the watch on my wrist. 4:56 pm. I'd been working since 7:30 in the morning. It didn't compute. How could so much time have slipped away without anything to show for it?

It was as if none of these digimon had ever existed. A cold, sinking feeling settled in my gut. I would have to share my findings. Taichi would want to know my progress. I felt a chill run down my back, as though I had ice in my veins. It was a scary thought. I'd been so determined that they were just hiding from me that I never took the unbiased view: if they were gone, deleted entirely from the database, what caused it? It was very unlikely that they did it themselves. Who was fiddling with the database?

"Koushiro?" Andromon said. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I'd forgotten he was there. "I wish to continue your search in your absence."

"I'll help him, Koushiro," Tentomon insisted. "We'll find them. Don't lose hope."

"I won't," I told them, and vowed I'd try to keep that promise.

"Koushiro!" Taichi's voice bellowed through the basement. I looked to the final wall, one made up entirely of glass. It showed the hallway beyond it. Not an appealing view. But it was necessary. It allowed others to view what was happening inside the lab without exposure to the work. Today, when only the computers were in use, it wasn't such a pressing issue, but before we started using this lab, when the shadows held Spring captive here, doing unspeakable experiments with her, I could see how the hallway would be a blessing. It was also quite useful when any of us tried our hands at chemistry—my worst branch of science, as well as everyone else's. That section was typically reserved for Jou's use, as he sometimes had to develop medicines for the use of digimon.

Taichi came into view, holding his phone out in front of him, looking down at the tiny screen. He reached out blindly with his other hand, trying to locate the door and nearly walked directly into the glass due to his poor peripheral vision.

"Koushiro!" he hollered again.

"Yes, Taichi," I said, raising my brow at his antics.

"They are bombarding me with texts," he complained, nearly pouting. "They say Agumon can't come. None of the digimon are invited. I call that rude. Isn't that rude?"

"Yes," I sighed. "Agumon can stay with Tentomon and Andromon if he wants. Or the Knights. He does have things he can do that don't involve you."

"I know," he said grumpily. "It's just the principle of the matter."

I rolled my eyes and let him usher me out of the basement. Neo was waiting by the gate, clearly having re-established the entry point so we'd arrive directly into the restaurant without any effort on our part. I was still shaking from the caffeine, and as such didn't protest his actions. Typically, altering the gateway irritated me greatly.

Mimi was right. We weren't the last ones to arrive. She'd exaggerated the number of us that had already showed though. Not counting Mimi and Hideto—who were there to begin with—Daisuke, Kurayami and Haruki were there, along with Willis, Michael and Betamon. That was all.

"I feel lied to," Neo said dryly.

"You made it!" Mimi cheered. She didn't seem to notice the glares both Taichi and Neo were sending her way. Taichi was grumbling about Betamon's presence, and Neo moved—with that perfect grace of his—to take a seat, removing himself from the situation. It was his way of ensuring an unpleasant encounter didn't occur. I appreciated it greatly.

"We made it," I agreed. She came over and hugged me, beaming up at me. Part of me wished I could assume all of this pleasant energy was directed at me, but I knew differently. She was simply thrilled to be back at the restaurant. The banishment Izumi and Hideto had forced on her was over, and she was enjoying the atmosphere, happy to have something to occupy her time with other than cooking at home. Our fridge was stocked full of plastic dishes, portioned out meals to ensure that we all ate some good, homemade cooking, rather than calling for takeaway like I usually did while she worked. There wasn't any room for her to cook anymore. And Palmon was queasy from the baking. She'd done her best to eat all that she made. She was home with a stomach ache; Jou prescribed bed rest and suggested she abstain from all sweets for a week.

"Everything's going so smoothly today," Mimi prattled off. "Michan didn't come in to work, which should make me mad, but it didn't, because I didn't have to shout at her even once, and Hideto and Izumi both got to take turns being the host and serving, because I got to be in the kitchen, _cooking_, for the first time in months. I'm so happy!"

"I'm glad," I told her honestly. There was movement out the front window, and I sighed. Mimi's good mood was about to take a plummet. "Isn't that Michan now?"

"No," Mimi gasped, whirling around and I could see her happiness crack just the tiniest bit. "Michan, I'm so happy to see you." She was lying through her teeth.

"Are you?" Michan sneered. "I doubt it. If you were, you wouldn't have left that moron in charge of your restaurant. You are the worst type of friend I've ever seen. You know that? You gave him full control. Told him he could do things only you should be able to do. He abused that power you know. He fired me!"

"He did?" Mimi asked faintly, glancing out the corner of her eye towards Hideto. He was smirking at his now ex-co-worker. "I didn't know."

"No, of course you didn't," Michan said sarcastically. "You had to have known. You were too chicken to do it yourself, huh? Had to have your little lackey do it for you? Well, you know what? I didn't _need_ this job. I didn't _need_ you to be my friend. I was only using you to get paid anyway."

As if we _all_ didn't realize that one already.

"But you treated me horribly," Michan said fiercely. "We were best friends. You, me and Tako. We were thick as thieves. Then these things come around, and you ditch us like we were _so_ last season. You're a jerk Mimi, and I know what it was that changed you."

"I _was_ a jerk," Mimi protested. "When we were friends. You made me a jerk. Palmon made me better. She showed me there was another way!"

"That's it exactly," Michan said. "That digimon is the cause of everything. I hope you're happy Mimi, because I've got some friends here that share my opinions. And we'll see just how many people bother to come eat at Mimi's when they know the truth."

"We _will_ see, won't we," Mimi challenged, though I could see she was nervous. Michan glared at her one last time, before walking out the door. Three men met her there, handing over what appeared to be a picket sign.

They were literally going to protest right outside the door.

_**Iori Hida:**_

It was nerve wracking. I glanced at my professor, but he seemed to think this was perfectly natural, so I tried to let it go. It was hard though. I could not believe how long it was taking. I tried as hard as I could to be calm and collected, to act like I did this all the time, but how could I? It was my first court case, and while Mari and I put forth an incredibly strong defence, the judge could still give Mari's parents what they wanted. I couldn't even remember why I wanted to be a lawyer anymore.

"Relax kid," Mari said. But it was hypocritical of her. Her palms were sweating when she grabbed onto my hand. She was freaking out just as much as I was. It was obvious, no matter how hard either of us tried to hide it.

"We have to win," I muttered.

"And we will," she murmured back. Neither of us sounded _too_ confident. "They were disowned, and my grandmother chose to be my guardian. She no longer acknowledged either of them as family members, and I'm not even convinced that she knew about the kid at all, so I think we're good."

"Calm down," my professor said, laughing with his eyes. "It's a little more complicated than I'd have hoped, but it's nearly an open and shut case. And if the judge can't see that, we'll ask for an appeal, and come back stronger than ever."

"Right," Mari and I agreed. The judge came back into the room at that point, and we all stood up, as was the custom. She signalled for everyone to sit down, so we did. Stiffly. I'd never had so much tension in my body before.

"The will must be followed," the judge announced. "Everything goes to Mari Rebecca Goutokuji."

"No way," Mari gasped.

"No way!" Batsu, her father shouted. He quieted down after some quick words of advice from his lawyer and a short glance to the—now glaring—judge. Itami, his wife, was still smiling, though it seemed far more strained then before. I was starting to think the smile was a permanent fixture to her face.

Everyone was dismissed from the courtroom and Mari did a little dance the moment we reached the hall. "We won, we won, we won, we won!" she sang while doing her jig. "Thank you so much!" she said, throwing her arms around me and squeezing me tightly. "You're a great friend. I can't think of anyone who has got a friend as great as you. Who even _does_ what you did in there? This is the greatest day in my life. Did you see their faces?"

I nodded, but I wasn't looking at her anymore. I was looking at her parents and their lawyer, Mr Bengoshi, who were standing right behind her. She seemed to sense what I was looking at and whirled around in an instant.

"Don't think we're taking this lying down," her father warned her.

"We're still going to get what we want," her mother promised.

"Yeah, right," Mari said airily. "And even if you won the library, like you wanted, I would've just bought it back from you."

"You've got no formal education and no career," her father sneered. "How were you planning on doing that?"

"Oh, I was just going to use some of the money Grandma left me," Mari said. "You know, 'cause she left me everything."

I saw a spark light up their eyes and mentally groaned. They dragged Mr Bengoshi off with them to formulate a new plan, this time with a different target. They wanted to get their hands on that money, and we'd just be dragged back into court again.

Unless the case was refused. Which it very well could be. They were trying to reopen the same case that had just been closed, only with a different end game. They might try to claim they needed the money for the young girl's education, since she couldn't go without it, or some other made up story. Just one look at the pair of them and you could tell that they were well off. They didn't need money. But greed just begets more greed. Just look at what happened to Willis with those pizzas. I thanked the stars yet again that those sin digimon were dealt with.

"You shouldn't have said that," my professor told Mari.

"It was true though," she said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Well we're just going to have to hope for the best," he said. "You did well out there today, Iori. I'm very impressed. You will make a fine lawyer. I'm glad to have you in my classes once again. This was a good first foray into the world of law."

"Thank you, sir," I said sheepishly. Mari looked especially pleased, and she held my arm the entire walk towards Mimi's restaurant from the court house. She kept shaking it excitedly. But she didn't say anything. I think she was a tad too emotional for words. Or she didn't trust herself to keep calm if she _did_ try to speak. She was one of the _cool_ digidestined after all. She had an image to maintain.

"What the..." she muttered, finally breaking the somewhat awkward silence. It wasn't until she pointed it out that I heard it too. Chanting of some sort. It didn't sound overly pleasant either.

"No! No! Digimon! No! No! Digimon!"

"I don't like the sounds of that," I said to her. The two of us hurried to the restaurant. We were met by a rather unpleasant sight. No fewer than eight people standing with picket signs, marching around in front of Mimi's. The signs were horrid. One said "Don't let monster lovers handle your food!" and another was insulting digimon themselves. It was childish. And it was hurtful. Digimon didn't deserve any of this. And so help me, if anyone tried to hurt Meiyomon, I'd flay them.

We tried to weave our way through them toward the door, but any time we got close, one or two protestors would get between us and our destination, pushing us back. We tried four times, meeting the same results.

"Okay," Mari said, getting angry. "Someone's gonna move, or I'm gonna move them."

"You don't want to go in there," this big man told us. "They refuse to let anyone get served by non-monster lovers. I heard they let those _creatures_ into the kitchens. That's unsanitary. And disgusting."

"You're disgusting," I told him. He glared at me.

"Do I need to repeat myself," Mari said firmly.

"Whatever," he said. "If you're not with us, you're against us. Fall in line!"

The protestors lined up in front of us, shoulder to shoulder, keeping us away from the door. I looked each one in the eye, testing to see where the weakest link was. There were two girls right near the middle. One looked familiar. She worked here though...didn't she? The girl next to her didn't look fully invested in the protest. They'd have to be our targets.

"Michan," Mari said sweetly, not unlike her mother. "You're gonna want to move. Take your little friend with you when you go. See, I don't like you, but I'd rather not have to _hurt_ you. Mind you, I _could_ just call the police, seeing as this picketing stuff, yeah, I'm pretty sure that's against the law."

"Or," I said, playing the good cop to her bad. "You could just let us through, and we both get to do what we want. How does that sound?"

"Not horrible," Michan—because Mari was right, and that's who she was (once she said her name, I remembered her more clearly)—said pouting. "Let them through. We don't want to get arrested."

"Like the cops would arrest us for doing our civic duty," the big guy snorted.

"Do you want to chance it?" she asked skeptically. "I know for a fact there's a cop right inside. We won't have time to escape if they decide to set him on us."

"If it was really against the law, why didn't he do something about it _before_ he went inside?" the guy wanted to know, thinking he was so smart.

"He wanted a chance to call for back-up," Ken said from behind them in the doorway. "I'm counting to three, and if you're not gone, my entire team is going to show up. I've got confirmation that they're only three minutes away. One."

"He's bluffing," the guy said, crossing his arms. "I don't see a badge."

"Two," Ken said, pulling his police badge from his pocket. Three of the protestors disappeared instantly. Michan's friend looked very nervous, but the big guy and his two—even bigger—friends didn't seem fazed.

"Michan," her friend hissed. "If you get me arrested, Mom's never going to let us go to the cabin for a week. I don't want to risk it."

"Fine," she sighed. "Let's go."

The guys didn't seem so confidant once the girls left. Ken looked them straight in the eye. "Three," he said, pressing redial on his phone. "Hello? I need all available personnel to report to _Mimi's, _the restaurant on the corner of—" He didn't need to continue. The three guys bolted. "Yeah, Miyako. It worked just like you said it would," he said into his cell phone. He looked to us and winked. "Yes, Miyako, it _was_ Iori and Mari, like you said. No, I'm not being sarcastic. Look, you're right inside. Can we talk when we get there? Thank you!" He hung up his phone and looked to us tiredly. "You're the last ones to get here. Of course it had to be you. I didn't actually think I could get rid of them."

"I'm glad you did," Mari said. "I didn't want to hurt my fist on their faces."

Ken led us into the restaurant and I was a little disheartened to see that the digidestined were literally the only people in the place. The protestors must've been doing their intended job really well before we showed up. It worked out well for space though, since it looked like they took six of the longer tables and sort of jammed them together to create three bigger tables in a row. There was a little bit of space between each of the three tables—just enough to walk through—but otherwise, it looked like one great big long table. There was a spread of a variety of foods and everyone was already eating and talking. It looked like Mimi had decided on a buffet style dinner for her birthday.

Ken and Miyako were seated at the very end of the table closest to the door. To Miyako's right, were Takeru, Hikari and Willis, and on Ken's left were Daisuke and Kurayami. Little Haruki was in Daisuke's arms and he was trying to eat around him, much to Kurayami's dismay. Mari and I walked over to the middle table, as it was the only one with any space, and I took the seat closest to Willis, with Michael on my other side. Betamon finished my side of the table. Mari took her place beside Kiyoko, who had Hideto on his other side. Taichi sat at the very end of the final table alone, with Sora next to him on his left, followed by Koushiro, and finally Mimi—who was also next to Betamon. Yamato was on Taichi's left, beside Jou and finally Neo.

It was a full crowd, but Mari and I helped ourselves to the food and dug in. It took longer than it should've for us to realize everyone had stopped talking and was looking at us, waiting for news on the court case.

"Guess who legally has all rights to her very own library," Mari said with a big smile. "That's right. It's this girl." She pointed to herself with both thumbs.

"Alright!" Hideto cheered, and soon everyone was congratulating both of us on a job well done. Evidently they all _knew_ we would win, so they weren't worried. I found it hard to believe they knew that, of course, due to the fact that they had to wait for us to tell them the results...but I let them have their way. We all sort of chatted for a bit while we ate the majority of the meal. I didn't contribute much to the conversation, as I was ravenous and thought it was very rude to speak with my mouth full. I'd been too nervous that morning to eat even the bit of toast Natsuni had made for me. She lectured me on the importance of breakfast, but I couldn't make myself swallow it. I knew it would just come right back up and I definitely didn't want to get sick in the middle of the courtroom. But now that I knew the results and we'd won? I could suddenly eat again. And I wanted to. Badly.

"I still don't see why we had to give in to those damn protestors," Taichi complained. "The digimon have been at tons of meetings before, and this time it's Mimi's _birthday_ party. Shouldn't they be here?"

"You know why they can't, Taichi," Mimi said. "I don't want the protestors to have anything more to complain about. They already went to the newspapers, and a local magazine heard about the story. I can't have any more bad press. The restaurant is still doing okay, but _barely_. And I'm afraid of what those people might do if they actually _saw_ a digimon."

"Why don't you just ask Michael," Taichi suggested sarcastically. "_He_ was able to bring Betamon with him, despite the danger."

"I have to bring Betamon," Michael said, as if to suggest otherwise was absolute balderdash. "I've got a plan. A big plan. It's gonna be great, okay. Just let it play out."

"Whatever," Taichi said. "At least Agumon and Rei can spend time together. Agumon works so much lately that she's been complaining about it."

"You want something to complain about?" Ken asked. "I hate my job. I _hate_ it. Really. It was great before we got a new chief, but now I'm actually scared to go to work. He's bigger, stronger, tougher...he's just _better_ than me at everything, and he doesn't let me forget it. But not only that. There's something about him. He's determined to keep 'crime off the streets'."

"Yeah," Daisuke snorted. "That's what the police are for."

"I know," Ken said miserably. "But it's the way he says it. I can imitate it. It's just terrifying."

"Wait," Takeru said. "I might've _met_ him. He's tall, built kind of like a tree trunk, bushy eyebrows?"

"If by tree trunk you mean incredibly muscular, then yes on all three accounts," Ken said suspiciously.

"And he's got a really gruff voice, and intimidating eyes," Takeru added.

"Yes," Ken said. "And he stands like he was in the military."

"Exactly!" Takeru said. "And that scar," he continued, gesturing from his eye down his face to his neck, with a dramatic flair.

"Yeah, no," Ken said, stopping short. "He doesn't have a scar. At least, not on his face. Does your guy have a sprinkling of grey hair in an otherwise full, inky black head of hair?"

"I like the description," Takeru complimented him. "But no. Not really."

"Then it looks like they're two different guys," Taichi said, rolling his eyes.

"Mimi, I have to ask," Mari said hesitantly. "That girl, the one protesting, Michan..."

"Yes," Mimi sighed sadly. "She used to work here. She still would if _Hideto_ hadn't fired her."

"You needed a break," Hideto said. "You left me in charge and I specifically asked if I had all rights that you had when you were in charge. You agreed. Besides you were paying her to do nothing. She needed to go. You need to pick of the dead flowers in order for more to go. And Michan was one _very_ dead flower."

"Yeah, well, now she's protesting against my restaurant. Against _me_," Mimi said. "And I really don't like it. I wanted us to be friends again, like we used to before I met any digimon, or any of you. But we can't. And now she's got my _other_ ex-best friend Tako out there protesting right along with her... It's just really not something I'm handling well."

"I'm not sorry for firing her," Hideto said firmly. "You deserve better from your employees Mimi. Besides, replacing her with Koushiro was a great idea."

"I'm only doing the paper work," Koushiro said quickly. "I'm not being a host. You couldn't pay me enough."

"I'd take minimum wage," Takeru lamented. "I got fired after talking back to that scary guy I was talking about. And with Kurayami not working, I really need to pick up my slack. Does anyone know anywhere that's hiring? I'd even pick garbage off the streets at this point." He made a face. "Okay. I'd do anything other than that, but I'm desperate here."

"I hear the Teenage Wolves are auditioning for a new lead singer?" Miyako said bitterly. "Why didn't you tell me Yamato?"

"Not something I want to talk about," Yamato said, looking down at his empty plate.

"I'd have liked to hear it from you though, rather than get those last couple of song files only to find that there's a girl singing lead. I asked them what happened to you, and they said you were history," she said snippily. "So, I told them they could find someone _else_ to mix their tracks for them, because I'm not working for anyone except Yamato. They didn't like it, but the contract you gave me says that my obligations are tied to yours, so they couldn't do anything about it."

"You didn't have to quit," Yamato told her.

"Yes," she said. "I did. I wasn't in it for fame or fortune. I was in it for you. And you weren't there anymore, and quite frankly? I never really liked those other guys anyway." Yamato didn't say anything, but I knew he was touched by her dedication.

I on the other hand was more than a little bit concerned.

"I thought you were depending on that money for—" I stopped. She glared at me and I floundered for an end to my sentence that wouldn't reveal her secret pregnancy. "That special project of yours."

"I've got enough to get me started. I'll figure it out from here," she said. "Don't worry. I'm not going to jeopardize my integrity, or my friendship."

"Okay, I'm sorry, but I've got to ask," Hideto said drawing focus back to himself—which both Miyako and I were thankful for. "Hikari, what the hell did you do to your hair?"

"I cut it off," she said simply. "I like my hair this way better. It's been like this for most of my life. I thought that I'd like long hair like Mom's when I was an adult, so I tested it out, but it didn't really fit me."

"But it was so pretty," Hideto protested. "And your brother already lost all of his! I'm not going to have any Yagami hair to play with."

"That might be for the best," Mari said, patting Kiyoko's hand, which was resting on the table. "You're in a relationship now. You should play with his hair."

"Fine," Hideto said sighing dramatically. "But I really like hair."

"Why didn't you go through for hairdressing then?" Kiyoko asked him.

"I really like hair," Hideto repeated. "I could never cut it. Unless it's ugly. Then I'd shave it. I wouldn't be very good, now would I?"

"If I may," Kurayami said. "Circling back to the no job thing Takeru was talking about, I don't have one either. And I really, _really_, want one. So if anyone wants to be a full time babysitter that's willing to work for less than minimum wage, let me know."

She was met with absolute silence.

"Yeah," she said. "I didn't think that would work."

"When my current job is no longer available, I could, I guess," Miyako offered. "But I don't know. Wouldn't you miss your baby?"

"Yes. Very much so," Kurayami sighed. "I just want help with him."

"Then all you had to do was ask," Miyako said. "I could watch him sometimes, if you want to do something. It'd be good for me. You know, since I never really got to know Emiko when she was a baby. For important reasons, of course. But still."

I sighed. She couldn't be much more obvious if she tried.

"I'm just glad I'm not having as much bad luck as you guys are in the job department," Daisuke said. "My noodle-cart's doing just fine."

"That's probably because Veemon is too busy running the second cart in the Digital World to hang around," Mimi said. "I know it sounds bad, but it's really all I can come up with."

"My business is booming as well," Jou said. "Unfortunately. I've got to have the one job when it's _not_ good to have so many customers. But more and more digimon are getting sick, and lately there've been quite a few injuries as well. Mysterious ones. They won't talk about them. I don't know how to help them if they won't talk to me."

"You'll get through to them, Jou," Sora said comfortingly. "I know you will. Just don't push them."

"How's your show coming along, Sora?" Hikari asked. "I heard you're doing a digimon theme?"

"The clothing is coming together quite nicely," Sora said with a forced smile. When she realized she'd fooled exactly no one, she gave in. "All of my models up and quit on me yesterday. The shows coming up soon, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Where am I going to get new models on such short notice? And why did they all quit anyway. I know digimon are a sort of taboo thing right now, but I don't have digimon _modelling_ the clothes. And fashion has always been really progressive. They shouldn't be holding back _fashion_ because they're all bigots. UGH!"

"Don't hold back," I said dryly. "Tell us how you really feel."

"I don't know what I'm going to do," she said softly. "This had the potential to be my big break. And now it's been shot down before it ever got the chance to fly."

"That might not be true," Mari said slowly. "I'm sure you don't need models from an agency."

"That's right!" Hikari gasped. "You can use regular girls too. I might not be as pretty as a model—"

"That's blasphemous," Takeru interrupted. "You're the most beautiful girl in all the world."

"You're just saying that," Hikari said embarrassedly.

"I'm not," Takeru said. "I really believe it."

"Okay," Mari said. "Gross. I'd volunteer too, but I'm leaving the country before the big day, so I won't be around. I'm headed out to America. I meant to go sooner, but I had to push the trip back because of the court case."

"Well, if you can't have Mari, you might have to settle for me," Miyako said shyly. "I'm definitely not the model type. But I'm willing to give it a try." She put her hand up to stop Ken from protesting. I was thankful. I didn't want another show like Takeru and Hikari. I really didn't care for any new cavities.

"I'm in," Kurayami said. "As long as I can take my baby to any rehearsals. I'll leave him with Daisuke for the show, though."

"That's fine," Sora said with a grin.

"And with me that makes four. Will that work, Sora?" Mimi asked.

"I'll make it work. Thanks you guys!"

"I have something rather serious to remark upon," Koushiro said, his even, measured tone slicing through the excitement. "I'd much rather we end on a high note, but I'm worried, and would rather not push this off too long. Digimon are missing. Several known ones, and I just want you to keep your eyes peeled and your ears open. Etemon and Divermon are just two examples."

"Are you sure they're not just on Earth?" I asked.

"I'm sure. When a digimon comes to Earth, their data isn't deleted from the Digital World. It's still there, saved as a file embedded in the world's code. It's how the digimon can be reborn. There's a back-up file. I'm having trouble locating either of their files. I'm sure I'll get there eventually. For now though..." Koushiro said worriedly.

"Also," Neo added. "The only gate available for digimon without partners to travel through is in the Temple. Neither of these particular digimon were seen in the Temple before their disappearance. We have Temple workers scheduled as guards at all times. There's no way they could have just slipped through the gates."

"Right," Takeru said. "You want us to gather rumours too, see if there are others in a similar situation. We can do that. I can travel around all day if you want. I don't have a job to hold me back."

"Yes," Mimi said. "You do. You're my new host. I'm going to need one. Yamato, how do you feel about helping me out too? I'd really rather pay for workers that can help me. Hideto's right. I need to step up my game and to do that, I'm going to need a team of _real_ employees instead of just a lazy good-for-nothing."

"Sure," Yamato said. "But I'm still going to keep a look out. This sounds really important."

It really did. I couldn't help but worry. What had we gotten ourselves into _this_ time?

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Save the Date! April 24th! (I think!) and find out what happens next!


	8. Save the Date

**Y/N: **So...I forgot to update, repeatedly. Urazamay reminded me, but his reminders went in one ear and out the other. I'm sorry. I should've posted this chapter ages ago. Especially, since this whole story is written already...It shouldn't be as big of an issue as I'm apparently making it... Oops. Anyway, I wrote Daisuke this time around...and you get to really get a good look at a character that's sort of new (she was around before, just not in the spotlight like she is now).

**U/N: **This was the very first time Jenna had any sort of narration. She was chosen because we needed to have someone constantly in America giving the run down over there and there weren't very many interesting options. It was her or Mary, Willis' mom. So. Anyway, I had trouble with her because differentiating Kurayami, Jenna and Mari is really difficult. Mari is obviously my favourite, and Kurayami is a little crazy, but finding a different voice for them is hard.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 1: Whispers**

**Chapter 8: Save the Date **

_**Daisuke Motomiya:**_

I didn't see what the big deal was. I mean, she wanted to get married, so why didn't she just do it already? When I proposed to Kurayami, it was because we were ready for the next step, and we both wanted it. The engagement lasted a grand total of three months, and only because we had to give Sora enough time to design and sew Kurayami's one of a kind wedding dress.

If it wasn't for Sora, it probably would've been shorter. Just long enough for us to receive a marriage license and that's it.

That's all the time that was needed, really. The wedding itself wasn't going to be important ten years down the line. The person she marries? He will be. So why couldn't Jun just pick a damn colour scheme and go with it? We'd been sitting here, in Jun and Shuu's living room, for three hours just watching her debate between two shades of beige. She swore they were different, but I just couldn't see it.

"This isn't working," Jun whined. She threw herself back against her ratty old couch, tossing her hands in the air and let out a big sob. "It's supposed to be perfect. Why can't it be perfect?"

"You're trying too hard," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "Pick the second one and move on."

"But what if the taupe napkin doesn't blend well with the dusty rose overlay?" Jun cried.

"Don't pick the pink overlay then," Shuu said.

"I thought _we_ were the ones that were supposed to be voting," Jou said, sounding incredibly bored. I could relate, even though I had a feeling he was following the conversation better than I was. I really thought he could tell the difference between the two beige napkins. Momoe definitely could, and she was _not_ voting for the "taupe". She wanted the sandalwood, and just to be different, Kurayami was voting for the third one. It was called _horsehair_, and I'm pretty sure that was the only reason it got her vote. It was a ridiculous name.

"I know," Jun sighed. "But, but, what if you don't pick my favourite?"

"Then tell us your favourite," I suggested.

"What?" Jun asked incredulously. "And have you pick it just because you think I want you to? No. Fat chance buddy. I want your honest opinions."

"Clearly you don't," I argued. "Since you won't let us _give_ you our opinions."

"Fine!" Jun shouted. Haruki's eyes opened wide, and he made a small fussy noise. He was such a quiet kid. Honestly, I couldn't understand why people complained about being a new parent. I scooped him out of the playpen Momoe had set up. She'd finally located Emiko's old baby stuff, and let us borrow it all. It was awesome to _not_ have to hold Haruki all the time. Not that it stopped Kurayami. She was seriously worried about everything. Several times a night I could feel her get up from our bed _just_ to check on him. He was always sleeping too. So nothing was ever wrong. And the times that he _did_ make a fuss? I tried to get up before she did, so she could get at least _some_ rest, but she had to be the lightest sleeper in the world. He could _sigh_ and she'd wake up. I knew I wasn't exactly pulling my weight when it came to midnight feedings, and changing him and whatever. But it wasn't because I wasn't trying.

I _wanted_ to get to do those things. I wanted to experience them too. It was just no use. She was hardwired to hear him first.

And then, during the day, when I _did_ have a chance to get to him first? I was always working. I'd been putting in tons of extra hours lately. Yes, Takeru had gotten a new job—from Mimi—but money was still tight. We definitely hadn't been ready for a baby. We hadn't had a chance to save up for _anything_, we still lived in my first apartment, and between us and the digimon, there'd already been six mouths to feed. Haruki was a seventh. An extra one that could only eat from a very specific diet. Honestly? I'd been purposefully "overcooking" noodles at the cart at the end of my shifts, just so I could bring stuff home to eat. I knew that Labramon and Patamon were getting sick of noodles. Kurayami wouldn't complain, and Takeru had been too ashamed of losing his job to comment at all. Veemon was still thrilled, but I didn't know how long that would last. On the plus side, now that Takeru worked at the restaurant, Mimi sometimes sent the leftover soup-of-the-day home with him. Other stuff too, but it was mostly just the desserts.

But even with all that?

I would _never_ change the fact that Haruki was born. So we made him before we were ready? So what? We were managing, and he made us both so happy. Someday, I'd be able to cut back the hours I was working. Someday, we'd get a new place, someday Takeru and Patamon might actually move out. Not that I really _wanted_ him gone, per say. It's just. Kurayami, Haruki, Veemon, Labramon and I? We were a family now. And it was hard to wrap my head around.

But it still only took us three months to plan a stinking wedding. We ruled. Jun's had three _years_ and still wasn't done. I think that was her problem, really. She's had three years to freak out, and reconsider. We'd given ourselves six days to make decisions. Two for decorations, one for location, two for food (one day with Mimi for our meals and the second for the cake!) and the final day was for Sora to talk with Kurayami about our apparel. While we were out picking the venue, we'd stopped and gotten the rings, which we'd planned to get on a seventh day. Yeah, we multitasked. We're awesome like that.

Anyway, I looked over the three choices, and couldn't understand why it was taking her so long. Each pile had clearly labeled colour swatches (each with its own "shade" of beige), a style of flatware, name plates for the guests, and a picture of a centrepiece. The first had the horsehair, ivory and "wine red". The silverware was really fancy looking, and the centrepiece was full of deep red flowers—apparently lilies—and ivory roses. There were little crystal napkin rings, and an ivory nametag, with Shuu's name written on it in calligraphy.

It was way too fancy. Shuu and Jun weren't like that at all. They were really fun people. They liked to let loose and have a good time. They didn't have sticks up their butts, and they weren't snooty.

Next.

A taupe napkin was folded over swatches labelled dusty rose, Aruba blue and Adriatic mist. They looked kind of like a pale blue, a deep turquoise, dark pink and beige to me. But apparently their exact name was the most important part. I glanced at Shuu quickly, but he didn't seem overly impressed by the pink involved. I couldn't blame him. As much as Jun liked to think this was _her_ special day, it was his too. And if he didn't like pink, then I wasn't going to pick it. I didn't look closer at that setting.

The third one though, caught my eye in a good way.

"That's the one," I told her, pointing to it. The sandalwood napkin had a mellowing effect to the wild centerpiece. It reminded me of the effect Shuu had on Jun. He was solid, he was calm, but he was still fun. She was kind of all over the place. Loud. Bright. Just like the flowers in the picture. There were yellows and reds and this sort of soft orange colour. There was a bold—but not dark—purple. There was greenery that sort of draped down the side of the vase. There were candles—four of them—surrounding the vase, all centred on a napkin in the centre of the table. It was a simple table arrangement. The silverware was basic, not ornate, but not lousy. Yes, there was too much of it, but I knew that Jun wanted the guests to be treated to a three course dinner. Soup or salad, followed by a choice of chicken, steak or fish, and capped off with a decadent dessert. I knew that was her plan, because I went with her when she tried out six different caterers. She found one she liked, but she hadn't been able to book him, because she'd yet to nail down a wedding date.

But it wasn't just the centre piece that drew my attention. She'd clearly put more effort into this one. The candles representing Meramon, the purple in the middle of the centrepiece was clearly drawing on her close relationship with her own digimon, Otamamon. The bright, wacky colour choices were her, and I'd already established the napkin represented the groom. She had pictures of possible ceiling decorations, and a note that called for spotlights around the edge of the room. She wanted them to have coloured lights, the same colours as the centrepieces. She'd have the purple again in her bridesmaid dresses, and she'd made a list of flowers for in her bouquets.

"No," Jun protested quickly. "That's just one I made for fun. It's not what I'm really looking for."

"It's the only one that looks like you," I told her. "The rest of them look like you're trying too hard to be someone else. Someone you could never be. You're my big sister Jun. I've known you my entire life. Not once did you ever strike me as a girly girl and you've never looked like the high society type. Just be yourself. Let your wedding be about _you_, not about pleasing everybody else."

"I just want it to be better than all of the other ones," Jun said quietly. "I want it to be memorable."

"Oh, it's _going_ to be memorable," Momoe said firmly. I nearly jumped out of my skin. I'd forgotten how many of us were really there. For awhile there it felt like it was just Jun, Shuu and myself. I glanced around and realized that Jou, Kurayami and Momoe all agreed with my vote. Emiko had gone so far as to take the page of jot notes for the elegant wedding and started scribbling a picture on it. I smiled. Jun wouldn't be going with that one then.

But it wasn't just the people that knew what theme suited Jun best. Monmon crumpled up the pictures from the second, girly wedding and was juggling the scrunched up balls, much to the amusement of Bearmon. Labramon was nodding with every word I'd spoken, and Meramon seemed pleased with the end results. Otamamon was the only other one unconvinced.

"Jun has to pick," Otamamon said firmly. "You can't just team up against her!"

"She agreed that we'd have a vote. She didn't want to debate it anymore," Kurayami protested. "She's shown us the options, and we've chosen a very clear winner. If she doesn't agree, then she shouldn't have let us vote in the first place."

"I like it," Shuu said. "It really shows who you are. And I'm marrying you for who you _are_, not who you want others to see you as. I love you Jun. And I want to marry you. I've wanted to marry you for awhile now. It just kind of seems like there might be a reason you're putting it off."

"What?" Jun gasped. "Don't say that! I want to marry you. I really, really, _really_, want to marry you. Don't ever think that I don't."

"Then just do it," Shuu said. "Pick the theme. Right now."

"You can do it," Otamamon urged.

Jun stared with wide eyes at the table. The remnants of her first two choices weren't much to look at, but that third one. The _right_ one was staring up at her. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her lips pulling into a smile. "You're right. This is the one. Let's get married!"

"Finally," Shuu said, heaving a sigh of relief.

"You guys do realize you need a marriage license first, right?" Kurayami reminded them.

"I've had that for ages," Jun said, waving off her worry. "Don't worry about it."

"So, now all that's left is picking a day," I summarized. Everyone turned to glare at me. All except Jun. She got a gleam in her eye and picked up her planner.

"I've got six or seven days that I thought might work. We'll need to go through the pros and cons of each one, just to see which works best. But we're almost there. We can do this, people!" Jun said excitedly.

I sighed. Why did I always open my mouth without thinking?

"Invitations!" Jun shrieked. "I'm going to need to do those. Momoe, can you help me write out a list of people? Shuu will have to help. And Kurayami, your handwriting is really nice. Daisuke...your writing looks like chicken scratch. You're not allowed to help."

"Alright," I said with a grin.

"Oh," Jun said. "I need to call Mom and Dad. They need to know the day. Maybe I can see what day works for them?"

Mom and Dad.

Mom was alright. I liked her. Loved her even. Sometimes she didn't exactly think of how her comments would be taken when she made them, but she _meant_ well. Even if it didn't seem like it.

Dad though...

"_What are you doing here?" I asked, spotting Dad, standing by the front of the church._

"_I could leave, if you would prefer," he offered._

"_No!" I said quickly. "I want you here. I'm happy you could make it."_

Why was it that no matter how little I thought about him, I still cared? I shouldn't. He _hated_ my wife, I didn't think he acknowledged my son. But I still wanted him to love me. I knew, deep down—as far down as it could be—he had to still love me. But he didn't act like it. I wasn't looking forward to this wedding as much as before. Suddenly I was looking at things through his eyes. I knew he'd hate the idea of including Meramon and Otamamon. He wouldn't want such outlandish flowers on the table. Simple roses would suffice, or perhaps just rose petals around larger candles. Something much simpler, something classy. Something _elegant_. It was how he viewed his daughter. Simple, classy and elegant. It was as if he didn't see her at all. He clearly didn't know her. Didn't know what she wanted. Didn't know that she hated what he put her through school for. Obviously he wasn't aware that she only went for me. To try and make things easier on me, not that it worked.

She was pretty much my hero. You know, if I could say it and not sound like a total dweeb. She did everything for me. And he didn't see the amazing person she truly was, because he looked at the world through rose tinted glasses. He saw what he wanted, and ignored anything he didn't like. Literally, he ignored me. One time, I saw him in the supermarket, and it was really awkward.

"_Uh...Dad...hi...I guess," I said, waving towards him._

_He said nothing, just walked by me. The lady who was fighting me for the last bag of somen noodles looked at me, eyebrow raised._

"_Yeah. I guess that wasn't him," I said awkwardly. "My mistake."_

I totally won the somen noodles though, since she pitied me. But I did not exist to my father anymore. And I hated it. I liked to act like I didn't care. Like I didn't _want_ to be his little boy anymore—only, you know, all grown up. I wanted it so badly though. I _missed_ him. Something I didn't think I could ever say and _mean_ it.

But I wasn't willing to compromise myself. I wouldn't change who I was to please him. It was his job as a father to love me. No matter what.

"How about we take a break," Kurayami suggested, obviously noting my sudden shift in mood. "We don't need to finalize everything today. There's still plenty of time. The nearest date on your list is still months away."

"I know," Jun sighed. "But now I just want to finish it. You're right though. So...I hear you guys are all going to be in a fashion show."

"Not everyone," Jou corrected hurriedly. "I'm not taking part. I'm planning to watch it though. I have to support Sora. Not to mention my beautiful wife."

"I just can't believe she asked me," Momoe said, embarrassed. "I don't feel like a model."

"Sora's not that type of designer," Kurayami said happily. "She knows what a regular person looks like. She makes clothes that an everyday person could wear, _and_ look good in. She's really great like that."

"I can't wait to see what she dresses _you_ in," I told my lovely wife. _Wife_. I just loved saying it. And thinking it. Knowing that it was true, that we were married. That someone loved me enough to pledge herself to me for life. And I know that in this day in age that it didn't mean quite the same thing as it did even a century ago, with divorce rates being as high as they were. But I still felt honored that she would attempt forever with me.

I also totally thought we were one of the few that were going to make it all the way. We were married, through thick and thin, rich and poor, in sickness and in health. Forever.

She looked at me funny. I was totally grinning again. She rolled her eyes and checked on our baby. I rolled my eyes right back at her. She was seriously over paranoid. But I loved that about her. She was like the stereotypical first time mother. Fretting over everything, always checking that she did it right, by the book. It was kind of adorable.

"Do you know what you guys get to wear?" Jun wanted to know.

"No," Momoe sighed, grumpily. "She's being pretty tight lipped about it. I really have no idea. I figured you already knew all of this. Didn't she ask you to join in?"

"She did," Jun admitted. "But I had plans that day. And I would've felt awkward anyway. They're not really _my_ friends, you know? Daisuke's friends, definitely, and yours Kurayami and Jou. But not _mine_. And I would've helped out if Sora was really in a bind, even though I'd have to put of dinner with our parents, but I think she's got enough volunteers, you know?"

"Yeah," I said faintly. Jun still went to dinners with our parents. Well, I knew that, of course. But to hear her say it so casually. I never really _thought _about it, you know? They still loved her. Both of them. Even if they didn't always _see_ her. They loved her, unconditionally.

I was jealous. I was undeniably jealous.

But I was also determined to keep it that way. Jun had done everything for me. I was going to do everything I could to make sure she never felt the way I did. To make sure Dad never felt how he did about me, when he was looking at her. I didn't know how I could possibly do this. But I wouldn't do anything to hurt her chances.

An annoying beeping shattered my inner plans. I looked around, spotting Jou trying to grab his phone from the ever unhelpful Monmon, who'd decided it would make a very nice toy. "If you want any dessert tonight, you will give me that phone!" Monmon dropped the phone like a hot potato. Someone clearly had a sweet tooth.

"Hello, this is Jou Kido," Jou said, after accepting the call. "What do you mean you need me to come in? It's my day off Taichi. Wait. What? How many? I'll be right there. No. Don't worry about. I'm coming. See you soon."

"What did he say?" Momoe asked, resigned to the fact that Jou had to be the most dedicated doctor in the history of ever.

"Someone dropped a shipment of digimon off in the Temple courtyard," Jou said solemnly. "They're tied up, and some hurt pretty bad. There are three of them."

"I don't understand," I said slowly. "What do you mean shipment?"

"I mean that someone gathered up digimon from Earth, tied them up, sometimes hurting them thoroughly and then they ship them back to the Digital World "where they belong". It's happened before. The Veggimon was fine physically, but emotionally. He's having a hard time coping. I've done all I can do for him though," Jou said. "These new ones though, there's more I can do for them. And I plan on doing everything possible."

"Let's go Jou!" Gomamon said.

"No," Jou said thickly. "Gomamon, I don't want you to go today. This isn't pretty. And this is what a human's neglect can bring. I don't want you to see it, okay?"

"But Jou..." Gomamon protested.

"I know," Jou said. "We're still a team. But I want to protect you from this, Gomamon. You've protected me so many times. Let me do this for you."

"Okay," Gomamon conceded. "I'll watch over Emiko and Momoe for you."

"Thank you," Jou said. "Momoe, are you okay with Emiko? I know it was supposed to be family day—"

"Go take care of those digimon. I'll stay here, see if I can't make heads or tails of any of this wedding stuff," she said.

"I'm staying," Kurayami said brightly. "You guys and Labramon can keep me company. And maybe Momoe and I can figure out decent looking bridesmaid dresses while you're gone. I don't want to outshine the bride, but I don't want to be a hideous cow either."

"I'm sure we can find a happy medium," Momoe agreed with a laugh.

"Are you okay to do that on your own?" Jun asked. "Because I think I want to go too. I want to know what's going on in the world. You say things feel tense. I want to know why."

"Me too," Shuu said, grabbing her hand.

And that was how Jou and I found ourselves with a couple of tagalongs on our quest to the Temple. It didn't take too long to get there. The main problem was that the there were just so many digimon in the courtyard of the Temple. It was where the market was, and I knew just how competitive it got there. Veemon actually ran our second noodle-cart at the market. We made a fairly decent profit there. Nothing amazing, mind you, but we had a customer base in the Digital World as well. I mean, we had to fight _Digitamamon_ for customers. And his food was amazing!

"Why is it that a crowd just cannot avoid a scandal?" Jou grumbled as we forced our way through a throng of Yokomon who were here on a field trip. They were led by Leomon, who took time out of his busy schedule to show the In-Training digimon around. They clearly got more than they bargained for today.

"I don't know," I said. "But it's not just scandal. A crowd forms for a good sale, and food trucks too."

"Where are they?" Jun demanded. "I want to help those poor digimon."

"I think I see them," Shuu said, standing on his toes, looking over the crowd. "And there's Taichi."

We finally broke through the crowd and I fell to my knees at the sight. Three digimon. All fairly small. Tied and helpless. DemiDevimon had his wings pulled back, and tied to his feet. It had to be hurting him. There was a bandana gagging him, so he couldn't speak. I crawled over to him and started to make headway in the knots. There were a lot of them, and they were skillfully tied. Taichi was making progress in unbinding of a Penguinmon. He'd taken what appeared to be duct tape off of his beak, and was trying to pull more duct tape off his body, _without_ pulling out his feathers. It was a slow, painful process. It was the Gekomon that called to Jun though. She started sobbing, pulling the Gekomon to her, untangling him from the fishing net and wires that held him captive. He had big, angry, red welts on his skin, and the wire had dug in, deep cuts. He was crying just as hard as she was. When she'd pulled him free, she cradled him, whispering sweetly into his ear. Shuu just pulled the pair close to him, trying to calm both the digimon and his fiancé.

I finally got the rope off of DemiDevimon, and was about to start on the bandana when Jou appeared with a pair of scissors that he must have found in his emergency medical bag. He made light work of the bandana, and handed me a small first aid kit. I knew that Gekomon and Penguinmon needed his attention more, in terms of physical injury, but DemiDevimon looked at me with great big eyes, and he just looked so small. I needed to do something for him.

"Daisuke?"

I held DemiDevimon close as I looked around. I knew who called my name. And I was torn. I didn't really want him to see this, but I really needed to see him. To see he was okay.

"Daisuke, what's going on?" Veemon asked, pushing his way to my side. "What happened to DemiDevimon. I thought he found his partner."

DemiDevimon whimpered. I held him closer. "Whoever it was, doesn't _deserve_ the title _partner_. He or she was a coward."

"N-no-no," DemiDevimon said. "It wasn't Amai. She's too sweet. It was...I don't know who it was! They got me in midair. I was going to the market. Amai needed milk. She still needs milk. I need to get it for her! I need Amai!"

"Calm down buddy," I said. "We'll have to find her for you. We'll look into it."

"Please, I need Amai!" DemiDevimon said desperately.

"I need you to tell me more. Do you remember anything at all about your captor? Anything that might help us get him off the streets?" I begged.

"G-glasses," DemiDevimon said. "Just glasses. The sun reflected off of them. I don't remember anything else."

"You didn't see any hair?" Veemon prompted.

"Yellow..." DemiDevimon said. "Blonde hair. Glasses and blonde hair."

"Now, did you hear a voice?" I asked.

"Y-yes."

"Good," I said.

"Was it a boy or a girl?" Veemon urged.

"I...I...I think...a...girl? Yes. A blonde girl, with glasses," DemiDevimon said. "Don't let her get me again! I'm good, Amai makes me good. I want Amai. Get me Amai, _please_!"

He was starting to hyperventilate and I nearly panicked, but I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "Veemon, can you get some water?" I asked my partner. He nodded and rushed off, tripping over a curious Pagumon along the way.

"It wasn't his partner?" Taichi asked. "That's new. Veggimon was sent by his partner."

"So was Gekomon," Shuu said. "He said his partner came home one day and he was different. He said he'd seen the light. Someone told him this was the right thing to do. So he did it. Who would do something like that?"

"I don't know," I said. "I don't know what's going on around here anymore. And I don't know if I want to."

_**Jenna Washington:**_

Just looking over to Chi, my boyfriend, I knew that I had a good life. I wasn't one of the Digidestined and that meant that I didn't have to put up with all the drama that went along with it. I'd never have to indulge myself in a dramatic love triangle that would take years to find an end result, I'd never have to go through traumatic events to give me drive toward my goal, and I'd never have to fight for my life... anymore.

But best of all, I could walk down the streets holding hands with the boy who I knew was perfect for me. His hands were firm and rough to the touch, very masculine. The air around us was perfect. Exactly how I always pictured spring to be. Somewhere between warm and cold—just that perfect temperature. The snow was mostly gone now, and the streets were damp, and honestly I just loved spring. I'd never loved spring as much as I did this year though. Possibly because I'd never been as happy as I was with Chi.

I couldn't wait to see what fall was like. It was already my favourite!

Chi looked to me with his amber eyes and let his thin lips curl into a smile so his whole face was beaming at me. His hair was shaved completely on one half of his head, and the other half was quite short aside from the top where it all fell in random messy directions. It was also purple. His skin was pale and his arms were strong. He wore a loose white shirt and a leather vest. He was so punk, and that was so cute. I'd gone through a punk phase a while ago.

What I was now was steam-punk. An entirely different thing.

I was walking down the elegant driveway that led to my brothers' obnoxiously large home. We had just walked around the large marble fountain, and were nearly to the door.

"Your brother seems rich," Chi said, amazed as he looked to the grass—yes, even the grass looked fancy.

"They both are." Jenna shrugged, "I am too I guess, I just forgot my pass code to get my money from the bank."

Chi grinned at me and kissed my cheek, "You're so careless."

"You love that, don't lie." I laughed, picking up pace into a run, dragging him along with me. I had long since found ease in running in heels because I felt more like myself in them—and the best part was that Chi was still taller than me when I was wearing them. Barely—but he still was, so it was okay. I just had to be sure to not wear five inch heels or anything taller. Which wasn't a problem, because the tallest I liked to go was three!

I shoved the door open quickly and strode through the door, dragging Chi through the now empty archway. "Hello!" I called into the entrance way where there was now a statue of a woman dancing. "Don't mind the ballerina. My brothers think it's classy."

"It _is_ classy," Chi said, eyeing it up, "Lame, but classy." I laughed and closed the large arching door.

"FAMILY!" I screamed, louder this time. Where were they? Why weren't they coming to see me? I liked when they came to see me—it didn't matter that I was here every day. I heard a loud banging from the small kitchen and was soon greeted by Tatum, her head hanging out of the kitchen doorway. "Tatum! My friend!"

She grinned and came out to see me. She was wearing an apron—that probably meant she was baking me something yummy! "You called?" Tatum asked, bowing before me.

"Tatum, you're embarrassing me," I said, looking away, "he doesn't know I'm the queen of the world yet."

"Yes he does," Chi said, kissing my cheek again. "You're the queen of my world anyway."

Tatum's jaw dropped slightly and she reached forward to grab Chi's hand. "That was one hundred percent the best first impression you could have had. Welcome to our home, my name is Tatum, it's wonderful to meet you. I assume you're Chi?"

"I am!" Chi smiled, "I'm Chi, It's an honour to meet you as well Tatum," Chi bowed slightly. I wasn't sure if he was being polite or if he actually thought we were royalty. I mean, this place was really fancy, and that was amazing. I loved being rich. The best part about being rich was that other people weren't, so I could win everything. Also helping like, the homeless and stuff. I liked that too.

"Are my dumb brothers here?" I asked loudly, hoping one of them would hear me, "I would like for them to come meet my boyfriend. Also, that weird mysterious stand is back."

"The one with the skull necklace?" Tatum asked excitedly. "I'll get my boots!" She was rushing off excitedly. I couldn't blame her though. About six months ago there had been a stand downtown where this girl was selling a bunch of awesome stuff, but she disappeared one day, and had never come back. That often happened—we lived in New York, one of the greatest places ever, but since the girl was back I had to get Tatum and the others. Not before buying myself an awesome souvenir though. It was a voodoo doll of sorts. It had violet feathers sticking off at odd angles and looked like a skeleton... sort of. It was cool.

Chi released my hand to examine the ballerina statue, and I rolled my eyes, thinking I could go pretend it was interesting too, to seem cultured and stuff, but I decided I didn't care enough to. Instead I headed to the doors under the two staircases and threw them open. Neither of them were in the movie theater room, and when I checked under the others stairs I saw that neither of them were in the swimming pool either. I took out my phone and texted Michael.

_Where are you?_

He responded quickly.

_Out back_

So I was heading behind the main stairs and through the glass doors that led outside. Sure enough, he was there, sitting on a picnic blanket laughing with Betamon in the garden. The two were eating some kind of pudding, which was lame. Who eats pudding at a picnic? The grass was as damp as the sidewalk had been and the sky was covered by a thick sheet of dark clouds, it did not, by any means seem like an enjoyable day for a picnic anyway.

Just as I was about to call for him Terriermon rushed straight past me and nearly bowled me over. "Catch me if you can _rabbit_." He snarled the last word over his shoulder, and of course, Lopmon was catching up to Terriermon. Her strides were longer and bouncier which made her go further with less effort. I looked the way they had come and saw Willis, grinning as he watched them go. He was wearing blue jeans, a red hooded sweater and a dark jacket with bulky light brown shoes.

"How boy-ish of you," I greeted him.

"How _robot_ of you," He joked, pointing to my mechanical headpiece. He was in a much better mood these days, which was certainly far more enjoyable. "I heard you calling for us, what did you need?"

"Thank you for having ears." I said, throwing my hands up, "Michael can apparently hear nothing at all.

"I can hear you," Michael shouted back, "I just don't care! I'm busy!"

I ignored him because he was a jerk and pulled Willis along with me. "Since you're my better brother anyway, you can be the one to meet my boyfriend first. He's super cool. He's smart—like really smart. He's cute, and funny—hey he also knows every Audrey Hepburn movie by heart."

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Michael rushing after us, Betamon in tow. His white and red shoes were coated in mud, as were the bottoms of his skin tight blue jeans. "Me too?" He was shouting, "Can I meet him too?" I smiled and linked arms with him as well when he arrived, and was leading them all into the entrance hall.

"Oh boyfriend!" I called out when we arrived, "I found my brothers!" When we stepped around the stairs I saw Chi, bend over, looking toward us under the ballerina's outstretched leg. "Look!"

Chi was quick to move around the statue that Tatum appeared to have been telling him all about, and he was quick to shake hands with both Willis and Michael. "It's an honour to meet the two of you." He said kindly, "Really it is."

"What's your favourite Hepburn movie?" Michael asked as his eyes filled with anticipation his hands firm while he shook Chi's hand a little _too_ long.

"Breakfast at Tiffany's." Chi said, "Duh."

"Oh good," Michael nodded, releasing his hand, "You seem like a good guy!"

Betamon squirmed in Michael's arms and looked up to him with narrowed eyes, "Are you judging him on his movie preference?" He asked, "Because I hated Breakfast at Tiffany's."

Slowly Michael looked down to Betamon and laughed nervously, spluttered a bit of nonsense, then finally said, "You're perfect no matter what." Betamon appeared to be pleased with that answer, so my eyes were drawn to Willis who, surprisingly, was also holding Chi's hand for an uncomfortable amount of time, but said nothing. He merely stared at him, and finally dropped his hand seemingly coming to a consensus of whatever it was his genius brain was working up. Chi and Willis nodded to each other stiffly, and I decided I felt a little left out.

I didn't have time to tell them that though because Lopmon burst through the front door, screaming loudly, "RUN!" I almost panicked, but I knew it was only Terriermon, and when he burst through the door with an evil glint in his eyes, I found I was right.

"Guys!" Willis shouted loudly, causing them both to stop dead in their tracks. Willis motioned with one hand for them all to rush toward him, and so they did, leaping into his arms. "This is Chi. You should meet him. It's polite."

"Hey," Terriermon nodded coolly, "What's the deal with your hair?"

"It's cool!" I defended, but Terriermon just shrugged.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lopmon said kindly, reaching her ear forward to shake his hand. "I think your hair looks lovely."

"Er... thanks." Chi said, blushing slightly at all the attention.

"Willis," Terriermon said, reaching up and grabbing Willis' ear to play with as he waited in his arms. Willis didn't seem to mind, so Lopmon started poking his face. "Can we eat soon? I miss the time when we ate all day every day."

"You still do that," Tatum pointed out, "you literally just ate. I _just_ fed you."

"Not enough apparently." Terriermon groaned.

"Feed us!" Lopmon shouted, "Feed us! Feed us! Feed us!"

"God you two are annoying." Willis laughed, "Okay, I'll feed you."

As he began to walk away I opened my mouth dramatically to get him to ask what I was so worked up about, but when he didn't I was forced to talk. I mean, how could he not have known? Didn't he sense the changing aura in the air? That shopping stand was back and it was important we all go! "You can't! We have to go shopping." I told him, my arms crossed, "That stand is open again."

"The creepy one?" He asked, "I'll stay here if that's cool with you guys."

"I don't want to go either," Michael said, shrugging his shoulders. "It sounds lame. Plus you guys forgot to buy me something last time and that makes me mad."

"Well you can buy something yourself!" I tried, but he didn't seem interested which was just annoying, and so he left after saying a formal goodbye to Chi to return to his picnic. Willis was in the kitchen with his digimon, and I was left with just Tatum and Chi. My brothers were lame. "Before we go," I said, "I have to show you something." I put two fingers in my mouth and whistled loudly. Instantly there was a response. Probably because I was better at raising a digimon than my brothers were. Monodromon and Kudamon were running down the stairs a moment later.

"I'm going shopping," Tatum told Monodromon, "You gonna stay here?" Straight to the point. I sure liked her. Monodromon nodded and Tatum patted his head affectionately.

"This here," I said quietly, holding up Kudamon into Chi's face. "This is my partner. He's a digimon."

Chi smiled and stroked Kudamon down the spine. "It's nice to meet you," Chi said, "I'm Chi."

"I'm Kudamon." Kudamon said simply. "I've heard a lot about you. Jenna really likes you. Sometimes she even talks about you in her sleep and—"

"To the market place!" I interjected quickly, throwing Kudamon around my shoulders, embarrassed. I walked quickly to the door and held it open for the others, hoping they'd forget about what Kudamon said soon enough. They didn't. The entire way downtown they were poking fun at me, but he didn't seem to be too weirded out by that, so there was at least some good that came from it.

I was a little annoyed that neither of my brothers wanted to do_ anything_. Michael seemed to have some secret plan up his sleeve, and Willis was always bored or upset. I only knew a part of the reason that seemed to be. That little bit of knowledge I had was that it had to do with love, and that was all I had. I didn't know why people always got so worked up about things like that. Couldn't they just sneak into a dance club, accidentally sit down at the wrong table and meet the best person in the whole world like I had?

Well, maybe if I had the best person they'd have to settle for less, because neither of my brothers could date Chi. He was mine. I tightened my grip on his hands and smiled up at him. Kudamon fell asleep part way to the stand, which was kind of cute, but every now and then he'd snore a little, so that was gross, seeing as he was so close to my ear.

Finally we were nearing the place the stand was, and I was bubbling with excitement, "Are you ready?" I asked Tatum, "This is going to be a mystical and magical adventure. Probably one that will blow your mind. The magical stand of cool skeleton goodies is officially—"

"Gone?" Chi questioned, standing on his toes to get a better look. "Yeah it's not there."

"What?" I gasped, spinning around and releasing his hand, rushing through the crowd. "How does this keep happening?" I cried out to the skies, falling to my knees. "Life is a miserable place where people go to die!"

"Is she always this dramatic around you as well?" Chi asked, as he and Tatum caught up to me.

"Always." Tatum confirmed. "It's okay Jenna. It'll show up again."

"Darn right it will." I decided, "And I'm never leaving this spot."

Tatum groaned. Sure she was used to random claims that never meant anything—being with my brother and all, but I wasn't going to let something as simple as a probable comparison to my weirdo brother stop me from my new goals. "How about," Chi said thoughtfully, "Tatum and I go grab us something to eat, and we'll come wait with you until the sun goes down. We can get to know each other better while you wait for the stand."

"Sounds good." I said, saluting him. "Meet me back here soon though, this place is sketchy." They both agreed and were gone, leaving me alone to sit, my back leaning against the brick wall of the building behind me. Kudamon was still sleeping around my neck and had passed through his snoring phase and now looked as though he could be dead.

I waited impatiently for a while, and eventually closed my eyes, humming to myself for comfort, and then I heard footsteps nearing me. "Took you long enough," I said, but when I opened my eyes and looked up, it was neither Tatum nor Chi. Instead it was a girl who had a waist long black, shimmering braid hanging down her back. Her face was pale and pointed and she was wearing a lot of leather. She looked down to me, amused and pulled a sheet of paper from the pile that was in her hands.

"D.W.D?" The girl asked simply.

What the crap kind of conversation starter was that? She was probably speaking in code. Was it a question that required a thoughtful answer? Would I have to respond in code as well? I decided to take a shot in the dark and answer it as if it were a yes/no question.

"Of course." I said proudly, and confidently. The girl looked to me momentarily, her thin black eyebrows framing the emerald green eyes that were scanning my face. Finally she smiled, her plump pink lips separated to show a set of shimmering white teeth. One of them to the side was crooked, I couldn't help but notice. The girl handed the flier to me and put a finger to her lips, and without another word she was gone, slipping away into the crowd of people.

I looked down to the flier that was surprisingly well made. The outsides were lined with gold designs, and the title was large and caught my eye immediately.

_D.W.D_

What did that mean? Dragons Were Dumb? Dingo Wings Digress? Did Willis Dilate? Dilemmas With Ducks?

I continued reading instead.

_8:30—Friday April 24th—basement of the abandoned shoe factory._

"What's that?" I looked up to where Chi was standing, holding two comically long hot dogs, one in each hand. Tatum was by his side holding one for herself. They both sat down and Chi handed me my lunch.

"I think it's a party invitation." I said as Tatum took it to read it over. "We're so going."

"It's a little vague." Tatum said nervously, "Do you think it's safe?"

"The girl who handed it to me didn't seem too dangerous." I shrugged, "I think I'll go."

"Not alone," Tatum decided. "Go with someone. To be safe."

"Deal." I nodded, grabbing the hot dog and taking a bite. I didn't care who came with me, I just wanted to know what the D.W.D stood for. I didn't actually think it was a party, nor did I believe it was entirely safe to go to a mysterious get together in an abandoned building with people I didn't know, but doing rash and highly stupid things was sort of my trade mark. I'd once kissed the Devil you know.

Then he possessed me and tried to kill my brother using my body.

But whatever.

"How long are we going to wait?" Tatum asked.

"Forever if we have to." Chi declared, cutely reaching for my hand.

"At least until Friday at eight thirty." I joked, pointing to the time on the flier. "I really want to get my party on."

But again, I knew it wasn't a party, and the more I thought about the get together the worse of a feeling I got spreading across my body.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** D.W.D? Find out what it stands for next time! In like TWO days. This story is going up fast. You're welcome.


	9. DWD

**U/N: **Mari's first part while being bumped up to main cast! :D We found the summaries for 05 the other day and Mari, Hideto and Kiyoko were grouped in with the Digidestined's family. Which is weird, because for almost two years we've been grouping them as main characters. So now they are, with a chapter each arc. (at least for this part of the trilogy)

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 1: Whispers**

**Chapter 9: D.W.D. **

_**Mari Goutokuji**_:

I was basically buying time at this point, waiting desperately for Willis to get home, but somehow I didn't think that was going to happen. He promised me he'd be back at seven o'clock so we could all go to this thing Jenna was so excited about. Of course there was something in her eyes that told me there was more to it than just plain excitement, and when I read over the flier she had received I knew it wasn't a party, and I knew she was smart enough to know it too.

Looking around, I was pretty sure everyone knew it wasn't just a simple get together of people in some abandoned building, and I was only going because I wanted to make sure I wasn't the one sitting at home alone, worried about what was happening to the others.

Unfortunately, it looked like I might be that person. I was a worrier. I hadn't always been that way but I had issues with people leaving me. Of course I'd have an abandonment issue.

I was alone.

The only people who were still close to me were the people I knew were too damaged to leave if I tried to make them. Kiyoko and Hideto were always going to be there for me, and no one else would ever be able to fill their place.

The rest of the digidestined were all lovely people I was sure, even if it was hard to be sure. Hikari and Takeru were the only ones who really tried to get closer to me. I didn't let them though—not because I didn't want to be friends with them, but it was hard to ignore the blatant truth that everyone who got near me eventually fell apart.

Kiyoko was possessed. Miyako was haunted. My grandmother was estranged from the family simply because she loved me. Lalamon died.

The only reason I was in this damned house was because of her.

Tatum, Michael and Jenna were all awesome, really. They were cool, they understood me, they were fun to be around, and I enjoyed spending time with them. But I was scared. Scared for them. Things could not end well around me.

After everything I'd been through, that was the one thing I was sure would never change. Everything was my fault. And no matter how much I tried to ignore that fact, it was true. Everyone around me was hurt because I made conscious decisions to be who I wanted to be. And if those decisions were the cause of the domino effect spreading through my friends, breaking them and hurting them, was I really making the right choices?

Was I a good person?

I looked out the glass door right in front of me, staring at the place where Lalamon's flower grew. The long, vibrant pink petals had opened finally after the harsh winters, and the sunset was reflecting off of the golden center with a shimmering cloud of colour.

I needed her. I needed to know what she thought. I needed her to hug me and make it all better.

That stupid flower made me angry. I didn't want it to be there because all it did was make me want her back even more. It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, and it was never going to die. And somehow that made me feel better, but still, it made me want to cry every time I saw it.

And it kept drawing me back here as if Lalamon had one last thing to tell me. But what the hell was it that she was trying to tell me? Being here was doing nothing for me. Unless it had to do with Willis, but Lalamon and I always spoke of how love is a second place happiness. If you're not happy with yourself then you're only settling for love to make you happy, and that's not the person I was.

Besides, Willis and I couldn't work.

We were sort of almost dating a few years ago, and I stopped that quickly because Marshall would not leave him alone. At first I believed him that he could handle it. I believed him that he would be okay and could brave through it, but when I got a call on my birthday that he was in the hospital, I had to end that.

We were sort of together for five months, and that would have to be enough because there was no way I was going to let that monster hurt him anymore. He didn't understand that it was my fault. No one ever did. My grandmother always told me she made the decision on her own, but if I had just done what my parents had wanted, then she would never have been alone. Grandpa would never have gone. Her funeral would have been full with the love of her entire family. Instead I was left to attend alone. No. Not alone. With Lalamon. Miyako would never understand that what had happened to her was my fault, and I could never explain to her, because by doing so it would be admitting that everything Kiyoko had gone through was also my fault, and I couldn't even accept that myself. How would either of them take that? Two of my closest friends?

And if I hadn't been so rash and careless Lalamon would never have died.

I'd never told anyone most of these problems—I'd never even thought about telling anyone. I'd never had to. When I was younger I thought it was natural. I thought what my parents did to me was normal. I thought everyone went through that. I thought that was what was meant to happen to a child. I _knew_ it was meant to happen to me. And when Lalamon came around... she just knew. She always knew. For months and months after we'd met we said nothing to one another, but I always felt better when she looked to me, I could just tell that she was reading everything I should have been talking about and I always felt comforted.

But without her, there was no one to fix the issues. No one to look at me and tell me I was okay.

I wish I could rewind time to when I'd won the court case. I'd been so happy. But that was before I'd returned to look at this stupid flower.

"Mari!" Jenna called, startling me. I was hiding behind the stairs, waiting for Willis to get home. I wanted him to be back. I felt nervous for some reason. I felt that something was unsafe. I wanted to see him—to be sure he was going to be okay. "Mari, where are you!"

"I'm here!" I said, breathing sharply to make sure I was acting normal when I confronted the others. Had to keep a happy face. I stepped out and saw Jenna wearing a golden dress.

"You're wearing that?" She asked, "We're going downtown New York in the middle of the night."

"So I'll fit right in." I said flatly, walking forward. I was getting really annoyed with people confronting me on the way I dressed. I was just more comfortable dressing this way. Was that a problem? No. It was not. I was still young, and I could do as I pleased. When I got too old, then we'd have a problem.

Jenna was silent for a moment, then stepped toward where I was waiting by the front door. "Did Willis respond?"

"No," I said shrugging calmly, "I guess he's busy."

"Okay," Michael said, "Then I'll go. You girls shouldn't go alone."

"That's sexist." Jenna said sharply. "We _girls_ have saved your butt a time or two, and besides, Chi is coming with us."

"Oh." Michael seemed content, "Then have a good time." Tatum waved to us, but said nothing, merely linking arms with Michael. Jenna threw the door open and strode out. I followed her and closed the door, leaving the others behind.

Jenna was silent for a while until we reached the fountain, midway down the driveway. She walked left and I chose to go right, and from the other side of the elaborate ornament she asked, "Did Willis really not respond?"

"He really didn't." I said simply, "He's probably just caught up at work." It was actually comforting to hear myself say it out loud, even though I had no more proof than I'd had before that he was okay.

When we met up again we were walking in silence once more, at a brisk pace to get to her get together thing that I was sure wasn't safe. Kudamon was sleeping around her shoulders breathing peacefully. "I hear you won your case though," Jenna said brightly, "Michael was telling me."

"I did," I told her with a smile, "Well, Iori did. It was stupid anyway. If my parents think that after everything we'd gone through I wasn't going to put up a fight they were wrong. They're horrible. Trying to take what's rightfully mine."

"They do sound like jerks." Jenna nodded, adding a skip to her step, clearly glad that we were no longer in silence.

"Iori thinks they'll be back though." I said, a little embarrassed, "I told them about my inheritance and he thinks they're going to try to take it from me. As if I'll let that go."

"They can't honestly think it would work any better the second time!" Jenna said, either acting upset or genuinely caring about what I had to say.

"Well, I guess we'll see." I told her quietly. It was at that point that a boy was visible in the distance, waiting down the road. I would have been wary of him, as this road was a horrible place for my memory—being where Marshall had chased me with horrible intentions, which was also the day Willis rejected me, and ironically the last time I had seen my parents for years. Actually, the last time I'd seen them until they'd walked into my library claiming it to be theirs. Jenna squeaked suddenly and ran off in the boy's direction excitedly, and I knew then that this was the long awaited 'Chi' her boyfriend.

She was in his arms, flinging herself around, through the air a moment later. When I caught up to them they were already chatting excitedly with one another, and even though adorable couples were annoying, I had to admit that the two of them were cute.

It took us longer than I'd thought it would to get us all the way down to the abandoned shoe factory and we were nearly late, but judging by the silence filling the air they had not yet begun. The shoe factory was at the end of a street filled with broken wooden homes that looked like no one had even touched them in years. Probably decades. The factory itself was enormous. Both tall and wide, though most windows were shattered and out of place, the walls all the way up had large holes in them as if this building had once been the target of a meteor shower. The sky behind was murky and brownish, only partially illuminating the rotting trees in the yard of the factory. The gate was broken, and tall, and there were two men standing on either side of it.

"Jen," Chi said softly, "This doesn't feel like a party. Look at the sky. This is like, a horror movie opening scene."

"Don't be silly," Jenna said, "horror movies don't start with beautiful blonde women, a punk and a horribly broken down building."

"Yes, they do." Chi said, but Jenna was already heading straight toward the gate. The men stepped toward one another blocking our way, and Jenna coolly lifted the flier she'd been given into the air.

"Step aside boys," She said perfectly relaxed, "I'm on my way to meet with my people." They were convinced instantly and they moved apart allowing the three of us access to step inside. We followed the paved walkway toward the spinning door that no longer had any glass panes. We all stepped through and saw another man pointing down the stairs next to him, and Jenna was quick to follow his directions.

Chi and I stood back a moment, taking in the surroundings of the broken building. There was rubble everywhere, flooring from above, a broken toilet, a few shopping carts—simply put, this place didn't look like it was even going to stay standing much longer let alone anything else. "Jen!" Chi hissed, rushing after her and down the stairs. I followed them, careful of my steps. I was, as usual, wearing heels, this time black pumps, and the man directing our paths waved his eyebrows playfully at me, and I smiled politely, before heading down the stairs.

The first and most obvious thing that I spotted was a general mass of people. There looked to be possibly forty or fifty people all crowded around a stage where the dimmed orange and yellow lights were pointing. The rest of the room was dark, and I could not see much else, but traces of Chi's uniquely purple hair was visible in the light from the staircase. I stood next to him and heard Jenna on his other side, bouncing up and down with anticipation to see what was going on.

The murmuring of the crowd was almost getting to be _too_ annoying when Chi clicked a button on his watch that made it light up a green colour where he read the time. "It should start any second." He said nervously. "Make sure we stay by the door." He advised in a whisper. "We need to get out if anything weird starts going on."

"Do you think it's a drug deal?" Jenna asked innocently. I snorted, but Chi just shook his head.

"What kind of drug deal would look like this?" Chi asked. "No, this is some sort of weird club thing. A group. It could be a gang or something."

"Cool!" Jenna's excitement was reaching a boiling point, and I could only hope the thing would start soon. And then the room was filled with cheesy sounding music, like a superhero was about to swing in to save the day, and the lights all turned to one place creating a makeshift spotlight. "That's her! The girl who gave me the flier!" I couldn't see anyone yet, but soon enough there was a girl standing under the lights. She had a long dark braid of hair, and her face looked kind of like a sneering meerkat. Suddenly the room erupted into cheers and screams and whistles of all kinds. I threw my hands up to cover my ears, temporarily blocking out most of the sound.

Thankfully the girl put her hand up and silenced us all. She stood in the silence, basking in the attention the room was giving her. Everyone around the room was emulating love and adoration and I could feel it too, and it was kind of weird.

"Thank you all for coming." She said in a clear voice that rang through the crowd and otherwise empty room. "For those of you who are new, my name is Veronica. I'm so glad you could all make it." Her eyes scanned the room calmly, a grin on her face. She looked proud, like she had just won some great sporting event. "Our numbers are growing." She said calmly, "I am proud of you all for coming. I am proud that you all believe in what we do here."

"I wish I knew what that _was_." Jenna muttered, squeezing between Chi and I to see better. A man in front of us heard her and glanced over his shoulder, looking down toward her petite figure.

"Nice scarf." He said bluntly.

Jenna looked to where Kudamon was hanging around her neck and when she tried to object Chi placed his hand on her shoulder to silence her and the man in front of us turned back around to face Veronica, the leader of whatever creepy club this was. She was going on about something that I'd not been paying attention to. She seemed to be continually thanking everyone, taking dramatic pauses to let the silence fill in the gaps.

She strode across the stage to the left, the light following her, "And we are all here." She said firmly, looking over our heads, clutching her chest stupidly. "We are all united as one. We stand for the same cause." She practically flew to the other end of the stage with a scream, "We will fight!" She bellowed loudly, but was still met with held breath by every person in the room. Jenna was beside me on her toes, trying to look over the heads still. Veronica stomped her feet into the center of the stage again, facing forward, the lights all pointing toward her once more. "We will win." She declared.

"Win _what_?" Jenna muttered in frustration. I had to admit it was getting a little ridiculous waiting here for our answers. I was sure she was doing it on purpose. She was dragging it out because she knew there were three people in the back of the room that had no idea what was going on, and she was going to make the anticipation so extreme that it became unbearable. I just wanted to know what we had gotten ourselves into. At least it was pretty clear now that this was not a drug deal, or something that we would die from before getting a chance to flee.

Veronica, used her hands to part the sea of people as if she thought she was freaking Moses or something. The three of us were the last to move, Jenna rushed to one side, and I side stepped to the other leaving Chi to be the only person left standing in the aisle Veronica had created. He froze, unable to decide which way to go, so Jenna lunged forward, grabbing his hand and dragging him toward her just in time for a man to walk down the stairs with two other men on either side of him, each of them holding wicker baskets.

"Really?" I asked under my breath. The man in the front locked eyes with me and winked. What the crap was that supposed to mean? All I knew was that anywhere Marshall was, was somewhere I did _not_ want to be. He said nothing though, and made no other indication that he knew I was present. When Marshall, Tyler and Ricky all made their way up the stairs and onto the stage, the crowd began melding back together.

Veronica raised her hands once more to silence the murmur that had spread across the crowd. Chi was back in between Jenna and I again, with Jenna bouncing up and down, still desperate for a view. Veronica stood, drowning in her adoration once more, and I was pretty much ready to vomit. She was so vain it was disgusting. "Are you ready?" She screamed out to the room, pumping her fist in the air. No one responded, but each of them formed a wicked grin, and my entire body felt as though I'd been plunged into frozen water. Chi grabbed my wrist nervously, and looked like he was about to pass out, his forehead covered with sweat glistening in the second-hand light from the stage. "Last time we met we spoke of a way to hunt them. To be on top. To be one step ahead at every moment." Hunting? Hunting what? "And this is how we will do it." She turned to Marshall and he reached into the dark brown basket in his arms and pulled out a small red semi-sphere. Behind him both Ricky and Tyler each pulled out a handful of the same devices, all a deep red, reflecting the stage lights all around the room.

"We're going to get 'em." Marshall said loudly, his voice far less clear and suited for whatever this was. His eyes though. They were narrowing in on something in the back of the room. They were narrowing in on _me._

"Jenna," I whispered, moving my lips as little as possible. "I'm going to have to leave." She looked around Chi and kind of shoved him out of the way, looking up at me, worried, practically begging me to not go with her eyes. "This is about digimon." I said simply. I didn't need them to say it, it was obvious enough. "Marshall is going to make me leave."

"Then we can all go." Jenna decided.

"No." I said sharply, "Stay here, it might be helpful. He won't recognize you. You were only fourteen when he saw you last. That was three years ago. You can stay and listen to what they have to say. Don't say anything and don't start a riot. Play along. I'm going to have to leave though."

And just as I said it Marshall was stepping forward on the stage. "There is someone in the room who is on their side." I knew it. He pointed to the general area of the back of the room, and grinned, "Mari Goutokuji." I was already standing off to the side, away from Jenna and Chi so they could not be associated with me.

"That's right!"I called out so there was no mistaking me for Jenna or anyone else. "I'm here. I'm on their side. I'll warn them!" I figured I was going to be escorted out, and then I'd just wait nearby for Jenna to finish. It wouldn't be so bad.

"It's too bad your friend died that day." Marshall said flatly. "It would have been a pleasure to have been the one to do it."

Suddenly everything was a blur as I shoved everyone in front of me out of the way, moving quickly toward the stage, ready to rip his throat out, but before I knew it the men from the gates were grabbing me from either side as I was screaming every insult I could think of toward Marshall, struggling against the strong arms that kept me in place.

And then I was laying on the pavement outside the building in the street of broken wooden houses, punching the ground in frustration. I screamed to nothing in particular and grabbed a handful of the gravel and dirt beneath me, and threw it to the side.

Marshall was the worst person to ever have existed.

I tried waiting for Jenna behind one of the houses, but I was frustrated and impatient. I moved quickly with my new plan, making sure to not be seen by the guards who were standing just through the broken spinning doors. Around the side of the building there was an indent in the ground where a window with bars covering it. Looking down through the chipping painted bars I could see the event in the basement and hear a muffled version of Veronica's clear voice. She was standing next to Marshall, apparently brave enough to stand so close to him. "And is she the kind of person you would trust? Did you see her? She was a horrible example for our children! She was a horrible woman. And she is the kind of person that has joined forces with the digimon." She was met with silence as I tried to find a way to remove the bars so I could swoop in and kick Marshall in the shins for what he'd said.

"We don't want to ask you all to fight." Veronica was saying, "We only want you to do what is comfortable to _you_. But if you think you can do it, come forth and take some of these tracking devices. Trust me, we can stop this new life the monsters have planned for us. We can nip their plan in the bud and reign as the supreme race once again. This is our world. We cannot let them take it from us." She moved back into the darkness of the stage as the crowd all began to line up. There were a few that did not move, apparently too afraid to fight the digimon and Chi was one of them, holding Jenna's arm tightly.

They appeared to be arguing, Jenna wanting to get one, but Chi, pointing subtly to Kudamon convinced Jenna to stay away.

Veronica was back, pushing a large wooden crate toward the light on the stage. "And these," She said, propping the box open. I couldn't see the contents but I knew it couldn't be good. "These are the guns you will need to use the trackers. They have been created by a man in a high position at our headquarters. The trackers will be loaded in a fashion similar to bullets, and they will be honed in on any digital life forms."

"Of course," I said through gritted teeth. "That's just perfect." I kicked the bars on the window in frustration and jumped back, quickly realizing my mistake. There was silence from within as my back pressed against the wall, hoping no one would come looking. Soon enough, Veronica resumed speaking.

"That concludes today's meeting," She said brightly, "We will meet back here in two weeks to discuss our progress."

"Mari,"

I nearly died of a heart attack as Jenna hissed my name from next to me. I flipped around, my hair flying around and hitting my face. I covered my mouth to stop a scream from escaping my lips and Jenna placed her hands on my shoulders. "I'm sorry," She said calmly. "We had to get out of there. Kudamon was in danger."

"Those people are crazy." Chi added standing not far from the corner of the building in the dead, brown grass. "We should get out of here before they leave."

"It's too late." I told them, "They're already leaving. But you guys have to come back in two weeks."

"What?" Jenna gasped.

"No way!" Chi shook his head.

"You _have_ to!" I insisted, "You have to keep up with them. They want to be one step ahead—so we have to make sure it's a tiptoe. We can't have them miles ahead of us. Digimon are in danger."

We all looked to Kudamon who was still sleeping around her neck and breathed quietly. Our eyes darted to one another instead when we heard the people exiting the building in massive crowds. Chi moved quickly out of view, and up against the wall of the building. I moved to stand in front of him with Jenna close behind. I peered around the corner where I could only see unfamiliar faces.

Soon enough though Tyler and Ricky emerged from the building and stepped to either side of the door for Marshall to come through followed closely by Veronica.

"I'm gonna kill him." I hadn't meant to say it out loud.

Chi grabbed my arm and whispered, "Probably not a good plan."

I wouldn't have. But I certainly wouldn't blame myself if I had. He had a stupid grin on his face, just like Veronica now, thinking they'd already won some sort of war that was never going to happen. They were so stupidly proud of themselves and I just wanted them to be off of this plane of existence.

"Can we go?" Jenna asked nervously.

"Not until they're all gone." Chi told her quietly as a drop of rain fell from the sky and landed on his cheek.

Everyone seemed to be excitedly chatting to one another about their evil plans as if they thought they were the good guys. As if they thought that mass genocide, as I knew they were planning, was something that history looked back on as a heroic deed.

They talked for what seemed like forever, but when the rain started to pick up they all formed the same idea. It was time to finally go.

"And remember!" Veronica screamed out as everyone began to file off down the haunted looking street. "We will come out on top! We, the natives of this planet Earth will come out on top! We will leave no survivors. We will destroy the digimon!"

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** The end of the first arc! What is in store for the Digidestined? It doesn't look good for them as they fall toward rock bottom!


	10. Rock Bottom

**Y/N: **Again, sorry it's late. i really need to write up a schedule. Also, I didn't have this chapter assembled until two minutes ago. I'd forgotten to do that too. Oops. I enjoyed this chapter. It was exciting to write after all of the much more subtle intrigue we were going for in the earlier ones. I hope you enjoy it.

**U/N: **This chapter is kind of a funny one when looking back at the planning stages. This entire trilogy was originally crammed into 50 chapters, and this chapter originally took the role of the finale that this part of the trilogy took later. Weird, because nothing has happened thus far. And Willis' plot was _slightly_ compromised as a result of further planning, but it's totally worth it because otherwise the entire story would be _so_ rushed and crammed.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 1: Whispers**

**Chapter 10: Rock Bottom **

_**Willis Kennedy:**_

I was staring at my phone absent mindedly. No one was responding to me, or trying to get in contact with me. Mari was supposed to be at my house hours ago, and we were supposed to go to some sort of party or something. She didn't call once though. Did she not care that I couldn't come? Was she mad at me? It wasn't as if it was my fault. My boss was making us all stay late.

_Mari, I'm sorry, are you angry?_

I typed quickly into my phone.

No use really. She was likely sleeping by now. I sure wish I was. It was nearly one thirty in the morning, and I was sitting by my computer, waiting to be told what to do next. The black chair was usually quite comfortable, but I'd been sitting here far too long, and I now wished I could be sitting anywhere else. Home preferably, but I wouldn't say no to a saddle on a horse, or even the inside of an active volcano either.

Okay, so I was a little irritable, but I'd been doing nothing endlessly without any promise of freedom.

I'd already been in a fairly impatient mood for the past few months as it was, and the Director was certainly trying to break me mentally. I was sure of it.

Charles, my less than desirable co-worker sat with his back facing mine, clicking his pen wildly. He was bored too, but for different reasons. When Director Arnold had given us our assignments I'd known immediately that Charles would never finish on time because I knew him well enough to know he didn't know what he was doing. I'd finished though. I'd sorted all the files I'd been given, even though I had no idea what they were exactly, and was now waiting. Still waiting.

I glanced over my shoulder to Charles, where he was now running one of his hands through his messy grey hair. He was thin and small, and had very pointed features, but was nice enough. He could be irritating, but I'd realized a long time ago that when he was talking, he was doing so more to hear his own voice than to get a response, so I could completely tune him out and just nod my head every now and then if I wanted and he either didn't notice or just didn't mind.

Through the glass wall that made up one wall of our shared office I saw Director Arnold standing, his arms across his chest, staring down at another of our co workers. She was about to be fired. Of that I was sure. She was crying suddenly, and Arnold pointed with one of his somehow regal looking fingers, and directed her out of the building. When she left his eyes fell on me through the glass.

His eyes were dark and cold, but with some kind of burning fire behind them. That's the way I'd always described them to anyone else anyway. He was somewhat younger than the rest of the workers in the building—aside from myself of course. Back in 2002, when I'd been offered a job he was already high up in the chain of command, not the top just yet, but he didn't wait long. He was ambitious enough to know exactly what he wanted, and smart enough to know just how to get it. Over the years I'd also noticed that he was quite skilled with manipulation as well. He knew just how to guilt someone into doing what he wanted them to, and just what to say in order to close any deal.

He was a great head of the company. He was a horrible boss though. And how he came to be the boss? We didn't like to talk about it.

Arnold's daring eyes left mine finally and he floated down the hallway, taking long strides. I heard Charles sigh with immense relief when Arnold was out of sight. "Almost got caught eh?" Charles asked in his high voice.

"Sorry?" I asked, turning back, "Caught?"

"Not doin' what we're supposed to be doin'." Charles said with a chuckle.

"Actually, I'm finished." I said flatly. "And you should finish too so we can go home." Charles' laughter stopped and I heard the clicking of his keyboard. I felt bad for snapping, but I just wanted to go home. Really bad. I wasn't in the mood for anything else to go wrong. Over the past few months I'd broken up with three really annoying girls, each of which threatened me to some extent. The first told me she was going to burn my house down, the second wanted me to sign some dating equivalent of a pre-nup so that when I inevitably broke up with her she'd get all my money. So I dumped her on the spot and she said I'd 'rue the day'. Tiffany was the most recent. She was just so irritating. Every time she opened her mouth she was asking me to buy her crap. Girls were annoying.

Not all of them. But definitely some.

"It's weird." Charles said, I hadn't noticed immediately, but he had stopped using his keyboard again and had once again started clicking his pen. "They never keep us late. What do you think we're working on?" That was actually a good question. Arnold often had tasks that were secret. We were only told as much as we'd need to know in order to accomplish what we'd been asked to do. Usually it was all very minor. Things like ensuring the formula was in the correct order and comes to the correct result. But today each of us had been given a very important task. Well 'important' was what Arnold called them.

All I'd had to do was sort files into two categories based on their source. Which was boring and simple. I hadn't bothered opening any of them, since I was sure, as always that if something was meant to be kept a secret, then it would be. Arnold surely didn't give any of us enough information to figure out what it was we were doing all on our own. And everyone was far too scared to share information. Arnold somehow always knew everything that was going on in the building.

It was like he had ears inside the walls.

Or cameras, which was more likely.

Ignoring Charles, I decided to take a look at what it was I'd been sorting. I pulled open one folder and clicked three files, opening them.

As I expected it was virtually pointless to do so. Each file contained a small piece of something Arnold was creating. I recognized what I was looking at though. It was similar to what I'd used when I'd accidentally created Diaboromon who, though I tried to pretend didn't, had gone crazy and tired to kill my friends. Though they weren't my friends at the time...

It wasn't uncommon for my ideas to be recycled into Arnold's work though. Everything done here was completely changed when I started on board. I taught them enough to ensure that I'd never be fired. I was also the one who started up the division called HYPNOS. Where we basically watched what was going on between Earth and the Digital World in order to keep balance. Lately, there hadn't been much activity though. At least, from what I'd been told.

"Just finish your work." I said sharply when Charles doubled over in his chair to reach his newly dropped pen. I stood up and he looked to me like a lost puppy. "I'm going to the washroom." I told him. "Just get working."

I let my feet fall silently to the familiar worn carpet of the office areas. The walls were a dull grey and there were very few windows, leaving the white fluorescent bulbs as the only source of light. Looking with the corners of my eyes I saw the screens of computers through glass walls. Someone was dealing with strictly code, and was programming something to move properly. I wish I'd gotten that job. At least I'd have something to do. Someone else's computer had a 3-D model of what looked like a wooden animal leg.

That was all I saw though, and I couldn't work out what it was. Not that it probably mattered. We made monsters here all the time. That was pretty much my job. To create monsters to use in reserve in case we needed them for war. It took a long time and a lot of testing to finally get them to obey us instead of try to kill us though. And it took a lot of homework too. I wouldn't let them hurt them, or kill them just because they weren't listening, so the burden was on me, once again, to ensure they would listen. Finally, they did, and they were pretty cool too.

There were some of them in the basement, where we had like, homes for them.

I did go to the washroom though, mostly to waste time, while I waited to finally be able to go home.

Unfortunately when I returned, Charles was still doing nothing of any importance. I stood in the doorway, my arms crossed. I let them fall though, feeling uncomfortable. I didn't want him to be upset or anything, but he really needed to get to work. "Charles," I said calmly. "Do you want me to do it for you?" Without looking up he slid his chair away, still clicking his pen, inviting me to sit down. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my own chair, pushing it in front of his computer.

He kept his station messy, which was a little annoying, but I lived with some pretty messy digimon, so I could focus long enough to do whatever it was he'd been tasked with. "What are we doing?"

"Clearing out the hard drive," Charles said, "Dunno why. I guess whatever it is that they're making is going to take a lot of room." The hard drive was enormous. It could not possibly ever be filled, so he had to be wrong. There was no way they were making something that large. They probably just wanted to clean out the junk. Sure enough, there was a list of things that were to be kept—the things still in use, and the rest was to be deleted. That would be easy enough. "Then we have to make a separate location so whatever they're making cannot reach any of the other files." Easy enough.

Within ten minutes I'd finished, and was once again bored. I picked up my phone to check the messages, and groaned audibly when there was still no response. Charles looked to me, and smiled in a sad kind of way, "Your family ignoring you too?"

"What do you mean?"

"No one's answering me." He said, picking up his phone with a sigh. I found that odd, so I turned to my computer and checked the signals. No signals were permitted in the building so it seemed. Which meant I could still email someone... I opened my email only to find a message across the screen reading _blocked temporarily_.

They were certainly doing their best to keep all information inside the building. But I was done my work. And I wanted to go home, so I didn't really care honestly. I stood up to find Arnold, to ask him to let me go. "I'll be back." I said to Charles, stepping into the hallway. The second I stepped out of my office I heard the voices coming from down the hall.

"_No!_" Director Arnold hissed angrily.

"I don't see what the point of me being here is then, if you won't tell me anything." I couldn't be sure who that one was, but it sounded like Arnold's assistant. He told him everything. But apparently, whatever we were doing now was to be kept secret even from him.

"Then leave." Arnold said sharply. "Tell everyone they can leave. Those who choose to stay will be turned into my very own team. We will work together to create my masterpiece."

Oh good, I got to go home.

"But _why_ won't you tell me anything?" The assistant asked bravely. No one else would dare speak to Arnold that way. "Why is this project so important?"

"Because it may be the last one we'll ever need."

It was such a simple sentence. Not compiled of anything too intriguing to someone on the outside. Or probably anyone on the inside to be honest. But to me, it changed everything. It made me curious. Excited. Like I suddenly cared about what we were doing. I'd seen a few things. Could I piece them together?

A leg. Lots of space. Secrecy.

So no, I couldn't piece it together... but I wanted to. If I left, would I ever find out?

"Kennedy?" It was Director Arnold standing in his black suit, looking so formal that I suddenly felt like the protagonist of a Charles Dickens novel. Specifically Oliver Twist. That's who I meant. I wasn't underdressed, but comparatively, I felt worthless.

"Sir," I said politely.

"I trust you'll be staying with us." Arnold said, not even pretending for a moment he thought I might not have been eavesdropping. "We could use your knowledge." He said it with a sort of glint in his eyes and I almost groaned out loud again.

I wanted to get home so bad. I wanted to explain to Mari and the others that I had been caught up at work. But I couldn't now. He wanted to use my skills of creating an evil virus digimon. That's what he'd meant. I just knew it. Which meant I was going to have to stay. Because I needed to find out what he was doing.

"Of course sir," I said, nodding.

"If you stay now," Arnold said, "I cannot guarantee you will leave any time soon."

"I understand," I said.

"Good." He said brightly, just as a beeping sound came across the PA system.

"Everyone," It was Arnold's assistant. "You are all excused if you choose to leave. Please note that remaining inside will result in lockdown, and you will be unable to leave."

There was movement everywhere as people from every door shot out to get home. Not me though. I was staying.

_**Hideto Fujimoto:**_

"You on a diet?" I asked.

Kiyoko looked up quickly from the bowl of chopped fruit. And by fruit, I mean he cut up a banana and added a little tin of fruit salad. You know the ones, with the gross cherries and way too much pear? Yeah. One of those.

"No," he said. He slowly moved his eyes away from me and down towards him own body. He was getting anxious. _Great_. "Should I be?"

"No," I said, rolling my eyes. "It was just an observation. You're not eating anything."

"I have fruit," he argued. "It's _healthy_."

"Yeah," I said. "You always have a banana. But where's your giant bowl of sugary cereal? And your bagel with cream cheese? And your orange juice? You _always_ eat enough to feed an army."

"I get hungry in the mornings," he said defensively. "You don't exactly eat light either, you know."

"I'm just saying that whatever the hell _that_ is supposed to be, is not breakfast," I said. "I'm sorry for saying anything."

"It's all I could find," he said quietly. "Mari's not here. She usually does the grocery shopping."

Damn. I knew I'd forgotten something. She reminded me right before she left and everything. Why was I always forgetting such simple, _normal_ things? I ate food every day. I ate like a freaking hobbit. I had four big meals and countless snacks in between them. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper. Yes. I ate both dinner and supper. I worked really late hours at the restaurant. I often didn't get to eat supper until after ten at night. And who in their right mind can make it from noon until ten without caving and eating _something_? I know I couldn't. Hence the inclusion of dinner. I ate at five, just to quell the hunger. The fact that supper and dinner were equally large quantities of food was entirely irrelevant.

We all just really liked food, okay?

And evidently we were down to bananas and fruit cups. Those stupid fruit cups. I hated those damn things. I'd bet anything that Kiyoko took the last of the bananas too. He was notorious for not telling anyone when we were out of something, or running low. He would just finish it off, and then suffer without it until someone else noticed. It was one of the most annoying things about living with him.

The other was his inability to make up his mind in a time frame of under ten minutes.

But other than that, he was a fairly agreeable roommate. And boyfriend. Because we were dating, which meant that that's what he was. My boyfriend. Even though he was far more likely to be seen with Mari at any given hour of the day. That was mostly due to my recent work schedule. Mimi had managed to lighten the load though, by hiring Takeru and Yamato. I was actually able to spend a whole day at home with Kiyoko and I'd been able to have legitimate conversations with Warg and Melga too. I'd been neglecting them in favour of my job. I was finally able to quit doing that. I was totally going to make it up to them somehow. Maybe we'd have a picnic? No. That wasn't interesting enough. I'd come up with something. And it would be _awesome_.

Maybe not.

Maybe we'd just have movie theatre popcorn and watch a movie marathon. They liked doing stuff like that. And we weren't exactly able to leave the apartment without getting a target sign painted on our backs. Kiyoko and I could leave though. Just the two of us. Alone. Probably eating...

"We could always go _out_ for breakfast. If you want?" I suggested.

"No," he said. "I've got to go support Sora by attending her fashion show. And if I don't leave soon, then I won't be able to get to the meeting place Neo set out. You know how he doesn't like waiting."

"Neo's more important than me?" I cried, dramatically throwing my hand to my forehead and collapsing over the table, nearly knocking his bowl of that dreaded fruit salad over. "Woe is me. I feel so betrayed!"

He giggled at my theatrics and grabbed his bowl. "I'm going to go wake Tapirmon up. He's got to get a move on. He's going to be late for work. You will too, if you don't eat something."

"But you _ate_ it all," I whined, trying to keep the grin that was threatening my lips in submission. I failed spectacularly, and I was instantly in a good mood. Who cared that we never actually went _out_ to do anything? Not me. It's not like we didn't do anything. We had a date night. It just kept getting postponed, because it was Kiyoko's turn to choose. He insisted. He didn't think it was fair to me that I always had to do it. It had been about a month since he started planning. I'd yet to see any results. But I was optimistic.

Not really.

I was typically a very _pessimistic_ person. I wasn't Takeru. I couldn't keep a ball of eternal sunshine and happiness in my chest. I just picked everything apart and half-heartedly hoped for the best while expecting the worst.

It was _that_ part of my personality that wasn't coping well with the time it was taking Kiyoko to plan things. I mean, it's not like we didn't spend a lot of time together. Mostly watching movies with our digimon, but it was kind of like family bonding, when I thought about it. And it was nice. We talked too. Our relationship wasn't _actually_ in any danger of failing whatsoever. It was just such a huge part of who I am to worry about these things. To wonder whether I'm good enough in any given situation. I was pretty good at ignoring the little voice that sounded like all the people that had any authority over me as a kid all jumbled together. I'd had enough time with Kiyoko, Mari and Neo to realize that not everybody shared that opinion.

Of course Warg and Melga were the ones that really got that ball rolling. Without them, I don't know _what_ I'd be doing right about now.

"Are you okay?" Kiyoko asked, slipping back into the room. Tapirmon followed behind him, rubbing at his eyes drowsily. Warg and Melga marched in right after them and I realized I had a problem. We had nothing to feed these guys. Or me. I shook my thoughts away. I tried not to dwell on thoughts too much. My mind got really deep sometimes and it was a fairly scary place. I avoided it whenever possible.

"I'm fine," I said. "Now let's see what we can scrounge together."

I found six potatoes and a bag of flour. Kiyoko managed to dig out an egg from the fridge. Tapirmon found an onion. Warg and Melga found Kiyoko's "hidden" candy dish. It was one of those things that was really obvious to everyone _except_ Warg and Melga, but we all pretended we didn't know where it was because Kiyoko really liked this specific candy, and it was a pain in the butt to find. Warg and Melga didn't seem to care too much as they munched it down much to Kiyoko's despair. He watched them, eyes wide in shock. While he was otherwise distracted, Tapirmon and I grated the onion and potatoes, and I tossed in a bit of garlic powder for flavour. Tapirmon tossed in a bit of flour while I hunted down the salt and pepper shakers and set up the griddle, spreading around the smallest splash of vegetable oil. While Tapirmon finished off the batter with an egg, I set to work finding something to pair with our potato pancakes—it was something that Mimi made me learn to make for the restaurant, but it was a pain in the butt, so she let Tapirmon use the recipe at his tea shop for specialty breakfasts. It was hard going, but I managed to find a single can of tuna in the cupboard, behind Mari's collection of tomato soup. She liked it when she got sick, so we weren't allowed to touch it. She _never_ got sick though. I wasn't sure if they were still any good, really. Unless... Could canned goods go bad? Like...ever?

I dunno.

Point is, I found some half-stale bread crusts—we went through like six loaves a week, but no one _ever_ ate the crusts—and toasted it with a mix of tuna, mayonnaise and parmesan cheese from a can. I called them tuna melts, even though they didn't look as appetizing as any other melt sandwich I'd made in the past. By the time I'd finished with that, Tapirmon was taking the last of the potato pancakes off of the griddle. Kiyoko had recovered from his shock and collected our mismatched glasses and mason jars from the cupboard, filling them with the only beverage available: water.

"It's not exactly gourmet," I said with a sigh.

"I'll take it!" Warg shouted happily, taking his share with great enthusiasm. While Melga was just as enthusiastic, he was, however, more careful, taking precautions to keep his fir from getting greasy. He hated having to clean it when he _could_ be playing instead.

"Do we have ketchup?" Kiyoko muttered, nibbling at his tuna melt. He couldn't eat anything remotely close to fried potatoes without ketchup. It was ridiculous sometimes. This time however, I totally agreed. I checked, and ketchup was one thing we _did_ have. Thankfully.

"When is Mari coming home?" Melga asked. "She cooks better breakfast than you."

"I take offense to that," I said pointing at him. "So does Tapirmon. If you don't like it, don't eat it."

"No!" Melga said. "I'm gonna eat it. I will."

"That's what I thought," I said, narrowing my eyes at him, trying to suppress my smile. He caught on and grinned at me. I couldn't hold back my laughter at that point and we were all laughing soon enough.

"What time do you leave, Tapirmon?" I asked.

"About twenty minutes," he said. He looked exhausted. He really needed to take time off. But with the precautions in place to keep our digimon safe, he figured he had no reason to stay cooped up in the apartment. Not when he had an available exit. So he started working longer days. It irritated Kiyoko to no end, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. As much as it felt that way sometimes, the digimon weren't actually our children. We couldn't tell them what to do and expect them to follow instructions just because we were in charge. Because we weren't in charge. Not really. We were partners, and were therefore all on equal ground with one another. Warg and Melga? They didn't really mind when I told them what to do. In fact, they insisted on it. But Tapirmon had a mind of his own. He always had. It was the one thing keeping Sigma from having complete control. Tapirmon refused to listen to Sigma's instructions. He was _Kiyoko_'s partner, not Sigma's. Even now that it was just Kiyoko in that body, Tapirmon couldn't fully give in the way Warg and Melga were happy to. He'd spent nine years refusing to cave to Sigma's whims. He wasn't going to give up that independence for anything.

Kiyoko fully understood that. And supported it.

Kiyoko had been the opposite of Tapirmon for those nine years. He'd caved to Sigma's every command, right up until the end there. Anything Sigma asked of him, he did it. And he did it happily. He would've done anything for Sigma. It scared me to think about it. So I usually just didn't. How close were Mari and I to losing Kiyoko forever?

But there was no point in worrying about it. Not now that it was all over.

Kiyoko had all the choice in the world now. That was actually a problem to him. He never knew what to do with himself. It was logically the reason it was taking him so long to come up with plans for the next date night. It was also the reason that he let Mari cook for him, and let Warg and Melga help him pick clothes out in the morning. It was why he let Yoshie instruct him on getting his business up and running, and why he couldn't say no to Taichi whenever he came up with the next big plan for Digital Architecture. He didn't like having so many choices. He liked it when the decision was made for him. Most of the time, people didn't realize they were feeding into his need for instructions—no. For _orders_. He needed them. If he didn't have them, it looked like he was drowning in a sea of choice. But he needed to learn to stay afloat on his own. He needed to learn to tread in those waters. Make his own decisions. And he was trying. He just liked to cut as many corners as he could. And when someone was as cute as him, most people couldn't say no. Sometimes even _I_ gave in. And I knew the reasoning behind it. There was only one person that had _never_ caved in to him.

Neo.

But instead of resenting him for it, Kiyoko seemed to revel in Neo's presence. Neo's presence made him try harder. Partly because Neo wouldn't do it for him. But I'm pretty sure there was more to it than that. Neo was my best friend. He had been for ages. Long before I knew either Mari or Kiyoko. So I knew what a dick he could really be. And when we were actually Alias III, the bad guys, _Sigma_ was Neo's favourite. Not to hang with, because Sigma was just terrifying, but in general. Sigma always got the job done, no matter what Neo sent him to do—except when he was sent to defeat Sora and Koushiro, because _that_ didn't work. But every other time, I swear! Neo didn't know about Kiyoko though, not until after Mari and I learned about him. And therein lay the rub.

Kiyoko wanted to impress Neo.

He wanted to prove he was just as good as Sigma, if not better—he was _definitely_ better—and Neo needed to see it. So he tried harder. He wanted Neo to be as impressed by him as he was by Sigma. I _think_—and I was just spit balling here—that Kiyoko didn't always feel like he was _actually_ a part of Alias III, since it was Sigma who was asked to join.

Mari and I prefer Kiyoko. That's a given. But Neo doesn't always voice his opinions. Kiyoko doesn't like to ask questions when he's afraid of the answer. I _knew_ that Neo liked Kiyoko better than Sigma. I could tell, because we'd been best friends _forever_. But Kiyoko couldn't. So with Neo, he tried extra hard.

Neo was good for him.

Mari thought Willis might be good for him too, but then she'd have to hang out with him, and she didn't really want to do that _all_ the time—despite the fact that she was in America at his house like half the time, so I didn't really believe her. But apparently, Willis just went with the flow. He didn't always have to be in charge. That of course meant that at some point, were they to hang out, Kiyoko would have to be in charge. I'd love to be a fly on the wall when that day came.

"Hideto?"

"Huh?" I said stupidly. I really needed to stay out of my head. Deep Hideto was a person I could do without. Live in the moment Hideto. Just live in the moment!

"I asked what time you had to go to work?" Tapirmon said, repeating the question I'd obviously missed. I glanced up at the clock.

"Damn," I muttered. "I should've left ten minutes ago. I'm going to be late. I told Takeru I'd meet him at the corner. He's probably gone on ahead of me by now."

"Don't worry about it," Kiyoko said, shaking his head. "Takeru would rather be late to work than leave without you."

"We're not all that close..." I said slowly.

"It's just the kind of guy he is," Kiyoko said.

"Not to mention the fact that you're really close with the boss," Warg teased. "If he was late, he could just blame it on you."

"Mimi lets you get away with everything," Melga agreed.

I thought about protesting, you know, because it would be polite. But I just couldn't do it. "I know. It's awesome," I said instead. I put my hands on the table and stood up. Using my hands to balance my weight, I leaned across the entire table and pressed a kiss to Kiyoko's cheek. He still acted embarrassed when anyone saw any displays of affection, which—of course—was why I did it. He had this really adorable smile, all sheepish and he averted his eyes all embarrassed. It was really fun. Of course Tapirmon couldn't help but tease him about it.

"Have a good day," he said brightly. "Tell Takeru I say hello."

"Me too!" Warg and Melga cheered as one.

"Me as well, if you don't mind," Tapirmon added, bringing the dishes to the sink.

"Well," Kiyoko said awkwardly. "I'm going to need help picking out what to wear to the fashion show. Do you know any digimon that might be interested?"

"Oh pick me!" Melga said, raising his hand in the air.

"No! Me!" Warg protested. "I'm so much better at it."

I laughed, backing out of the room and shaking my head at their antics. I slipped my shoes on and bolted out the door. Kiyoko was right. Takeru was still there, waiting for me. I passed on everyone's greetings. He smiled. He didn't ask about why I was late. He didn't seem too bothered. It was almost nice. Not as nice as walking with Yamato would have been—him being my favourite singer in the world and all (incidentally, that was the very reason he refused to let me walk with him, how rude!)—but it was pretty good anyway. It was a companionable silence. For the first two blocks. I forced myself to focus on documenting spring. The way the leaves were budding in the trees. The early flowers getting ready to bloom. Giant puddles I'd need to step around. General stuff. Stuff that wasn't serious. Stuff that I wouldn't have to dwell on, and contemplate in that deep part of my mind that I hated.

"So," Takeru said. "I get this feeling that you'd rather be distracted than be left to think. I might be way off base on that one, but you know. I can talk if you want me to."

"Yeah," I said. "Do that."

"Okay," he said. "Well, I've got to try and convince Yamato to show up to the next family dinner at Dad's. You know how weird it was with him not there? Super weird. I think it's mostly because he grew up with Dad, and I was with Mom. I think at some point I just started associating Dad with Yamato, you know? Well, anyway, he doesn't want to go, since he knows that Fumiko is going to be there. But she's great. Not as awesome as Mom, obviously, but she's pretty cool in her own way. And since she's there, Iori comes too. Not that he wants to. I don't think he's too happy about the arrangement either. I don't know what their problem is. Meiyomon and I just love it!"

He continued rambling about his family problem for awhile, before gushing about Hikari and how she wore the dress _he_ bought her for her first day of school. And then he talked about how weird it is to have to go to her family dinners, and to Taichi's house, now that they're dating. Taichi doesn't treat him _too_ differently, but it's enough that he can see it. He's not just his sister's best friend anymore, and Taichi doesn't know exactly how to go about dealing with that. Then he went on and on about how thankful he was that Mimi gave him this job, because he really needed to start pulling his weight more. Even the short amount of time he'd already put in as a host was helpful. They had something other than noodles and baby formula at home, which was awesome.

I didn't tell him how I wished _I_ had noodles at home.

I didn't even tell him how thankful I was for the distraction. I didn't get a chance to ask him how he _knew_ I needed distracting either. I thought about it. I really did. I almost thanked him too, but just as I opened my mouth to do so, Takeru shouted out.

"What is that?" Takeru gasped.

"What's what?" I asked, looking around. It didn't take me long to spot it. Smoke. Heaps of the stuff, billowing out of a broken window. There were three men standing outside the building. And two girls. One girl was shouting at the other. I could just _barely_ hear what they were saying.

"What did you go and break the window for!" she shouted. It was Michan. I could recognize that whining tone anywhere.

"I said I'd help you fight your fight," the girl responded. It was her friend. Something like enchiladas or something...no. _Tako_. "I didn't say I'd become a murderer!"

"You knew what you were signing up for. It's one casualty. We'll be saving the lives of millions," Michan argued. Her friend didn't look fully convinced, but she seemed ready to let Michan take over again. From what I'd gathered, Tako had busted a window to let the smoke out. Someone was inside, and she wanted to give them at least a small chance of survival. A way to lighten her guilty conscience.

"Oh. My. God," Takeru said. His words started out as surprise, but by the end he was growling. "That's Mimi's."

"What?" I gasped. But I didn't need to look. It made perfect sense. It was on the corner, I'd seen the signs and the buildings hundreds of times. It wasn't something I'd ever really paid attention to though.

No.

Wait.

He was saying that Mimi's was on fire. I didn't have time to be contemplating my sensory memory. There was a _person_ inside that building. And if it was Mimi's restaurant...

"Mimi!" I shouted.

"They are _not_ getting away with this," Takeru growled. Twice now he'd growled in my presence. I'd never seen him this way before. He was generally such a nice guy. I suppose I'd never really realized how short his fuse really was. He took off running at the crowd of five. The three men flashed across my mind now. They were the men that refused to be served by me. The men Mimi screamed out of the restaurant. Somehow, I didn't think this had anything to do with stinging pride, and all to do with digimon.

"Hey," one of the three men shouted. "Let's get out of here!" The five of them took off running. The page Michan was holding drifted to the ground, right at the edge of the sidewalk.

"You don't think they know what we did?" Tako screamed, hysterically.

She didn't really need that question answered. Of _course_ we saw. People don't start chasing down random bystanders. They chase the _bad guys_. I would know. I'd been chased before.

"Takeru!" I shouted. "Takeru! WHAT ABOUT MIMI!"

But it was no use. He was gone. I panicked for five seconds. I counted them out. I'd heard somewhere that that was a good idea. I needed to get Mimi out. There was a convenient entrance: the window. There was obviously an unlocked door. How else would they have gotten in the building in the first place? Mimi had a bad habit of leaving the front door unlocked outside of business hours. It was why she gave me a set of keys to begin with. Izumi had a set too.

"Hideto?"

Yamato. I whirled around, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him once.

"You will call the fire department. You will try to get through to your brother, and you will call Izumi. Whatever order you want. Except the fire department. They come first," I said. My voice sounded panicked even to my own ears.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"No time," I said, gasping for air. "Mimi's in there. I'm getting her out. Just call the people!"

"Wait!" he screamed after me, as I dived through the open window like some freaking action movie hero. What the hell was I thinking? I couldn't see anything, I couldn't _breathe_! I knew the restaurant though—the layout—like the back of my hand. I could hear Yamato screaming after me, but little else. The blazing of the fire, the _roar_ was ringing in my ears. I had to reach Mimi. I _had_ to.

She was the first person that believed I could change. The first person outside of Alias III and Neo—and to an extent Rei, but she didn't count as my best friend's younger sister—to really believe in me. To want me around. If she could stick her neck out on the line against all of her friends when she barely knew me—if at all—then I could damn well risk mine to save her.

I just wish I'd thought of a real plan first. Or at least invested in some fireproof clothing.

"Mimi!" I hacked out, my body overtaken with choking coughs. I'd inhaled too much smoke. I should've been breathing through my shirt. Without hesitation, I lifted my shirt up over my nose, exposing my stomach to the heat of the flames. It wasn't pleasant, let me tell you that. "Mimi! MIMI!"

She either couldn't hear me, or was too woozy from smoke inhalation to answer. Fine. I'd find her myself. She wasn't in the main room. That was obvious. She would've spotted the arsonists in the act. There weren't many options then. But those four options were three too many! The men's room. The woman's room. The kitchen. Her office.

Too many choices. I had to act, and so I sprinted across the floor, trying to run around the flames, but I ended up running through them more often than not. The kitchen. The flames hadn't spread too far in there yet. There was far less smoke. But there was no Mimi. I'd made the wrong choice. Time was ticking down and I didn't know how much longer I had. A single wrong choice could mean her life. I ran to the sink, turning the cold water on and grabbing the hose. I pressed the button and a spray of water came out. I soaked myself as quickly as possible, and grabbed one of the dirty tablecloths from the last dinner rush, and did the same to it. I wrapped it up and tucked it under my arm. Now I had a way to get her out of here.

Office. Or bathroom.

I threw caution to the wind, and bolted to her office. It was where she was most days anyway. Not so much now that she'd gotten Koushiro to do most of the paperwork, but she still spent a lot more time there than she wanted to. I grabbed the door knob and pulled my hand away. A howl of pain slipped through my lips. The knob was really hot. Of course it was. It was facing flames. They were so close now. I wadded up the bottom of my shirt and used it as an oven mitt, opening the door as quickly as possible.

"Stay back! I'm warning you!"

Palmon?

Palmon! She was a digimon. What the hell was she doing in a public place? No. Scratch that. She was a _plant_ digimon. She couldn't face the fire.

"Palmon, it's me!" I screamed.

"Hideto?" she shouted. "Hideto. Mimi! It's Hideto."

"Palmon, I _told_ you. Stay behind me. I can't let it hurt you."

"But I'm supposed to protect _you_."

"Not against fire you're not. Now get behind me. I mean it!"

I dropped to the ground, _finally_ remembering the fact that smoke rises. They only taught me like twelve times in school. I could see Palmon. She wasn't looking nearly as tough as she sounded. She was clutching her arm, and was draped across the floor. She was in really bad shape. Her petals looked singed. I took Mimi's tablecloth and made a decision. I unrolled it, and scooped Palmon into it. She sighed in relief as the wet cloth—not quite as cold as before, but still refreshing—touched her skin.

"Don't you take her! I won't let you take her from me!" Mimi screamed, whacking me in the side with her desk chair. I fell flat on the ground, groaning, taking in more smoke than I'd hoped to.

"Mimi, it's me!" I shouted. "It's Hideto. HIDETO!"

"Hideto?" Mimi gasped. She tried to help me to my feet, but she just wasn't strong enough. I conjured up images of Warg and Melga, knowing how much they'd want me to get home. I thought of Mari and Tapirmon. Neo, Rei. _Kiyoko_. I thought of Koushiro, and Sora and Jou and all of _Mimi's_ closest friends. The ones that would be desperate to get her back.

Yamato, who was just stupid enough in the face of danger to jump in after me if I didn't get out soon enough for his liking.

I'd found the inner strength I knew _had_ to be buried in there somewhere, but never bothered to hunt it down. I forced myself to my feet. I hugged Mimi. Just momentarily, trying to get as much of the water left in my shirt to stick to hers. I didn't know how well that worked. But it was the best I had to offer. I picked Palmon—still in her tablecloth—up and Mimi grabbed my arm. We were going to have to run. I tried to tell her that, but the fire was getting closer and closer. I didn't know how well she understood me.

I counted to two in my head. Just two. There wasn't enough time to waste on anything more. Once I'd reached two, I dragged Mimi and Palmon with me, running around as many flames as was possible, trying to at least damper the ones we couldn't get around. Mimi let out a couple of good, _loud_ screams in my ear, but we'd made it to the front entrance. Or at least the wall that contained it. I was just turned around a bit and I couldn't find the door or the window.

I was so close!

I couldn't lose this fight now.

A pair of hands grabbed me from behind, and Mimi clenched my arm tighter. I fell onto my back on the sidewalk, looking up into Yamato's face. "I got you," he said. "I've got all of you."

"Mimi," I said desperately.

"I got her," Yamato said sounding confused. Takeru, who Yamato must've tracked down, was looking just as unsure at his side.

"No," I said, shaking my head, trying not to cough my lungs up when something really important had just struck me. "_Mimi_."

"What?" she asked, choking on her own set of lungs.

"Tell me that Izumi isn't in there. _Please_, tell me she's not," I begged.

"She called in sick," Mimi said. Her emotions all welled to the surface at that moment, and all of her anger, fear, sadness all bubbled out in big, fat, tears. "She called in sick!"

"Thank God," I said, practically collapsing. I felt the need to have a big cry too. But I didn't. It wasn't something I ever allowed myself to do. My control was rock solid, even at times like this.

"Is anyone else inside?"

"No," Yamato answered the stranger. "They were it."

"Good," the stranger said. "Can we get the paramedics over here! We're free to start."

The next thing I know, Mimi, Palmon and I are all being lifted onto stretchers, and the firemen's hoses were roaring to life. If I thought the fire was loud... It really had nothing on these bursts of water. Takeru was holding Mimi's hand, trying to comfort her.

Mimi was sobbing, and hacking up black sludge—which I assumed to be the smoke mixed with her own saliva. I pretended I wasn't doing the same thing—with the sludge, I already established my no crying rule!—and looked over at the paramedic dealing with Palmon. Yamato was hovering nearby. Glaring at the medic, practically _daring_ her to do something, _anything_ that he wouldn't accept. She looked up and caught his glare. She smiled gently. "I help people. That's what I signed up to do. I don't care how big, little or _green_. My job is to save lives."

Yamato relaxed. A little. But he still didn't take his eyes off of her. We were then told we had to go to the freaking hospital to get checked over. They didn't want any of us to develop anything because of the incident, don't you know. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't exactly stop them.

No.

That wasn't true. I did stop the guy pushing my stretcher once. I needed to look at that piece of paper Michan had been holding. A cold feeling settled through me, and I wished more than anything that I didn't have to get taken to the hospital.

I'd seen that flyer before. At least fifty times in the last month. I knew exactly where they were headed, and I didn't like it. I needed to warn them!

_**Sora Takenouchi:**_

The sound of the water rushing from the faucet into the stained porcelain sink drowned out my whispered voice as I muttered words of encouragement to myself in the smudged bathroom mirror. The room smelled worse than any public bathroom I'd ever been in, but I could hardly notice. I couldn't seem to get my mind to focus on anything aside from the stress that was boiling up inside.

This was the day I'd been waiting for. My second chance. Three years ago I'd had an attempted fashion show with poorly crafted articles of clothing in which I had some volunteers from the Community Center wear. Unfortunately, that show was cut short because of Sigma. I was almost thankful. That show would not have been a success and I would not have been proud. But today, after years of training, I got another go at what I've always wanted.

I had my beautiful friends coming to dress up in clothes that I'd been working on for months. I was so proud of everything I'd done this time around, and I was so touchy about what everyone had to say, but luckily no one said anything bad about them yet. Everyone loved them as much as I did. Or they wanted to keep me happy—either way, I was pleased. Of course I was only in the mall this time, but I had important people coming.

My time of dreaming endlessly and hopelessly was finally over. If you dream hard, and have the universe stomp on you enough times, good things really do happen. Dreams _can_ come true.

I ran my hands under the warm water, warming them up, and then dried them off, shutting the faucet off. I leaned closer to the mirror to check my makeup and sighed. My left eye had a longer wing of eyeliner. After a quick touch up, in which the right one became longer, but I decided I didn't care enough to keep fixing them, I stepped out of the bathroom, and into the bustling mall.

There were people of all ages and sizes, roaming around, doing whatever business it was they needed to do. I thought about joining them, and shopping for some new clothes to keep my mind busy, but decided I should probably focus and bring myself back to Earth.

I sat by myself, prodding a tomato in my salad with my plastic fork, too nervous and worked up to eat. My stomach was seized up and I had a feeling that anything I tried to put into it wouldn't stay put too long.

"You really should eat something."

I turned and saw Koushiro, leaning over my shoulder and looking down to my salad. He sat down, Biyomon at his side.

"Did you have fun?" I asked her, trying to keep calm. I'd done a good job so far. Before today I'd only felt excitement, and happiness. Everything was coming up Sora. This morning when I'd woken up I still felt all those same emotions, but they were plagued with nerves. I asked Koushiro to take Biyomon out to do something so I could have some time to prepare myself, and of course he agreed.

Biyomon nodded, "Of course!" She shouted, "We fed the ducks in the park, and then we had some healthy breakfast, and that was fun, but I wasn't hungry because I kept feeding myself with the ducks. They're cute you know? The birds on Earth. I'll never get over how small they all are. Hey! Did you know that the boy ducks look different from the girl ducks? That's weird, I think boy Biyomon look the same—of course I can't remember ever seeing one. Then again, we digimon don't have genders, which I think is so funny of you humans to have, even though we digimon know about them and totally have them too, but I dunno, what do you think?"

"I think genders are only important for reproduction," Koushiro responded without missing a beat. "As you digimon do not reproduce, there is no need to specify which gender you are. Perhaps that's what is implied when they say there are no genders. There is no need for a gender, and so you are all equal." God was I thankful for Koushiro. I was in no way ready for this kind of conversation. Biyomon could get so talkative when she was in a good mood, and if I didn't respond, just as talkative, she often thought something was wrong, even if that wasn't the case.

Biyomon hummed her agreement, thoughtfully, as I picked up my plastic water bottle "Are you saying that you humans aren't equal?"

"We are." Koushiro said, nodding, "Just some people don't agree."

"They think boys smell, right?" Biyomon asked. I snorted into my water.

"Well, I suppose so," Koushiro said with a smile creeping onto his face. "But I think the problem mostly comes from sexist people thinking women don't deserve the same rights as the men."

"That's crazy!" Biyomon said, shocked. "I sure am glad that we digimon don't have to put up with any of that. Genders seem stupid anyway. If you're all the same, why does it matter? Why label everything. Humans can be so silly."

She had a point, and luckily it brought me out of my state of mind enough to eat my salad while listening to the two of them talk about anything and everything, as was usual with Biyomon.

Soon enough, a shout of my name interrupted Biyomon arguing with Koushiro about how the city should totally paint all the buildings pink. It was Miyako who had called out to me, her hands waving excitedly in the air. She was dragging Daisuke with her, through the crowds of people. Some grumpy looking man refused to get out of the way so they had to go around him. "Hi!" She shouted. Her hair was down, and loose, without even a bandana in it today, leaving it open for me to design. Daisuke was grinning just as wildly as Miyako was, and it was impossible to not smile back at them as they sat down around the small wooden table with us.

"Ken's working," Miyako said apologetically, "He wanted to come, but he's a little scared to ask for time off."

I smiled, closing the clear plastic around what was left of my salad and sliding it away from myself. Daisuke was quick to grab it, asking with his eyes if it was okay, and when I nodded, he was stuffing his face in no time. "What about Kurayami?" I asked, more to Miyako than Daisuke who was still eating.

"Oh, she'll be here." Miyako said. "She just wanted to go pick something up for Haruki. Baby stuff. Super important. It's like, everyone's having babies these days, right?" She then laughed awkwardly, and we all kind of exchanged glances of 'what is she talking about' but none of us said anything.

Daisuke came to her rescue though, filling the silence, "Yeah, Miyako and I have just been doing whatever since we lost her. We actually don't know where she is, but she promised she'd meet us here, so I'm sure she'll be here."

"I hope so," I said quietly, "I only have seven models."

"Jun couldn't come?" Biyomon asked, counting on her fingers. I shook my head stiffly. Jun was stressed and busy and I didn't want to pressure her into coming since I barely knew her at all, which meant all I had was Miyako, Kurayami, Hikari, Mimi, Natsuni, Rei and Momoe. Seven models.

Daisuke suddenly broke out into laughter as something caught his eye. He elbowed Miyako and pointed something out in the crowd and her face looked like a tomato in seconds. She threw her hands up to cover her eyes, and tried to pretend nothing was wrong but was not succeeding.

Daisuke went on to tell the story of how about a year ago Miyako had referred to some man as woman to his face, and then actually sparked up an argument over which gender the person was. With that person. She'd apparently been worked up over work at the time, and having just gone to the doctors to check her fertility, and was waiting for the results. Either way, it was funny. And rude.

During the story Jou, Momoe and Emiko arrived, and Emiko entirely disregarded the rudeness of the story and found humour in its entirety. Momoe, grinned and shared a knowing look with Miyako whose face, if possible turned even redder as Momoe started in on a story about Miyako at age ten.

Jou elbowed me, as he had pulled a chair up to sit next to me and whispered into my ear, "It starts in three hours. Are you ready?" I looked to him, and tightened my lips into a smile. His dark eyes were serious and fatherly looking through the glass framing them, as always. He raised one eyebrow and slowly I nodded.

"I think so." I admitted.

"Who else is coming?" He asked.

"Hopefully Hikari, Mimi, Kurayami, Rei and Natsuni." I said softly, and nervously. I didn't know Natsuni very well, but I could only hope she'd come. Kurayami seemed likely to come, after what Daisuke had said, plus I'd made her wedding dress, free of charge. Mimi and Hikari I was not worried about. I knew they'd come.

"Are you excited?" He asked me softly.

"Naturally." I grinned. Something about the way he was talking, quietly, as if it was no big deal, seemed to wash away most of the worry. It reminded me of when I was stressing out over my science exam in my final year of high school. Jou was quick to stand by my side, studying like crazy. Or when I was nine, and we were in soccer camp, he cheered me on and helped me practice so I could beat Taichi. Though I did not win that...

"It's going to be great." He assured me. I smiled at his encouragement and turned back to the others to see Natsuni sneaking up on everyone. She threw her arms around Momoe from behind her and Momoe's scream turned into a laughter that everyone copied, laughing along with her.

They were all happy, and in a good mood, completely relaxed. They had to be confident that this would go over well. They all liked the designs, of course everyone else would. Why wouldn't they? This would be a good day. It had to be. Why was I so worked up about it?

"I was just saying to Emiko," Biyomon was saying, drawing my attention to the conversation. "The people in the ice cream store were super nice, and I think we should all go get ice cream."

"Why wouldn't they be nice?" I asked, with a shrug as Miyako leaned forward in her chair next to me, excited about the ice cream idea.

"Well the people at—" Biyomon stopped midsentence and looked slowly to Koushiro who very subtly shook his head. Biyomon folded her wings across her lap and sighed, "I forget."

"I saw that." I said to Koushiro sharply, "What are you two hiding from me?"

"It's nothing." Biyomon assured me. "I'll tell you later."

"Probably for the better." Koushiro agreed, checking his watch, "We should already be preparing for the show."

I looked over my shoulder quickly and stared at the big brass rimmed clock at the end of the food court we were sitting in. He was right. It was time to get ready. I'd have to do all of their hair. All three of them...

We all stood together, aside from Daisuke who decided to wait for Kurayami who promised to meet him at the food court, and headed toward the grand hall area of the mall. It took no more than five minutes of pushing through the crowds of relentless people who all seemed much more stubborn today, and unwilling to get out of our way for some reason, which was fine, because after talking to Jou I just kind of felt elated. Still not confident exactly, but at least I didn't feel like vomiting anymore.

On the way Natsuni informed us all as to why Iori couldn't come. "He has a big test," She'd said, "His midterms are coming up. In like... a month. But still. Also, I'm going to my parents house later, and he doesn't like going over while my mom's home." Then she was explaining how her mother was testy and mean whenever Iori was around, and it had to do with 'heroism' not being a suitable past for marrying her daughter.

Honestly, what girl didn't want to marry a strong, intelligent heroic man?

Iori was the perfect guy! A little angry sometimes, but then again, who wasn't?

I was trailing along the back of the group, my mind buzzing about what exactly was going on between Koushiro and Biyomon and what they weren't telling me. I couldn't be sure, but knowing them, they were keeping it a secret to keep my mood up, at least until after the fashion show. Which was admirable to a point, but honestly, I think I'd rather have just known.

In the entrance hall of the mall, the light I'd counted on from the glass ceiling was clearly not to be relied upon. The sky was covered in dark clouds as rain fell and smashed against the window. That was fine, I could get over that. The entrance hall went straight up all four floors, with balconies overlooking the beautifully dirty tiled flooring. I could hear muffled echoes from the people all throughout the mall, and somehow it kept pounding against my ears, getting louder and louder, and I felt like I was going to be sick unless someone managed to take my attention away from the people around me.

"It's the old guy." Emiko said in her usual loud voice. I looked up from my feet and saw through the heads and shoulders, Neo, sitting on the shining black catwalk, his legs crossed as he sipped from a cardboard coffee cup. I smiled to him and he caught my eye, giving me his usual 'oh, you're here?' look.

"You invited Neo?" Miyako asked from the corner of her mouth.

I didn't take my eyes away from Neo when I said, "I didn't really invite any of you. You all just came." I then looked to her and smiled, "You're amazing friends."

"We'd all have come if we could." Miyako said softly, "Ken was really upset that he couldn't come. I know Hideto had to work to give Mimi a chance to come." I didn't know what to say, but it felt good to know that everyone supported me. Even after having been gone for three years.

Three years... Looking at everyone when I came back, and even now, was so strange. They all looked the same. Not exactly the same by any means, but similar enough to wonder if any time had passed at all. But I knew it had. I'd changed a lot in those years, and I knew the others had as well. Taichi still had the same quirks he always had, and he was still in the same relationship, in the same home, in the same job with the same friends... but there was so much that had changed. He'd grown. The look behind his eyes was different.

And that was just Taichi—everyone else was different too, but thankfully they all accepted me back into their welcoming arms.

"He's getting a muffin," Neo was explaining when we all sat down in the dark grey plastic seats surrounding the stage. I guess someone had asked him a question. "He debated for like fifteen minutes whether or not he wanted one, and finally he decided he did. I imagine he'll miss the show picking between the different varieties." Some of the others laughed, and I assumed he'd be talking about Kiyoko. I didn't know who else would have shown up with Neo, since Hideto couldn't come.

I was standing apart from the group a little, at the end of the catwalk, staring down the length of it at the thick dark curtains at the end surrounded by enormous beams of metal with large lights, readied for the show. Biyomon was standing by my side a moment later, holding my hand.

"Ready?" She asked cutely, looking up at me with her big blue eyes.

"Ready." I confirmed, smiling nervously. "Okay!" I said, drawing attention from the others. "Can everyone who is going to take part go back stage? I'll need to prep you all." And they were off.

After ten minutes, I'd assigned Momoe to a Frigimon inspired outfit, a separate one that featured an Ikkakumon meets Gomamon dress with a Gomamon bag. Natsuni was wearing Armadillomon stiletto's, a Meramon hat, and Ladydevimon gloves. All separately of course. The Gabumon blazer would be going to Miyako since it looked really good with the Hawkmon belt. She'd also be the one to wear the Wormmon headband.

Miyako's hair was up and ready, and I was putting the finishing touches on the curls hanging down, framing her face when Daisuke and Kurayami stepped backstage, the former holding their adorable sleeping baby.

"Kurayami!" I cheered, "I'm going to get you to wear the Ulforceveedramon cape, okay?" Daisuke protested until I held it up and showed him how feminine it was, so he let her take that one. I did agree to use Daisuke in the angel display however. There was an Angemon hat, and a white feathery suit, that I knew no one would ever wear—but hey, this was a fashion show. No one ever wore that stuff! Kurayami would take the female spot on the angel display, wearing an Angewoman themed outfit in a similar fashion to Daisuke's.

I'd had some Divermon and Dolphmon outfits to use for Jun if she'd managed to come, but since she couldn't I'd have to divide them between who was present. Momoe seemed the most excited about them so I let her have first pick as I did her hair as well.

After another hour, Hikari was pushing Rei along quickly in her chair, apologizing for being late.

"It's okay," I said, my voice shaking. Every time I had to speak I was reminded how nervous I was. I thrust the Gatomon inspired gloves into Hikari's eager arms, and the Palmon hat to Rei. "Mimi wanted that one, but she's not here, and it makes more sense for you."

"Because I'm in a chair," Rei nodded, "Makes sense." She tried it on and looked into a mirror, with me standing over her shoulder. She looked so beautiful already, I wasn't sure what exactly I was supposed to do to make her look better. "Also, Taichi wants to speak with you." She was looking up to me through the reflection and I nodded in response.

"He will have to wait." I said slowly, "I have a Cherrymon outfit that someone should wear. I think you could do this one, Rei."

She spun with her chair and looked to the manikin where a dark brown dress hung overtop a pair of boots. There was a green hat with a couple red buttons to go along with it. "Really?" She asked, looking it over, "I don't want to distract from the dress with my chair."

"You won't." I promised her. "You're beautiful. The point of this show is to show that we welcome everyone. The digimon are beautiful so I'm paying tribute to them. It wouldn't be fair to say that you're not beautiful just because of the things that make you unique." Rei looked up to me, unable to find anything to say, so I took her hand just to make the point even more firm. And she let me go, thanking me with just her eyes.

"So do I go out just wearing these?" Hikari joked, holding up the gloves. I laughed and handed her a hanger with a white leotard on it. She'd wear that so the focus was on the gloves. "And who gets to wear that?" Hikari was pointing to another manikin where the most flamboyant outfit was. Instead of trying to make it somewhat like everyday wear, I'd made a one piece suit with poofy shorts, and a poncho like cape to go along with a wizard hat to, of course pay homage to Wizardmon.

"You can, if you want." I suggested, and watched her face light up excitedly. She hugged me and rushed over to the outfit.

I turned back and made a mental note of everything I'd have to do, which thanks to Hikari and Rei's short hair, and Biyomon who was doing everyone's makeup, wasn't much.

I decided now was the time to talk to Taichi. I had one hour until the show started.

Throwing the curtain aside, I saw him leaning against the wall by where the others were all sitting, not technically in the front row, but the row closes to the end of the catwalk. Kiyoko was happily eating a muffin that looked to be filled with some sort of jam, Neo was silently sipping his coffee, which he raised in a sort of toast when he caught my eye again, Jou was sitting with Emiko, restraining her from pulling the hair of the snooty looking lady in front of them, who was sitting in the first of the chairs lining the length of the stage. Koushiro was the one actually speaking with Taichi who looked like he was ready to pull his hair out of his head.

"No one is forcing you to be here you know," I said as I got closer. I wondered momentarily if that was why he was upset. Did he not want to be here? I knew he had better things to do, and I wouldn't even blame him if he _did_ go. Taichi and Koushiro both looked up to me and stopped talking, so I shot Koushiro a glare, knowing it was the thing with Biyomon that he was keeping from me.

"I'm here because I want to be," Taichi said firmly.

I laughed, instantly put to ease at the sound of his voice. Jou did a good job calming me, but it was nothing compared to Taichi, who simply had to _be_ there just to make me feel like I could fly. "I'm sure a fashion show was on the top of the things you had to do today."

Taichi shook his head, "Nah," He said, "It said nothing about a fashion show. It said something about seeing Sora be happy. And it wasn't my to-do list for today. It was on my bucket list." My stomach released all the tension I'd been keeping built up inside and I stopped walking, now standing in front of him. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm here for you." He said it all very lazily and somehow sounded so matter-of-fact about it all at the same time. "I mean, we all knew you'd be awesome at whatever it was that you were going to be doing, and I just wanted to let you know I'm happy that you're here."

I hugged him quickly and felt myself coming to tears, which was somehow a relief. I'd been holding in so many twisted emotions there were no words to describe how it felt to free myself of them all. "I'm happy you're here too." I said, holding him.

When I pulled away, he laughed and wiped some tears from my face, "Your makeup is running. You'd better fix that. That mean lady is going to be judging you." I looked to the lady who was sitting in front of Emiko and smiled, "And so will I." He grinned.

"Stupid Taichi." I laughed, punching his arm playfully.

"Did you get that Agumon sweater done?" He asked, his eyebrows raised, "It better be the best thing in the show. You spent like four years on it."

"I spent a week," I said, narrowing my eyes, "but yes, it's done. You can have it after this if you want."

"I want." He grinned, patting my shoulder. "But I think someone's calling for your attention." I turned to see Professor Miru, standing wearing a floral printed tuxedo. "Someone dressed up for the occasion." I raised my eyebrows and turned back to him. "Go." He said, "I'll be here when the show is over."

I smiled and set off toward my professor, and was pulled into a hug by him the moment I came into reach. "Sora," He beamed, "I just came from backstage, everything looks beautiful."

"Thank you, sir," I said, bowing politely.

"No, thank _you_." He said softly, placing his hand on my shoulder, "You've been the most inspiring student I've ever had, and I've been a professor for like, three years." I smiled at him. I started in his classes in his very first year of teaching, so, I knew as well as he did that he didn't have many students to pick from, but it meant a lot that he picked me. "You showed everyone in the class exactly what it meant to be open-minded. Do you remember your show honoring those who died in the holocaust? I do. It made me so proud to see you, showing everyone that honoring cupcakes, or duct tape was nothing to be proud of. Everything you've done has always pushed the boundaries, and now, with this, you're showing not just me and your class the kind of person you are, but you're showing the whole world."

I couldn't help but blush at this point as I pushed his shoulder lightly, "Stop!" I insisted bashfully, "It's just like, a hundred people."

"For now." He said smiling, "Do you see that particularly upset looking woman?" He asked me, leaning down to my eye level and subtly pointing to the lady in front of Emiko, "the one who looks like she's so constipated that she hasn't taken a dump for the past twelve years?" I laughed and nodded, "She's going to change your entire world."

"If you say so," I said with a smile, "But who is she?"

"Who _is_ she?" He gasped, his hand clutching his chest, "That's Gina Hisakawa! The most prestigious woman in the industry of this particular part of Japan!" He said it as if she was a goddess, but it just sounded like she might be the boss of some company, but that was enough for me. If she could get me a job, then whether she was a goddess or not, she needed to be treated like one. I quickly reached for my phone to text Jou to move Emiko, but found that it was not with me.

"Sora!" Biyomon shouted, popping out from the curtains quickly, rushing toward me, my phone in her hand. "It's Mimi!"

She tossed the phone to me as Professor Miru began chatting her up, "Mimi?" I asked quickly.

"Sora, I'm so sorry," Mimi said, her voice thick, like she'd been crying. "I... I can't make it in time."

I knew I could have been angry, but something was going on, there was something in her voice that scared me. "Mimi, what happened?"

"I'll still come!" She said quickly, "I'll try to come see the show. It's a long story. I'll tell you when I get there."

"Mimi, are you okay?"

"I am." She said softly, "Thanks to Hideto. Listen, I'll explain later. Good luck, Sora, I'm so sorry I couldn't come. I love you!"

"Love you too, Mimi..." I said softly, hanging up the phone.

"What's wrong?" Biyomon asked, "She sounded upset!"

"She didn't say." I said quietly, nervous. She said she was okay, but what did that entail? Was _Hideto_ okay? I looked over my shoulder to where Kiyoko was sitting, content, having finished his muffin. What if he wasn't coming back? What if something horrible had happened? What would happen with Kiyoko? I turned back to my professor and sighed, "I'm sorry, excuse me. I have to rearrange some things."

On the way past Professor Miru I saw a group of men standing by the glass entryway to the mall, each of them looked more familiar than the last and they all looked smug and horrible, but I didn't have time to examine them, or my memory to figure out their identities. I had to straighten out my dream. Again.

I was throwing the curtain back a moment later calling out to the others, "Who wants to wear a Lillymon dress?" Natsuni was quick to call dibs on that, which was good since I knew it would likely fit her the best anyway, which left Daisuke with the Tentomon backpack that was going to Mimi as well.

I looked to the bright orange Agumon sweater that was lying on the counter in front of me and ran through my models quickly. Who had the least to wear? Who could change fast enough to get this one on as well? I could have done it, but I wasn't really planning on going out there myself...

"I could probably wear that," Hikari said, coming to the rescue like the superhero she was. She looked at it and smiled, "Taichi was telling me you put a lot of effort into that one. I could just wear it over the leotard or something. I don't know what gender it's meant for, but I think it's adorable." I looked to her and nodded. I had no time to debate these things. Mimi wasn't coming, so these were all of my potential models, and I hadn't even walked them through the plan, yet.

"Everyone listen!" I shouted, and they all turned toward me. "Mimi can't come." There were some questions but I ignored them, I didn't know the answers anyway, "I'm going to start the show with the angels, okay?" Daisuke and Kurayami high-fived one another, and slowly everyone else came to understand their places. I had them take turns as much as possible so they'd have time to change. Miyako was delegated to wear the Divermon dress, but she was unwilling to wear anything with shorter sleeves, so Natsuni handed off the LadyDevimon gloves to wear along with it, and everything was going fine.

Except the Birdramon dress.

"There's no choice," Biyomon said softly, "You have to wear it." There was a moment of silence, and I knew she was right. "Good thing you made it in your size, right?" Biyomon laughed. I smirked at her and threw the dress on quickly. When I stepped out from behind the black privacy partition, I saw that the others were all standing, ready for their first go out the catwalk.

I stood in front of them all and they all stared at the dress, and I knew why. They'd all seen it, but honestly it looked a hundred times better on someone. And I didn't want to say it out loud, but in my head I was allowed. It looked so good. I was so proud of this dress. The orange and red feathery skirt was so comfortable and not even _I_ was sure how it looked so much like fire. There was a golden-beige neckpiece that looked like Birdramon's beak without the vicious fangs. Those were included in the earrings. I wasn't going to leave out any of her figure. This was about how everyone was beautiful, and every part of my partner was, in fact, beautiful.

"I'm so excited," Rei clapped her hands on her face, bubbling with happiness as she looked at my dress. "You look so good!" She paused and then her hands fell, "I've never done anything like this."

"I don't think any of us have." Hikari said brightly.

"I have." Daisuke joked, and we all laughed with him. As the laughing died down, we all looked to one another, taking in the work I'd spent so long on. This was it. Three years of chasing my dream was leading to this moment, right here. "Hey Sora," Daisuke said brightly, "I'm glad I got you to go to that school. These are the coolest things ever. You should make Veemon clothes. But like. For a boy." He eyed the Ulforceveedramon cape that was draping over a white wooden chair by the makeup counter. "I'd totally buy them." I smiled at him, and was ready to respond, but the music started up.

Instantly, from out in the entryway I could hear the others cheering—mostly Taichi and Emiko, but still, it felt good to know they were out there for me. For all of us. This was a big moment for the others too, and their faces were suddenly more nervous than excited.

Unfortunately I heard a distinct 'boo' in the cheering. Some annoying teenager probably.

"Oh please," I said loudly over the music. "You all look awesome. All you have to do is walk, or wheel yourself out there, stand there looking perfect, as you all do, and get back in here, change in about three seconds and do it again!" They all laughed as Professor Miru's voice filled the hall as he stood just past the curtains using his microphone.

"Welcome to the grand opening of Sora Takenouchi's fashion career." I smiled and turned to see my creations, and suddenly froze.

"Guys!" I hissed, starting to work pushing all the clothing racks out of the way. "When the curtains open they'll see this!" Everyone's eyes bugged as they began pushing everything away, and making sure they knew where everything was. Rei slowly backed away, upset that she could be of no help in the rush of things, but I tried to keep her confident the best I could.

When we were all waiting in line, in order, I reminded them all that that prissy lady in front of Emiko was the one we were to be pleasing.

"So take this digital adventure with me." Professor Miru was saying. "And bask in the beauty of the underdog."

The curtains began opening and Daisuke and Kurayami, from either side of the stage gave each other a thumbs up. The curtains were finally done moving and I was grateful that there was a gap between them that allowed me access to see the crowd. They were all smiling. Well, my friends were. No one else seemed to be, which was a little upsetting, but that didn't matter. Taichi caught my eye and I smiled to him. He gave me a thumbs up so I turned back to Kurayami and Daisuke and nodded to them to go.

And we were off. The two of them strutted their stuff, hand in hand, dressed as angels, straight to the end of the catwalk. Start of big. That's what Professor Miru always said. My eyes fell to Biyomon as I scanned for Haruki, who thankfully, _was_ being cared for. I smiled to her and she was smiling back. Mostly with her eyes. Because she was a bird.

I was back to looking to the crowd where even that Gina lady was looking somewhat impressed. Daisuke and Kurayami stood back to back, looking like they were having the time of their lives. Kurayami was the first to step back to the curtains, but she froze when Daisuke grabbed her arm due to a furious arm motioning of professor Miru, who sent them back to the end.

"Here we have a beautiful couple's attire to emulate the angelic beings of the Digital World." Daisuke and Kurayami once again looked comfortable where they were, but Gina Hisakawa suddenly looked more than displeased. She looked angry. Almost uncomfortable. And there was a sign thrown up a few seats to the left of Kiyoko, in the front-ish row. I couldn't see exactly what it said because of the distance, so I backed up and slipped out of the curtains to the side so no one would see. I rushed all the way around the back, blushing at the looks some of the shoppers were giving me, and hopped back into the boxed curtained area, gently pushing aside some curtains on the other end, to read the sign.

'_You suck'_

I'd had a bad feeling that it was going to be a hate sign, no one knew me enough to love me that much yet. But I was at least hoping for something clever.

Once again Taichi caught my eye, so I pointed directly to the sign, for the first time, taking in exactly who was holding it up. It was one of the three dirty looking men from earlier. Taichi looked to where I was pointing but shrugged. He couldn't read it from where he was sitting.

"A beautiful dress inspired by our lovely deep sea digital friend!" Professor Miru chimed excitedly, "Divermon!" Miyako was standing at the end of the catwalk, looking pretty uncomfortable, but trying her best. She was so cute. Looking back to the others, I was a little upset I'd missed Momoe and Natsuni with the Dolphmon and Meramon looks. "Accompanied, so it seems, by a lovely silk glove based off of—you guessed it, the she-devil herself! LadyDevimon!" There was a 'whoop' from the crowd and I practically fell over with relief upon seeing Mimi and Hideto joining the others. Takeru and Yamato were right behind them. Takeru saw me immediately and grinned brightly, elbowing Yamato and pointing to me. Yamato nodded politely before sitting down. Mimi looked like she'd been bawling her eyes out, and she had Palmon in her arms, with something tied around her arm. Hideto, had his hand on Mimi's shoulder gently, and then moved to sit behind Kiyoko.

They were all okay. So what exactly was Mimi so upset about?

I looked back to the dirty men who had apparently flipped their sign around to reveal another super uncreative message.

'Slut'

I was certainly hoping that Hikari didn't see that. She was the next to go out, and was probably the furthest from a slut that you could possibly be, but it was rude, and I didn't know if she'd take offense to that or not. Professor Miru introduced her Wizardmon attire which Taichi found hilarious apparently, as he was laughing now. Takeru was beaming up at her adoringly, and I hoped that it might just be enough to keep her distracted to not see the sign. But just as she was turning to come back in she lingered a second longer than she normally would have, staring in the direction of the sign. When she emerged from backstage and turned toward me, her fashion-like pout a little too believable.

"Just ignore them." I said quickly, hugging her, "They're jerks."

"I know." She said, "They're not even here because they hate us. They're here about digimon." I tilted my head, confused as to how she could possibly know so much as Rei took her turn wearing the Palmon hat out in the open. "Those are the men that were picketing in front of Mimi's restaurant." I was instantly looking back out to the crowd, and sure enough they were holding a piece of white poster board up to hide their faces from the others. "I recognized them because of Michan and Tako." And as she said it my eyes locked in on the two girls sitting in front of the men. Michan was fake gagging herself as Rei blushed on stage, while Tako mouthed the word 'ew' holding up two upside down thumbs. "Relax, Sora." Hikari took my hands that I hadn't even noticed were balled into fists. It was fitting though, I wanted to punch them. I'd worked too hard to let them come in and mess it up just because they were horrible people. "Just ignore them." She mirrored my advice back to me. "I should get out of this outfit." She smiled, "Got to be Gatomon next!" I wished her luck and she was off, getting ready.

With Daisuke coming back in with his Tentomon backpack, leaving room for Momoe to go out with her Frigimon dress, and Mojyamon hat which caused Emiko to cheer very loudly in the ear of Gina Hisakawa, who turned, her lips pursed, to hush up Emiko. Emiko rolled her eyes and made a face when Gina turned back to the show. She certainly didn't seem to be enjoying what was going on, that's for sure. But whatever. I could get a different job. This was just the beginning. I knew that.

Natsuni as Armadillomon was next, followed by Hikari in her Gatomon gloves. She had fun with that one acting like a cat, unfortunately, this time Tako actually called out the word. "Slut!" She screamed, catching Hikari's attention. She pretended she hadn't heard, but it was noticeable in her performance.

Miyako shot me a grin as she took her place with the Gabumon blazer, Hawkmon belt and Wormmon headband. Probably the most obscure outfit I'd put together, but it looked fitting for Miyako somehow. This time though, there was a new sign.

'D.W.D' was all it read. I didn't know what that meant, and I didn't care. It was less offensive, and hopefully, none of the others knew what it meant either. When Miyako was back inside, passing Kurayami in her cape, she grabbed Momoe by the shoulders and mouthed the letters off of the sign.

'Really?' Momoe asked nervously, looking over her shoulder to check the sign, but both of them noticed me looking to them with narrowed eyes and smiled nervously.

Did 'D.W.D' have something to do with what the others were keeping from me? Was something about to happen that I wasn't prepared for because my friends were trying to protect me? My heart was beating quickly now, as I stared toward the sign. It was still held high and proud in the air, and the men were whispering something to each other, leaning forward so Michan and Tako could hear as well.

I never did like those girls.

I tried to catch Taichi's attention again, but he was too focused on Momoe's elaborate Ikkakumon and Gomamon outfit to pay any attention. His eyes followed her all the way back, and I hoped that when she crossed my path, he'd notice me, but Koushiro dropped something, and he bent down to pick it up and I'd missed my chance.

I'd have to go out there to stop them myself. But just as I was preparing for it I spotted Rei, struggling to get her dress on, with no one to help her aside from Daisuke who simply looked too awkward to be of any use. I rushed to her side quickly and motioned for Daisuke to lift her to slip the dress through. She thanked me and set the hat on her head, looking to herself in the mirror. She looked adorable. I knew Taichi would be excited to see that one.

With Natsuni in the Lillymon dress coming back, I knew it was Rei's turn so I spun her quickly and let her go.

Most of the others were putting the clothes back, getting ready for something, aside from Hikari who was the last to go out aside from me. She was wearing the Agumon sweater over the white leotard, which looked super cute. The sweater was too big for her, and it looked perfectly fashionable.

I checked for Taichi's attention, but he was too caught up in his girlfriend, which actually made sense.

I was instead staring directly to the men, who were all getting ready to move, sitting on the edge of their seats. Eager to do something. Tako stopped them with her hand and mouthed the words, 'next one'. Whatever it was they were going to do, at least one of them had the decency to not do it to a girl in a wheelchair.

"...stunning Cherrymon styled outfit, complete with the cutest little hat. Couldn't have picked a more inspirational model, could you Sora?" I heard Professor Miru say, his voice over the top as it had been the entire show. I wasn't paying too close attention though. I was standing, ready to stop whatever was going down. Rei was coming back and Hikari was waiting with me.

"What does D.W.D mean?" I asked sharply. She looked nervous, unsure if she should tell me, "Hikari, please."

"It's a long story. A couple days ago, Mari—" She started.

"Just tell me."

"Down with Digimon..." She said softly. "Just ignore them." It was the last thing she said before walking out onto the stage in her bare feet. Rei was back, thankfully, but hurting Hikari wasn't much of a step up from hurting a girl in a wheelchair. The fact that she was wearing that Agumon sweater didn't even matter to me at that point, I was already standing in the opening in the curtains watching as one of the men, who was now sitting in one of the empty seats that had separated him and Kiyoko, leaned forward. Hikari was nearing the end of the stage now, and my heart practically stopped when she did.

The man lunged forward and grabbed her leg, pulling it sharply.

Hikari crashed down onto the stage, her head smashing hard against the black surface.

I hadn't even realized how far down the catwalk I was, but the heel on my boot was stabbing into the man's arm as I pushed with all my might. Taichi and Takeru were pushing through anyone they could to get their hands on the man, but his two friends stood up and with one swing, Takeru had been hit directly in the face.

And then it was chaos. I was trying to pull an unconscious Hikari back down the catwalk away from the man who had tripped her, smearing her blood all over the sweater. Momoe, Daisuke and Kurayami were quick to help, the latter of the three stepping over Hikari's body to prepare to fight the man, who had apparently been holding what looked to be a torch of sorts, burnt at the end. As brave as Kurayami was, the man was much bigger than she was, and with one push, she was falling off the stage and into some of the empty seats. Daisuke jumped down after her as Momoe and I lifted Hikari with all of our might and rushed back to the end of the stage.

Rei was sitting, helpless in the back of the stage where Natsuni and Miyako were trying to help her off of the stage, without drawing attention by using the wheelchair ramp which would only lead back to the open.

The man caught up to us and shoved my side painfully, causing me to fall on top of Hikari and Momoe. Before we'd even landed, he'd swung his wooden stick toward my leg and made contact.

All I could do was cry out in pain as the strike hit me head on. "That's for my arm." He said bluntly, but he didn't stay to inflict any more damage. I fell back into Momoe's arms and clutched my leg, holding it where he'd hit me, trying not to cry. I turned my head to see through the gap in the curtains where it looked like everyone in the crowd that I'd thought had come to support me, was apparently one hundred percent against digimon. Yamato and Hideto were using chairs to keep the man who had hit Takeru away from Kiyoko. Koushiro was fighting some random guy who I'd never seen, and not winning by any means, and Taichi was fighting the third brute who had been company to Michan and Tako. Neo was fighting back to back with Takeru who had apparently not taken the hint of getting punched in the face.

"E-Emiko... where is she?" Momoe asked, her voice breaking as she forced the words out. She was holding Hikari in her arms, tears in her eyes.

"She's with Jou." I said, watching as he did his damndest to keep his daughter safe. He was standing near Mimi who was dealing with her ex-friends. She wound up and slapped Michan straight across the face, with a triumphant look on her face, as Tako tried to take a swing at Palmon.

Suddenly my heart stopped as I looked around to Biyomon. At first I didn't see her, but I relaxed when I spotted her under the desk, Ulforceveedramon's cape draping down enough to conceal her where she sat holding Haruki.

But if the man who'd hit me hadn't gone for Biyomon, where did he go?

"TAICHI!" I screamed as loud as I could when I spotted him headed straight for Natsuni, Miyako and Rei. I got to my feet quickly, but instantly toppled over, the pain in my leg far greater than I had anticipated. "TAICHI!" I screamed again. This time he was rushing past me as I said it, but not quick enough. He'd swung the stick and hit Natsuni around the middle, and she fell, dropping Rei off the stage where she, along with Miyako crashed to the ground about four feet below.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted, jumping to the rescue.

"Biyo! _No!_" it was too late though. The fire had shot toward the man and wrapped itself around his arm where it burned his skin just in time for Taichi to wail on his face with a closed fist, knocking him off the stage, causing the man to curse loudly.

"Go!" He shouted, his voice muffled from the curtains. "Get out of here!" I checked quickly to see that everyone was rushing off, leaving the others alone.

What did they want? What was the point?

About ten minutes later, everyone was gone, and we were all together, sitting back stage. Emiko looked shaken up, but was probably the least hurt of us all. Rei's chair had landed on Miyako, Natsuni and I had both taken a blow from that horrible man, Hikari had still not regained consciousness, but was being tended to by Jou who was bleeding in three places on his face. Koushiro was nursing a wounded shoulder next to Mimi who looked no different than when she arrived as she hugged Palmon closely, but that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Takeru was with Yamato, checking each other's faces, as each of them had, as it seemed, been hit, sitting over top of Hikari and Jou, waiting for the news. Neo and Hideto were bleeding as well, but Kiyoko looked relatively unharmed. Kurayami, was holding her side, where she'd slammed into the chairs as Daisuke sat with her, holding a sleeping Haruki in his arms, kissing his forehead. Momoe was with her daughter, hugging her tightly and humming a song into her ear. Momoe had apparently smashed her head against one of the metal lighting poles when we'd been pushed over. Rei looked like she'd be okay, but was evidentially in the worst shape of all of us. Taichi, whose nose was bleeding worse than anyone else's, was sporting a bruising eye as he asked his girlfriend repeatedly if she'd be okay.

The answer was yes. We'd all be okay, Jou informed us Hikari would be fine, which we all had assumed. She could have a nasty concussion though.

"Why did they do it?" Miyako asked quietly, and yet everyone heard her.

"They're dicks." Hideto said sharply. "They burned Mimi's restaurant down earlier today." Everyone who hadn't been informed of the news looked to her quickly, but she was pretending she didn't notice. As it stood, she did not want to talk about it. And could I blame her. I was choked up now, sure, but I wasn't sure I'd ever want to repeat what had just happened.

"This is illegal." Natsuni said boldly. "I'm calling Iori, we'll figure something out."

"Make sure he's okay," Jou said, "if they targeted Mimi, then Sora, who knows who else is in their line of attack? Call anyone who isn't here. Tell them what's going on." Miyako was quick to pull out her phone to contact Ken, and Kiyoko did the same for Mari, who was staying with Michael and Willis.

"Sora?" Professor Miru called out, from somewhere behind the curtain. "Sora are you here?"

"In here!" I called loudly. He was quick to respond and he was on his knees next to me a moment later. "I'm so sorry!" He shouted, throwing his arms around me. "I'd have stayed to fight too, but I was confused. I didn't know what was happening or who was who."

"It's okay." I said monotonously, unable to take my eyes away from the dirt wadded up on the bottom of Daisuke's shoe. Anything to distract myself. "I don't expect anyone to fight this."

"Needless to say," Professor Miru said, "Gina Hisakawa will not be picking up your line of work, or you as a co-worker. But _screw_ her! She doesn't understand. We're on the right side of history here."

"He's right." Taichi said boldly. "We're in the right. We're the good guys."

"If there's one thing I've learned," Takeru said, running his fingers through Hikari's hair, "is that good guys always win."

"I thought the worlds were supposed to be at peace by now." Mimi said, finally revealing herself to be crying into Palmon's petals. "I thought we did our part of the war."

"The worlds will not be at peace until the bearer of the crest of Trust defeats the great evil of Earth." Koushiro reminded her quietly, "As far as I am aware, that has yet to happen." We all watched as the tears fell from her face, and even though I didn't look around, I was pretty sure everyone else started crying then too.

"I just don't want to fight anymore." She sobbed, "I-I'm sick of fighting. I don't want another w-w-war! I want a normal life... I-I'm... I'm just so tired."

And that I could agree with. We all could. There was no time to be starting another battle in life. Not one like this. Fighting a fellow customer in the grocery store for the last bag of bread was one thing. Racing through the parking lot for a parking spot is another.

But that was not what it looked like we were about to do. We were going to be fighting for the equality of our friends in a battle that appeared to be more than physical. And I was with Mimi. I didn't know if I could get myself through this one.

We were all too worn out. And brute force wasn't going to get us through this time either.

This time, instead of our digimon fighting for our safety... We'd have to fight for theirs.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Back in the world of the normal while things recover from this fiasco we find what Poverty exactly means to a certain household in desperate need of some assistance!


	11. Poverty

**Y/N:** So at this point, all the Digidestined have pretty much hit rock bottom, and with the DWD, it seems like they won't be getting much of a change to pick themselves back up. Daisuke starts us off as they deal with the aftermath of the DWD's first strike. I won't say it was fun to write, with the situations being as they are, since it seems mean of me, but I did enjoy the challenges this story put forth, and having to dig up the emotional responses, and seeing how well each character deals with being backed into a corner.

**U/N: **So, updating every two days is harder than the concept should be it seems. Uhm. This chapter is way less dramatic I guess? :P I dunno what to say. Uhm. There are pictures of the characters that I drew forever ago on my tumblr page, and I don't exactly know how to link to it, so I'll just say "uhmusernamelikeyeah" is my username because I'm creative as all hell, and then... yeah. just go from there? I dunno if you want obviously :P I just drew them because I get bored.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 2: Challenge**

**Chapter 11: Poverty**

_**Daisuke Motomiya:**_

"Sit down," Yuuko instructed brightly. She wouldn't be so excited if she'd just let me tell her what I came to say. I sat where she led me. I was slouching in the big, comfy arm chair. The one that I'd spent countless hours lounging on when I'd lived here. I closed my eyes, and I could almost picture it. Hikari down the hall, Gatomon and Veemon arguing. Yuuko making some strange concoction in the kitchen. But it wasn't as simple as it had been back then. It might never be that way again. Everything was complicated these days. I couldn't go outside without wanting to look over my shoulder, just to make sure I wasn't being followed. I wanted to be able to pound my fist into the faces of those three men that started that riot at the fashion show. It wasn't their fault. They didn't _start_ this new wave of hatred. But they sure helped it along. It would be so satisfying to feel their nose crunch under the force of my fist. I couldn't though. Not only were they taken away—given a sentence of ten days in prison for their "activist" ways—but I was a father now. It was my job to set a good example for my son. No matter how young and unlikely to remember he was.

"Can I get you anything?" Yuuko asked. "Coffee, water, a cupcake—I just found this interesting recipe for cherry and carrot cupcakes, and I've been dying to have someone other than me give them a taste. I need an honest critic."

"Not today, thanks," I said. "Maybe some other time."

Yuuko turned to Jun, and Jun gave in. It was hard to resist Yuuko. It had taken me months to build up a resistance to her pleading eyes. I should have known Jun wouldn't stand a chance. I almost felt sorry for her. Especially because she looked so out of place. She felt awkward coming here with me. But she'd wanted to spend the day together, and I told Taichi I would stop by and check up on his parents. Hikari didn't have time, because she had a full time job and Taichi's time was all taken with this growing problem. That left me—as Yuuko's honorary son—to break the news to her.

"Ah, Susumu!" Yuuko said cheerily. "Look who dropped by to visit. It's Daisuke! And he brought his sister with him. Any sister of our son's is a daughter to us!"

Jun seemed oddly pleased to hear this. Susumu looked at Jun and shrugged his shoulders. He never did get caught up in things like Yuuko. He always remembered that I wasn't actually his son. It never stopped him from caring for me. He just didn't get things all jumbled up. He knew which two were his kids. And with the mess that their family became thanks to Hikari and Yuuko, that was probably important. Sora was Hikari's "sister", and Iori was her "brother". I was Yuuko's "son" because of the time I'd spent living with their family. And apparently Jun was her "daughter". That's four extra kids, right there.

I'm not going to lie.

I _really_ liked the fact that Yuuko saw me as her son. And that Taichi and Hikari both accepted me so completely as their brother. It was something I needed for a long time. And if I'm being honest, it was something I _still_ needed. With Dad and all. I liked the feeling of having a family. A support team that loves me for who I am, not who they wanted me to be. A team of people that _chose_ to have me, rather than simply being stuck with me. I had that, with Kurayami now, and with Haruki, but it was very different. I was the one that was providing the support for my son in that situation. I wasn't the one that collected upon that support.

I loved them. Not _more_ than my actually family, per say. But pretty close. They loved me just as much. My picture was up on the wall in the hallway. Right in between Taichi and Hikari. I was the "middle child". It was amazing. And they didn't just take _me_. They took Veemon too.

Anyway, Susumu walked in and took his place in the armchair opposite to me. That was his chair. I was the first rule I'd learned when I arrived. Don't touch Susumu's chair. Anything else in the whole house was fair game. Just not that one seat.

He relaxed, accepting the cupcake Yuuko handed him. He knew the tricks of the trade though. Eat if fast, and you wouldn't have to taste it. Crumble it up, and "make a mess" of the plate, so you wouldn't have to eat it all. Paste a smile on your face so Yuuko wouldn't be upset.

Jun accepted hers too, and Yuuko took a seat next to her on the couch. Kamemon was playing with some old bottle caps on the floor, stacking them up like blocks. He was building a castle. It was amazing really, the detail he was able to incorporate. The sheer number of caps he had to work with was even more astounding though. His collection was enormous.

"You're not here for a pleasant visit," Susumu murmured. He was always perceptive of things like that. He didn't realize Hikari had been hiding Gatomon in their home for the better part of a year during my first adventure, but he could tell instantly if someone was on edge. "You have bad news."

"Is it about Hikari? Taichi?" Yuuko asked in a panic. "Please tell me their alright. Is it Dorumon? What about Agumon and Gatomon? Is it Sora again?"

"They're all fine. Hikari actually had a horrible accident at the fashion show, but I think she called you about that..." I said trailing off. She nodded, so I figured I could proceed. "It's about the people that _caused_ that "accident". The people that have decided to start a revolution. Their mantra is Down With Digimon, or DWD. They're against everything we digidestined stand for. They're against digimon entirely. Not just the bad ones. They glare at Veemon when we go out. At _Patamon_ even, and he's like the least scary digimon I can think of. They hate them so much."

"Why would anyone do something like that?" Yuuko demanded. "They're adorable. Look at little Kamemon. He wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"I think he _could_," Susumu countered, seemingly casually. I knew it took a lot to faze him, but I was telling him that his _partner_ was under attack here. I'd predicted at least a little yelling righteously.

"Of course he _could_," Yuuko snapped. "He's a digimon! But even a little baby can hurt a fly. It's the fact that he chooses not to that should matter. There are loads of evil digimon out there, why aren't they protesting them? Or how about the countless evil _humans_? They should be targeted. How about instead of focussing on another species, they focus on their own!"

"Calm down, Yuuko," Susumu said. "Nothing has happened yet."

"Nothing's happened!" Yuuko shouted. "They hurt our baby girl. I'd say something _has_ happened."

"No," I said quickly. "Susumu's right. It hasn't escalated to anything too major yet. We're just taking a few precautions. That's all. We're keeping our digimon inside, or letting them roam the Digital World. We're not leaving them unattended in the streets anymore. They need to be watched at all times if they're out of their homes here on Earth. We're not letting the DWD activists catch them alone. We've seen what happens when they do."

"Those poor digimon," Jun whimpered. I could tell that she'd been lost in her memories of that horrible tragedy, the moment we caught sight of those digimon, tied up and abandoned. Beaten. Bloody. I shook my head before I could get lost too.

"I wouldn't wish that fate on anyone," I insisted. "So just...Keep Kamemon safe, okay?"

"I think he could take care of himself," Susumu decided. Kamemon looked happy at the thought. They obviously weren't getting it! I knew that Kamemon would want to roam around, collecting more of...well _everything_ for his collection room, but it was better that he was safe. His collection would be useless if he wasn't there to enjoy it!

"Absolutely not," Yuuko said adamantly. "I'll keep an eye on him. I'm not losing him just because you think he could handle himself. He's never really been in a fight, let alone a fight against humans! And if he attacks them, won't that just be catering to their cause? He's going to stay here. If he wants to collect stuff, I'll talk to someone about getting him into the Digital World. Until then though, he'll _listen. To. Me._"

"B-b-but I wan-wanna col-lect th-things!" Kamemon cried. Big fat tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Susumu looked pointedly at Yuuko, motioning for her to look at what she caused. She wouldn't be deterred. She was a mother protecting her young. I would be more likely to get between a mama bear and her cub than get in Yuuko's way. Kamemon continued wailing, and Jun was looking more and more uncomfortable about being present. The cupcake wasn't helping. I'd seen her face after the first bit. Cherries and carrots didn't sound too good, but it looked like she'd topped it with mint frosting.

"Kamemon," Susumu snapped. "Suck it up. You're not going to win."

Kamemon stopped wailing in an instant, listening to orders from his partner. He didn't get many of them. Mostly, he was just left in Yuuko's care. So he tended to listen unfailingly when Susumu actually gave him instructions. He _did_ cross his little arms across his chest though. And he pouted a lot. I think he actually stomped his foot too. Yuuko wasn't convinced.

"Do you know how Dorumon is?" Yuuko asked, after sending a final warning glare over to Kamemon and Susumu. Her shoulders slumped and the worry had settled into her voice. "Is he okay?"

"I don't actually know..." I admitted. "But Veemon spend a bunch of time with the Knights. He would've told me if something happened to one of them. I'm sure he's fine. But if you'd like, I can look into it and call you when I've got a concrete answer."

"Could you?" Yuuko asked anxiously. "I hate that I spend so little time with him. And now there's _this_! He's never going to want to stay on Earth, and I'm not sure I _want_ him to if all of this stuff is happening to the digimon on this side of the gate."

"I'll look into it," I promised. "But I need you guys to keep a low profile too. I know it's a bit of a stretch, but people have been identifying the digidestined because of that stupid movie. Yamato and Michael were the obvious ones, but it's been confirmed that they know about Mimi and Hideto too. I don't know how they've figured it out, but I'm pretty sure I've been identified too. I don't want to get into the details. The point is, I don't put anything past these creeps. If they can identify your children, then they can identify you. They might target you to get to us, or just to prove a point. I need you guys to stay on the down low. Can you do that?"

"Oh dear," Yuuko said. She collapsed backwards onto the couch. It was as if all the bones in her body turned to jelly. "I'll do my best. I can't let them get my kids through me. I_ won't_ let them."

"It's happening again," Susumu said, his voice not _quite_ angry, but it was getting there. "Why is it that my family is always in danger. And why? These digimon! Damn it. I just want them to be safe. I want my kids to be safe. Why did they have to get wrapped up in this digimon stuff?"

"Susumu!" Yuuko growled. Kamemon burst into tears again, real one this time, and fled from the room, knocking over that impressive castle in the process. "How can you be so heartless? I can't imagine life without digimon! Without Kamemon, or Dorumon, or Agumon and Gatomon."

"I imagine it all the time," Susumu told her honestly. The honesty hurt a bit to be honest, but I knew he couldn't really mean it. He was so good with Agumon, Gatomon and Veemon when I lived here. I knew he didn't _hate_ the digimon, he just wanted to protect his family. I could get behind that. I wanted to be able to control everything the world was going to throw at my son. I wanted to protect him from everything. But with digimon in the equation, I knew there was a lot I wouldn't be able to control. Susumu was probably just felt pretty helpless in the situation. At least... No. I _had_ to be right.

"I can't even talk to you right now," Yuuko told him. She stormed off to go comfort Kamemon. Jun and I got to our feet pretty quickly after that.

"Sorry for all this," I said awkwardly. "Just, be safe, okay? Taichi's really worried."

"I'll be safe," Susumu told me. He seemed exhausted all of a sudden, so Jun and I excused ourselves. The air was a bit chilly, perfect for my mood. The days had been getting progressively warmer as spring wore on. It seemed symbolic almost that it was getting colder again when we were all feeling so lost. We didn't know enough about our enemy to stage a counter attack, and would we be able to even if we could identify everyone? I didn't think we could. It would be facing off against humans. Digimon could regenerate when they were killed. Humans couldn't.

Was I really thinking about battling countless people?

It kind of blew my mind to think that the next battle we'd face would be against our _own_ kind. Not some digimon that was comically huge with an overpowered skill set. We'd fought those before. Loads of times. MaloMyotismon, the crest digimon of courage, Fanglongmon, all of the sovereigns, Dragomon. There was Arkadimon, Apocolymon. Sloth. Machinedramon. Yggdrasil. All very big. All very powerful. And each one seemed harder to beat than the one that came before it. But they all had one thing in common. They were digimon. And because of that, we could team up with digimon of our own to defeat them, learning new techniques and tactics along the way.

But humans?

It wasn't fair to team up against them. They didn't have the strength that those huge villains had. They weren't like Sigma, or the Devil either. They weren't strong. No matter how many weights a person lifted, none of them could be stronger than UlforceVeedramon. It wasn't fair. How could we fight against people when doing so would just be proving their point? They were scared of digimon. That much was obvious, but it was equally as clear to me that they didn't understand digimon either. If they took the time to get to know what they were fighting against, I was _sure_ they wouldn't keep fighting. They might even support us digidestined.

We did save their lives after all.

We saved the lives of every single person on the planet. Well, not quite. We didn't exactly save the people who weren't alive yet, but by saving their parents, we _did_ kind of save their existence in the process. Right?

Totally.

"How's Gekomon?" I asked Jun, trying to pull myself from my thoughts. I couldn't keep ignoring Jun. She'd taken the day off of wedding planning just to spend time with me. It was the least I could do to actually engage her in conversation.

"He's not great," Jun admitted with grimace, obviously remembering the moment she met him again. "But he's a lot better than he was. He's still afraid of Shuu. He won't let him near him. And Meramon kind of freaks him out too. I'm thinking they used fire as part of their _treatment_." She sneered the word. "He's taken to Otamamon though. He really likes him. He keeps telling him stories of what life was like back when he lived with the other Otamamons and Gekomons in ShogunGekomon kingdom. Now Otamamon is campaigning for that to be the location of the next family vacation. And with the way things are now, I think it would be for the best. I don't know how many people are with these DWD activists, but I don't want to give them a chance to get to Meramon or Otamamon, and I sure as _hell_ won't let them get to Gekomon again."

"I'm glad he has you," I told her with a soft smile. "You're the best Jun. Taking in another digimon in an instant. No questions asked. I think all the digidestined are glad to have you on our side."

"What?" she said teasingly. "Did you think I would join the bad guys? No thank you. Evil doesn't suit me. I'm too cute."

We wandered along the sidewalks, teasing each other, heading the general direction of my apartment. I wasn't exactly on a schedule, but I _did_ have a few things I needed to do, so I steered us towards main street. Jun enjoyed some window shopping, and making up back stories for everyone we came across. I was doubled over with laughter with the one she came up with for my eleventh grade teacher. I didn't think I'd ever be able to think of him in the same way again.

"Do you mind if I stop in here?" I asked her, coming to a halt in front of a copy shop. "I need to make copies of this flier I made up."

"To find that girl?" she asked. And she was right. She just knew me too well. I'd promised that DemiDevimon that I would find his partner. A girl called Amai. The only problem, was that I had very little to go on. I knew she had reddish-brown hair, and that her eyes were a dark brown. Her face was pale, because she didn't like the outside too much, preferring to stay inside and read. She wasn't as tall as me, but she _might_ have been as tall as Jun. So nothing too specific. Jun was about six inches shorter than I was now. But this Amai girl was only _possibly_ her height. We also weren't given a clear indication of her age. We knew she didn't have any kids, but she did have a pet fish. DemiDevimon said she lived with other people who liked him, but he didn't tell us whether they were her parents, or just roommates, before he burst into tears yet again.

I could be looking for a twelve year old or a twenty year old. I didn't know.

So I made up a poster listing all the information I knew about her, and left a notice, saying how I found her "pet parrot" and how it was continually calling for Amai. It wasn't a foolproof plan. But it would explain away the few details we had. A parrot wouldn't be able to tell us all the little details either. The description was a bit of a stretch, but we needed to find her. And I wasn't about to put the fact that we had her digimon partner on a flyer. I didn't exactly want to paint a target on either of our backs. Besides, DemiDevimon had wings too, so she might be able to make the connection. I hoped she could.

Taichi and I had set DemiDevimon and Penguinmon up in the Temple, they now shared a room with Veggiemon. Gekomon would've moved in too, but Jun was too taken by him, and honestly, Gekomon needed her more than any of the others did. They were all justifiably upset, but they weren't hurt as badly—physically—as Gekomon had been.

"Yeah," I told her. She was just staring at me, waiting for an answer. I knew she understood though. She knew why I was so distracted. She was just as worried about everything as I was. "I'm hoping she'll catch on what the parrot thing is about."

"I'm sure she will," Jun assured me. "At this point, she'd be a fool _not_ to realize that digimon have become kind of a touchy topic. She'll be happy that someone is trying to reunite the two of them, more than anything."

"I hope you're right," I said. I slipped through the doors, and had the girl behind the counter make two hundred copies. I wouldn't have made so many, if it had been my money. We were a little tight on the stuff after all, but Taichi handed me an envelope labeled _DemiDevimon's Rescue Fund_, so I could justify my purchase. There was a lot of money in there, and I won't say I wasn't tempted to use some of it to pay for the next case of diapers, or more baby formula. But I didn't do it. It was for DemiDevimon after all. And if I wanted to find Amai, I'd have to go big, or go home. I was planning on passing flyers out to the digidestined that lived in different areas. Not America, since DemiDevimon seemed really comfortable with Japanese. Even after all this time, I could still tell that Japanese was Betamon's second language—Lopmon and Terriermon's too, but not to the same extent, mostly because they'd had more practice. The fact that DemiDevimon was so comfortable with it led me to believe his partner was from Japan. I really hoped she wasn't a recent immigrant to any other country though. I wouldn't be able to find her if she was.

Anyway, I was going to give Mimi a stack of flyers, and Sora, Yamato and Miyako. They were going to spread them around their neighbourhoods, and hopefully Amai would see one. I didn't exactly have a plan B yet, so I hoped this one worked.

Jun and I put a whole bunch of posters up on our way to my house, and I made a mental note to get another hundred printed. Jun promised to put some up in her neighbourhood too. Anything to help this digimon find his way home.

When we reached my apartment, I used my key to grant us access, and then called loudly "I'm home!" for everyone to hear. Evidently Veemon and Kurayami were the only ones _not_ home. Takeru was watching a DVD on the television with low volume. Haruki was lying in the playpen next to the couch. Patamon was flying around it in circles, entertaining my little boy. Labramon was on the couch next to Takeru, letting him pat his head, and stroke his fur. Labramon's tail was wagging like crazy.

"Where's Kurayami?" I asked the room in general. I knew where Veemon was of course, he was running the noodle-cart in the Temple's marketplace. It was actually imperative that he be there at this point.

"Asleep," Patamon said. "She practically collapsed earlier."

"I told her to stop trying so hard," Labramon said. "But she never listens to me."

"What are you doing home?" Takeru asked. "Shouldn't you be out making noodles for everybody right about now?"

"Not today," I said in a forced casual tone. "I needed a day off, or else Kurayami wouldn't be the only one that collapsed. But I do have some noodles to make. If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen."

I was left alone for awhile. Jun was playing with Haruki, fussing over him as only an aunt could. I could tell she was using him as practice. She wanted kids. I knew that. Shuu knew it. It was pretty much a truth universally acknowledged. Point is, she was content with playing with my baby, which left me alone in the kitchen to whip up something special. It was Tuesday after all, and Mom _always_ got noodles from me on Tuesdays.

It wasn't until I was putting the finishing touches—garnishes, I was going for ultra-fancy today—that anyone interrupted me. Jun walked in, cradling Haruki to her, bouncing him with every step. She gave me a pointed look, obviously she'd caught on to something.

"What's the deal?" she demanded. "Why aren't you at work?"

"To go to work, there's got to be somewhere to go to," I said. "Some kid trashed my cart. I don't know how, since I keep it in a locked parking garage, but I guess they were really determined."

"Are you sure it was a kid?" she asked softly, sympathetically.

"No," I said frustrated. "Because it could have been a DWD activist. That's who I think did it. That's why I think I've been identified. They took away my livelihood. Seriously, I don't know how long we can keep going. Things were getting better awhile ago. They really were. But the restaurant went up in flames, so Takeru doesn't have a job anymore. Again. And Kurayami's not working, because of Haruki and schooling. And now _I_ can't provide for us. We're literally depending on Labramon and Veemon. How horrible is that? It's like child labor or something. I need to get out there and fix my cart, but that would take money we don't have. And I'm not sure what to do at this point."

"You aren't alone," she told me, resting her hand on my arm. "You've got me. If things go bad, you've got a place to go. You can move in with me and Shuu. We don't have a lot of room, but bring everyone anyway. Takeru, the digimon. All the baby stuff. Takeru is the reason I have Otamamon. He did something for me that I can never repay. If this is something he needs, then I say bring him along. You're all family. And family helps one another."

"Jun," I said. My throat was closing in on itself and I realized I was literally choking up. I didn't know people really did that. I thought it was a saying. She put her arm—the one _not _holding my son—around me and rocked me back and forth.

"Don't even worry about it," she said. "You just worry about being a good dad. Do your best, and I'll be there to catch you. Just like learning to ride a bike."

"You didn't catch me when I was riding a bike," I reminded her. "Dad did. You just ran in to me, trying to knock me down."

"I was a stupid kid," she told me with a shrug. "But I've learned from my mistakes. I'll always be there to catch you when you're down. Because I love you."

"I love you too," I muttered.

"Now," she said, pulling away from me. "This smells amazing. I'm guessing it's for Mom?"

"Yep," I said. "I'm going to have to drop it off at her house."

"And Dad could be there," she surmised. "Well, I'd be a terrible big sister if I sent you in there alone. Let me go put Haruki back in his playpen, and then we'll go drop it off. Then we can do something really fun. Like charades or something. How about that?"

"Sounds like a plan," I agreed.

We spent another ten or so minutes hanging out with Takeru, Patamon, Haruki and Labramon before we finally headed out towards my childhood home. It was ridiculous how well I remembered the pathway, despite the fact that it had been _years_ since I'd been there. Jun prattled on about pointless things, trying her best to relieve the tension that was settling in my shoulders. It didn't help. The closer we got to the apartment I used to call home, the more nervous I became.

What if Dad was there?

What if he ignored me again?

I didn't know what I was going to do. I was starting to hyperventilate, and before I knew it, Jun was putting her hand on my back, and ringing the doorbell. I was channelling my inner Miyako at that point, panicking about what was about to happen. Trying to calm myself, I took three very deep, very slow breaths. They helped. A bit. Enough for me _not_ to scream in frustration.

Mom answered the door and her face lit up like it was Christmas morning. "Daisuke, Jun! What a wonderful surprise!"

"Hey Mom," Jun said. I forced a smile on my face, but it must have looked like gas, because Mom's smile faltered slightly, before regained her happiness.

"What brings you two to my neck of the woods?" she asked. I thrust the noodle dish into her hands. God. What the hell was I doing? I was acting like a scared child. I was a _father_ now. I couldn't act like this anymore. I had to be sure of myself. I had to be brave in the face of anything. That's how my dad looked to me when _I_ was a kid. He wasn't exactly the world's best role model when it came to parenting, but he was my hero when I was little.

"Just thought you might like something to eat," I said. "It's a new recipe. I hope you enjoy it."

"That's so sweet," she said. "I was just about to head out to find your cart dear. Why don't you two come in? What am I saying? You don't need an invitation. It's your home too. Come in, come in!"

Damn.

I guess I wasn't going to escape quickly.

"Are you taking the day off?" Mom asked. "You should tell me if you're changing your schedule. I'll have to rework my week to have another day dedicated to your cart. I need to support my little boy."

"No reworking necessary," I said awkwardly. I hesitated. We just entered the living room, and wouldn't you know it? Dad was there. He was sitting in his wooden, rocking chair, feet propped up on an ottoman, a crocheted afghan on his lap. He was reading the newspaper, with the lamp angled directly onto his page. He didn't look up when we walked in. He wasn't acknowledging me then. Great.

"Why not dear? I wouldn't dream of not supporting you," she said worriedly.

"The cart's gone," I said, forcing the words out, staring directly at my father, unable to look away. Fascinated, despite the pain he caused me. "Someone destroyed it last night."

"Oh," Mom said, seeming even more upset by the news than I was. If that was even possible. "I'm so sorry, dear. I can't even imagine." I waved off her sympathies. She didn't need to worry about it. At least _she_ acknowledged that I existed. Supported me. There was someone in the room that could definitely learn a lesson from her. "Where's that darling little Haruki? I've never been officially introduced to my precious grandson."

She actually came to the hospital when Kurayami was in labor. She really helped me through the process. Helped me help Kurayami too. She was invaluable. She'd been one of the first to hold Haruki too, and he was named after her. But she was right. A newborn baby can't see anything. He had no memories of her. Didn't even know what she looked like.

"I don't know who you're referring to," Dad said, speaking up for the first time. "But we don't have a grandson."

"Yes we do, Manabu," Mom snapped at him. "And he's _adorable_! Just like his father."

Aw. I was adorable.

But also, having Dad ignore me hurt. Having Dad ignore _Haruki_? That just made me mad. More than mad. I was furious.

"Do we? Because our daughter has no children. We _used_ to have a son. But he gave us up to chase after a ridiculous dream that had no future to it. He married a harlot despite strong suggestions _not_ to. And he's fallen so far that I can't even recognize _my_ son in the remains. I do hope he's happy wherever he is," Dad drawled, his words at the end were just _dripping_ with sarcasm.

"You know what?" I snapped at him. "I _am_ happy." I paused. I'd just lied to him. I wasn't actually happy. I _was_ happy about the things he was complaining about, but I'd lost my dream job, we had no money, and someone was trying to destroy Veemon, and all of the other digimon too... "Sometimes."

"Too bad you didn't realize it sooner," Dad said, smiling victoriously. Clearly he didn't realize that the two of us weren't talking about the same things.

"What's wrong, Daisuke?" Mom asked. No. Not _asked_. Demanded. I said nothing though, so she turned to Jun. Again, Jun was a sucker for pleading eyes, and she sang like a freaking canary. Everything I was worried about was just out there for anyone to hear. She told her about our money troubles and about the digimon. "You can stay here," Mom insisted.

"You're kidding," Dad said. "There is no way you're foolish enough to believe we'll be helping a kid who sides with those _creatures_ over his own flesh and blood. They're better off just letting things happen."

"Hell no," Jun snapped. His eyes widened in shock. He wasn't the only one. Mom and I were amazed as well. Jun was Dad's precious little girl. She could do no wrong in his eyes. And here she was not only yelling at him, but swearing too. It was like he couldn't recognize her. "You did not just say that. _I_ side with those "creatures" as you call them. My best friend in the world is an Otamamon. A digimon, Dad. I've got two of them now. Shuu has one too. Any kids that we have in the future? I'll be finding their digimon partners too. I _love_ digimon, and if it came down to it Dad, I wouldn't be picking _you_."

"Get. Out."

I'd never seen Dad so angry before. And I'd seen him plenty mad. He'd kicked me out once before after all. But this was different. The way he looked at Jun like he didn't recognize her. The way he looked at me like I was this virus that corrupted his favourite child. The veins in his neck were protruding, and his face was the brightest red I'd ever seen. Mom started crying, sobbing over the loss of her children, yet _again_ because of her husband. Only it was worse this time, because it wasn't just _me_. It was both of us.

Jun and I had no other option but to leave. Leaving our mother in tears behind us.

_**Kurayami Motomiya:**_

I felt refreshed for once. I'd taken a nap, leaving Takeru in charge of my baby. Haruki. I really needed to get his name right. He was my baby after all. My very sweet, wonderful Haruki. Takeru loved him almost as much as I did, I swear. He was a good babysitter too. If I knew anything about godparents Takeru would most certainly be Haruki's godfather. As it stood, he was just Haruki's favourite person.

Aside from Daisuke and myself of course.

I stepped into the living room where Takeru was sitting, rocking Haruki back and forth. The smile that spread across Takeru's face was tinted with sadness, and that made my chest lurch. He'd been sad for days, somehow without his optimism wavering too deeply. Being Takeru, he knew things were going to turn out alright, but he'd lost two jobs consecutively, for different reasons, and his girlfriend had been attacked at a fashion show. Not to mention Patamon kept arguing with him about going outside. Takeru wouldn't let him go at all, which Patamon deemed unfair as Veemon was allowed to go out in the Digital World to work, and I was still allowing Labramon to attend _his _job, which of course was about to change.

I'd been doing it for selfish reasons. Without Takeru or myself working at the moment we were left with only Daisuke, Labramon and Veemon's funding, and we needed it, like, a lot. But despite the fact that I thought that maybe we were blowing things out of proportion at first, thinking perhaps it was only a small group of people who hated digimon, Mari reminded us—through the telephone—that there was a rebel force over in America as well. I couldn't keep Labramon going out in the open anymore. Not for a while at least.

I'd deal with that soon. First I had to talk with Takeru. He needed to cheer up. "You okay?" I asked him, sitting down on the worn couch next to him. He looked up to me and nodded, smiling weakly. "You don't have to lie to me." I said softly, "I just want you to be honest. Are you okay?"

"You know I'm not." He said gently, "I just don't want to talk about it." I nodded a little put out. I had it all planned out. I was going to talk to him, and tell him that we'd work through it together and I'd repay him for helping me so much with Haruki and then we'd hug and he'd be happy again. But I felt that if I pushed he'd not want to hug me at all, so I'd have to drop that. "I just got an email from Catherine." He said in a bored sounding voice. He motioned to the computer sitting on the desk in the corner where his bed had once been. "You should read it."

I stood and made my way around the metal coffee table, "Isn't she your ex-girlfriend?" I asked, pulling the chair out and sitting down.

"Yeah," He said, "We've been talking back and forth. Strictly about my book!" He added hastily. "Just read it."

I obeyed, scanning the computer screen, where in customized pink writing Catherine, the French girl had written in her best Japanese.

_Takeru, I am not sure how to say this, but I have some not good news. It is kind of upsetting so I will just come right out and say it. My cousin has said he will not publish your book. He says it is good though! He said it is one of the most engaging stories he has ever read, but lately things have been going on. Things with digimon. I am sure you do not want to hear about it, so I will spare you the details, but he thinks it would be bad press to be publicly supporting them now. I am so sorry Takeru...I tried to convince him. I really did._

_-Catherine_

"Takeru, I'm sorry," I said, spinning in the chair to look to him.

He quickly shook his head, "That's not why I asked you to read it." He said, pointing back to the screen. "'Things with digimon.'" He recited from memory. "What do you think she meant?"

That was an interesting question, but as I knew nothing about the current day to day news of France, I had no answer for him. "I don't know." I admitted.

"Well, I asked her." He said, "Keep reading."

I looked back and saw that he _had_ responded. I wasn't sure how I hadn't noticed it before. Likely because Catherine's emails were written in swirly pink letters, whereas Takeru's were in a standard black text.

_I do want to know the details._ His email read, _Please. Tell me everything that's going on. Things have been happening here too._

Underneath was Catherine's reply.

_I hope they are not the same as they are here. I really hope that. Not good things, Takeru. The people protest against them. That is all I will say. I do not want to upset you._

_-Catherine_

I stopped reading. I didn't know if their messages went on or not, but I didn't need them to. "It's happening there too?" I asked.

"Mhm." Takeru hummed. "And in New York, and what if it's happening everywhere? We can't let this continue any further." I agreed with him entirely. This was it. One country just meant we had bad systems. Teaching people wrong, surrounded by racists. Two countries could be considered a coincidence. But for some reason hearing of a third place that was going through the same issues that we all were was the last straw. Something inside me felt like it shattered and I was scared for the life of my friends.

"Let what continue?" Labramon asked, trotting into the room.

"You can't go to work." I said flatly, interrupting whatever explanation Takeru had thought up. "It's officially too dangerous for you to go out there anymore. I don't want you getting hurt."

Labramon's head fell and his tail stopped wagging, but he didn't look surprised. "I thought you'd say that eventually. I guess you waited longer than I thought, so there's a bright side." I tried to smile at him, but the dark feeling in my stomach was clawing at every part of me, looking for a way to get out. I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick.

If Labramon was in serious danger, so was every other digimon in the entire world. We all knew from experience that there were thousands of them. And that was years ago. By this point there could be a million. Or more! What if people who didn't follow local news weren't paying attention—was the local news even talking about it? Maybe this racism was so wide spread that everyone without a digimon was involved in a secret master plan to get rid of them?

The humans had done it before! They'd tried to get rid of the digimon by sending them to a separate world, creating a space for them to live. Of course, it didn't work and instead they created a land of peace... or maybe Gennai did that—I couldn't remember, I was too worked up.

Except that was totally unnecessary. My grandfather wasn't a racist and he didn't have a digimon. He loved Labramon. He saw him like three times a week whenever I went to visit him in the hospital. That meant not every partner-less human was a racist which meant there was hope.

Even thinking about my grandfather created a thick lump in my throat. And unfortunately that reminded me of him even more. When I was younger I only got to see him once a year, and every time it came time to go home, I would feel the same way I felt now. Then my grandfather would lean down and kiss me on the forehead and tell me that I was okay. "What you are feeling is just what it feels like to say goodbye."

But I wasn't ready to say goodbye.

"Are you okay?" Takeru asked, his voice a little higher than usual. I realized my eyes were watering and I nodded. "No you're not."

"It's nothing." I said, wiping my eyes. "I just realized that we have no money." I lied quickly.

"I'm sorry." Takeru said quickly and ashamed.

"It's not your fault!" I said quickly, but he wasn't listening.

"If I hadn't gotten fired, I would have a job right now." He said in a rant, "I know I'm not responsible for Mimi's restaurant being burned down, but it still happened, and that sucks. I'm trying to get a job, really I am, but I just can't get any money."

"I'm not expecting you to." I said sharply, shutting him up quickly. "I need to get money just as much as you and Daisuke do. Having a baby is no excuse for me because Daisuke has one too. I don't want to leave Haruki but if I can get a job then I will. Six of us live here, Haruki will be fine."

"You're his mother," Takeru said softly, flopping down into the couch again. Patamon had come from Takeru's bedroom door next to the television because of our loud voices, and floated onto the coffee table, accidentally knocking the television remote onto the wooden floor where it crashed, and the back flew off. Patamon looked with worried eyes up to Takeru.

"Is everyone okay?" Patamon asked.

"Of course," Takeru nodded, patting his head. "Kura, no one wants you to go out of your way to save us. We're going to save you."

"Because I'm a girl?" I asked, joking.

"Yes," Takeru confirmed. "You're his mother. That's why, so yeah. Because you're a girl. All we need you to do is take care of him, relax, keep calm. He's going to need you more than anyone else. So live your life—hang out with friends, go to therapy, or whatever. Just don't stress yourself out any more than having a child already is going to."

"You're so smart." I said suddenly, staring to my bare feet. I looked up to Takeru whose eyebrows were furrowed as he played with the white drawstrings of his black sweater. "I mean, what you said was inspirational and all—but my therapy. I'm not going to that anymore. Do you think I could just get a refund?"

His face lit up and he grinned. "Maybe!"

It was a good plan. I had paid for months in advance, and it was expensive. Not expensive enough to keep us going for long, but there would definitely be enough to pay for a month of rent. I had my socks and boots on quick enough and was bundling up Haruki again. Takeru offered to keep him, but I didn't want to burden him any longer. I'd take Haruki with me and we'd go together to Dr Chiryo's office. I'd be able to supply for my family again!

And, super generously, Momoe had given us some of Emiko's old baby supplies. Which meant I could use a baby stroller instead of carrying him everywhere!

"Good luck," Takeru smiled, as Patamon fluttered into his arms, hugging him. Patamon was possibly the friendliest digimon ever. Even though he and Takeru were at odds at the moment he spared no time in comforting his friend when he thought he was upset. Which he was, and even though he wouldn't talk to me about it, I was sure he'd talk to Patamon. At least when I came back Takeru might actually be happy again.

Patamon was just as optimistic as Takeru after all. He was equally prone to irrational bursts of anger too. Okay, maybe not irrational, but both of them had a short fuse when it came to right and wrong. They were pretty similar, I guess.

Not like Labramon and I. He was ambitious and outgoing, whereas I was secretive and introverted.

Haruki had apparently discovered that if he pushed his lips together and breathed out he could make very annoying sounds, and he kept doing so, all the way to the office. Sure it was cute, but just like everything else babies tended to do... it was only cute for so long.

The weather was looking up though, that was for sure. The sky was mostly clear aside from a few pearly white clouds floating gently in the warm spring breeze. The ground was still slightly damp, but the grass was getting its colour back, and some of the flowers were sprouting. The most notably spring part of my walk was the pink cherry blossoms that filled the nearby park. With the wind carrying some of the petals through the air, it was one of the more beautiful things I'd seen.

Haruki started to get uncomfortable in the stroller by the time I'd arrived at the office, and I knew I'd have quite a walk home with him, so I thought maybe we could stop in the park together, and hopefully that'd make him happier. I could take Labramon too. I knew he liked the park.

I then saw the 'no dogs' sign on the front of the therapy building and sighed. It reminded me that the digimon weren't allowed outside. Well they were... but Labramon certainly wasn't. I had a difficult time pulling Haruki's stroller up onto the dark wooden porch. Being a mom would definitely take some practice. When I was finally reaching for the door, I noticed something from the corner of my eye.

Turning to look at it, I saw it was a sign that read 'no digimon'

"_Seriously_?" I said sharply under my breath, practically ripping the door open and walking in backwards, pulling Haruki along with me. The door slammed shut on its own and I spun to face the desk, the smell of bleach filling my nose as usual.

"Oh, you're back?" The lady at the desk asked, "I'll let him know—"

"Save it," I said sharply, "I'm going in anyway." I pushed Haruki straight past her and into the room where I knew Dr Chiryo would be waiting, pushing aside the thick wooden door. When the door swung open he was on the phone. The very outdated cream coloured phone was pressed against his hear, as the spiraled cord hung loose. He was wearing a deep red sweater vest and brown pants, his hair thin and greying as usual. He looked up to me, his light brown eyes looking through the thin glasses that hung low on his nose. His eyebrows rose in shock when he saw me.

"Please excuse me," He said, "I will speak with you later." There was a pause and then "Yes, goodbye." He hung up the phone and looked to me, with a calm and pleasant look on his face.

"I see you hate digimon now too?" I asked sharply.

"I'm allergic," He said simply.

"They're made of _data_." I argued.

"Well I was sick for days after you brought your friend in during your last visit." He said softly.

"That's because he works at a dog kennel. You're allergic to dogs. Not digimon." I was practically growling. Not because of what was going on. I could understand where he was coming from here, he was just ignorant. Uneducated. He was making assumptions. But I was still angry about our last visit in which he told me he considered me to be a murderer.

"I did not know," He said, "I apologize. I will have the sign taken down later today."

"Good idea." I said stiffly.

Dr Chriyo, waited a moment for me to cool off before he spoke. He had his hands folded on top of his wooden desk and his mouth was curled into a warm smile as he looked up to me. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" He asked me, talking in his annoyingly calm way. "I trust you are aware this is not your usual visitation time, and as far as I can recall we did not leave each other on good terms during our last encounter."

"I came to get my money back." I said bluntly. He looked to me in a way that said he was sorry, but I wasn't going to take no for an answer. "I can't pay rent because—well you don't need to know why—I just need my money back because I'm done coming to therapy. I need to pay for food for my baby." I motioned to Haruki who was sucking on his own hand. "See? He's becoming a cannibal because I can't buy him things."

Chiryo actually smiled, and shook his head at my joke, "That is a very natural stage for children," He chuckled lightly, then looked up to me again, "I regret to inform you that we will not be able to refund your money. We, at the office, have a very strict 'no refund' policy. I am deeply remorseful. Truly." God he talked annoyingly. It was like he used big words _just_ to sound smart. "However," he said, his voice brightening, "While you are present we may as well take full advantage of each other's company and resume where we left in our previous sessions."

"I don't think so." I said sharply. "I have nothing to say to you." It was true. I was still super angry with him and that wasn't going to change. Probably ever, so I wasn't going to sit with him. He was rude the last time, and not in a forgivable way. Besides, he never did me any good. Never did I feel really... helped. I still felt as lost and confused as always. And if he wasn't able to refund my money—which was a stupid policy—then I was going to leave.

"Mrs Motomiya," He said, making sure to get my last name right this time. "You have always shown me so much potential." Was he ignoring what I just said to him. "I feel as though if you trust me we might be able to get somewhere with your dilemma." What was that supposed to mean...? "You have always shown me surfeit equipoise—"

"I'm ninety percent sure you didn't even use those words right." I interjected.

"—in everything aside from trust." He said, ignoring me. "I trust you, and I know you can make it through this to become normal."

"I _am_ normal." I said, though it was entirely untrue.

"No you are not." He said as though he was inside my head. "You are far from it. But I can help you. If you'll let me."

"You don't think I've tried?" I said, weakly. He was kind of right.

"No." He said firmly. "During every encounter I have had a suspicion that you have been telling me only what you want for me to grasp and keeping the rest for your own mind. If you do not tell me the things you know I cannot help you."

"Well good." I said, twisting Haruki's stroller to face the door. "I don't want your help anyway."

"But you need it." He said calmly. "You'll realize that soon enough."

And I was gone.

I swore under my breath as I pushed the stroller through the lobby. How did he win that one? I went in there so confident and angry—and even though I entered on top, having won our last argument, he somehow won.

Probably because he was using words I didn't understand.

But it still made me upset... Mostly because he was right. I was keeping things from him. Nothing too important though...

But I'd always thought that maybe... if I talked about what I _did _know... if I told someone, then it would open up new memories... and eventually a chain reaction would occur... Eventually I would know about my past...

But I didn't know who I could tell.

Certainly not Dr Chiryo... not Daisuke. What if my past was too horrible and he left me? I couldn't handle that. Haruki wouldn't handle that well either. He needed parents. I wanted to be a solid family... I could maybe talk to Takeru. He'd never tell... but Daisuke was close to him... I didn't want to put him in that situation...

But.

There was one person. A person who would never tell anyone, and wouldn't feel pressured to at all. A person who would say with certainty that there was a secret, and that it would not leave her lips. And that person was my exact opposite. A person who was so supportive and kind that she'd never judge me for my past. Just who I was now.

Hikari.

Of course it was a Tuesday, and as a teacher she'd be at school, and so I was walking into a public elementary school, something I was certainly not ready to do again. Not that I remembered much of my time in school, but I did remember the feeling of dread.

I wasn't even sure I was allowed on the property. Was it legal for someone to enter the school property without a reason? Well I did it anyway, with a baby to boot. The plastic wheels thumped again and again as I rolled them over the wooden flooring in the hallway. I had no real idea where I was headed either. All the hallways looked the same: White walls with wooden borders, wooden floors and a tiled ceiling. There were sliding wooden doors every now and then, scattered throughout the halls, and I knew Hikari had to be behind one of them...

"I understand that,"

That voice was certainly familiar. I stopped and backtracked to peek around the corner from where I'd just walked by. A woman with short dark hair was standing at the end of the hallway speaking with a girl who was crying, her knees pulled to her chest. It wasn't Hikari, but she was familiar. Maybe she knew where Hikari was.

"Maybe you should try not to pull her hair next time?" The woman said.

"She _hit_ me!" The girl sobbed.

"And I'll talk to her too." The teacher said calmly.

I waited until she sent the girl back into the classroom, and then stepped into view, and she turned to look down the hallway, locking eyes with me. Realization washed over me as Noriko Kawada walked toward me, straightening her dress. She was smiling brightly. "Hey Kurayami!" She beamed.

I smiled back. I never did hate Noriko the way Iori or Natsuni had, and never did I understand where their blatant negativity had come from. She was never kind by any means, and she once threatened me for standing too close to Iori, but it was because she was in love, and I couldn't fault her for that. Everyone had different paths to go through in the search for love.

Plus she was very skilled at math, and she sat next to me in class.

Needless to say, I'd not have passed math on my own.

"Hello Noriko," I said as she threw her arms around me, holding me in place. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Long enough to pop out a kid!" Noriko said brightly, "Is he yours?" She asked, turning to look at Haruki. Usually I didn't like when people I barely knew tried to play with my baby, but Noriko was always good to me, so I figured I'd let her look at least.

"He is," I confirmed, "Haruki." She looked up to me in awe for some reason, then back to the baby.

"The name suits him well." She cooed, "How old is he?"

"He was born on Valentine's Day," I said with a shrug, "I dunno, under a year."

"You're supposed to keep track of how old he is in days until the six month mark, then exact months after that until he's two!"

"No." I said shaking my head. "That's gross."

But I did know. He was one hundred and two days old exactly. And he was the most adorable hundred day old I'd ever seen!

"He's precious," Noriko decided finally. "So what brings you to... school?"

"I'm actually looking for Hikari." I said simply. Noriko nodded, and pointed down the hallway stating that she'd show me the way. She was wearing flats which I was thankful for, and I was sure the children were too. I'd always hated when the teacher wore heels because you could hear her coming all the way down the hallway and even though that let everyone settle down before she arrived, it was like suspenseful music leading to the big reveal, and somehow that was horrible.

"She's just in here." Noriko said kindly, "Class is out in a few minutes, I should get back to the kids." She hugged me again suddenly, "It was so nice seeing you, I hope to see you again soon!" She was walking down the hallway, and then stopped, turned around and said, "You should come to my bridal shower!"

"Oh that sounds fun!" I lied.

"I'll text you the details!" She cheered, before returning down the hallway.

I was left to wait for the bell to ring, alone. Not alone exactly. I had Haruki with me as well, but he wasn't very fascinating company, especially now that he'd fallen asleep. He wasn't even doing anything cute anymore.

And so my mind wandered to Dr Chiryo. What he was saying seemed entirely legitimate, which I suppose stood to reason, with him being a licensed therapist and all. I was hiding things from him—that I knew. But just small things. Like... I remembered a forest... and an orange sky... I was talking to someone... who was it? He was big...

"Could I be of service?" A man's voice pulled me from my thoughts. My heart was already pounding loudly and painfully inside my chest, my hands were both wrapped tightly around the handle of the stroller and sweat had formed across my brow.

I was right. If I even _tried_ to think of those memories, more would flood back in an instant. And Dr Chiryo knew that. If he was right about that... could he be right about other things? Could I have... could I have done what he'd mentioned? Would I have done that to someone?

"Excuse me?" The man asked.

"I'm s-sorry!" I stuttered, my breath shaky. I had forgotten he was there. I looked up to see a bald overweight man wearing an expensive looking suit. He looked a little dressed up to be working with children... but then again, these children weren't prone to vomiting every six hours like Haruki was.

"My name is Kota Ikeda," The man said, "I am the principal of this school, and I simply must know who you are. Do you have business here?"

"Yes I do," I said calmly. He seemed to be waiting calmly for me to tell him exactly what that business was, and when I didn't he gestured with his hand for further information. "I'm here to speak with Hikari. It's important."

"Miss Yagami is busy instructing her class right now." He said boldly, "Perhaps I could be of assistance?"

"No," I said, "Just Hikari." I looked past him where a girl was sitting through the open classroom door, staring at us, her mouth slightly open as she held a pencil loosely in her hand.

The principal guy crossed his arms, "I am very sorry, you are disrupting classes, I am going to have to ask you to leave the premises."

"I'm just waiting here until Hikari comes out." I said, "I'm not doing anything wrong, and no offense, but I'm not in the best of moods, so could you just go?"

"Excuse me?" He said, "Who do you think I am?"

"That's a good question," I said shyly, "I've actually forgotten your name. Just please, let me stay here and wait for Hikari to come outside."

"I cannot trust that you know Miss Yagami," He said, his face turning a shade of purple as a vein on the top of his head stood out and began pulsing. His clammy hands were glistening in the glow of the cheap lights above us. "You could be here to threaten a student."

"I have a baby with me," I said confused, "Who would bring a baby with them to threaten someone? What's he gonna do? Poop on them?"

He licked his lips grossly in anger, and he grabbed down at me, wrapping his chubby fingers around my wrist, but when he opened his mouth to talk, the bell had rung. In seconds there were students filing around me, rushing by, not paying the three of us any mind, except one girl who glanced to Haruki.

A minute later the hallway was clear once more and I looked into the grey eyes of the principal. "Let go of me." I said sharply, "Now." He tightened his grip, just for a moment before letting go, practically throwing my arm down to my side. "Thank you."

He leaned in closer to me, and said as calmly as he could—which wasn't very calmly, I had to say. I would _not _be putting my kids through school here. The principal had quite the temper. And somehow that was familiar to me too. "Please, come with me and do not cause a scene." He said, a tiny ball of spit landing on my nose. "I will escort you out of the building."

And then light was pouring out of a door, sliding open next to me, with a shadow cast across the hallway. Hikari stepped out a moment later, her hair cropped short and her bangs held back with pins to try to conceal where she'd hit her head over the weekend. She was wearing dress that was only slightly more purple than the principal's face. Her own face was confused, and there was no other way to describe it. "What's going on?" She asked.

"Do you know this woman?" The man asked.

"Yes," Hikari said calmly.

"Take her away from here." He said, "Or I'll do it for you." He was pointing his finger at her angrily, and then he turned to storm off.

"He seems nice." I said weakly.

"Did you mention my name?" Hikari asked, "because he hates me. So if you did, that would be why he looked like he was about to pop. On my first day he started hating me, and then I ran into him at the grocery store yesterday where I was talking, not so secretively with Natsuni about what kind of fish I should get for Gatomon, and he heard me." She sighed, "He didn't say anything though, so at least he didn't want to start a fight... but even though he tries to make it seem like the school board made the 'no digimon' rule, I know it was him. He doesn't like them."

"Does anyone anymore?" I asked, my voice still small. Hikari didn't like my response, and she crossed her arms, upset. I didn't blame her. It upset me too. But there was nothing we could do at the moment. We'd have to try to convince them that the digimon were nice or something...

Hikari eventually relaxed when we were closer to the exit of the school, and she turned to me with a kind smile, "So what are you doing here?" She asked.

I took a sharp intake of breath, my chest felt frozen and numb, and then I turned to her, and sighed, "I just think... could you... do me... like..." I didn't know how to bring it up. I closed my eyes and turned my head toward the stroller I was pushing. "Could you be my therapist?"

"I don't think I have the credentials for that." Hikari said, "Maybe Hideto?"

"I want you." I said firmly. "I want to know about my past, and I think you're the only one who can talk it out of me. You're the only one who knows as much as I already do. I've told you everything you didn't learn from looking through my memories in that cave. And you helped my brother move on from this world. You were the light at the end of his tunnel, and I just hope you can do the same for me."

She seemed to be thinking it over for a moment and finally decided. "I can do my best..." Her voice was quiet now too, and we'd stopped by the front doors, muffled sounds of children talking excitedly outside almost drowned her out. "That's all I can promise. But I'll do anything I can to help you."

"Well I'm going to need all you can give me..." I said, "I'm kind of a hopeless case."

"Don't let Takeru hear you say that." Hikari warned, jokingly, "If there's one thing I learned from him, it's that there is always hope."

"I hope so." I said with a grin.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **New troubles are confronted as the Digidestined find themselves to be more and more Helpless when truths are uncovered.


	12. Helpless

**Y/N: **Iori was a lot of fun this time around, even if it isn't all fun and games. It was just really interesting to see how much anger he could build up inside him—for varying reasons. I knew he was an angry little guy, but he's matured quite a bit from his big outburst in Digimon Adventure 03—and having just read that, it was interesting to see how he dealt with the anger differently after so many years. I'm sure Taichi's chapter was fun to write too, but I honestly don't remember more than one key scene of it. It was more important than the rest I suppose, and I did write this _months_ ago.

I know I was meant to update every other day, and I'm really sorry that I haven't been doing that. In fact, I've learned that I'm just incapable of doing it. I've come up with a solution though. I'm going to stockpile them in the document manager, and Urazamay will post them as required, since this every other day thing is just too complicated for me (it's kind of ridiculous that it's a more than partially true statement). I hope this works out better for updating. My fingers are crossed!

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 2: Challenge**

**Chapter 12: Helpless**

_**Iori Hida:**_

Today had started out pretty good. I had high hopes for today. I only had one class at school, at eight in the morning, and it ran for two hours. It was actually fascinating, so I had no trouble in staying awake. When I got home, I found that Mom had sent Meiyomon over, so he and I went for a walk. I got him an ice cream cone before lunch—something he'd never been allowed to do before—and we fed ducks at the pond. He was thrilled to see the ducks were back now that winter was gone. We put our spare change into the dispensers and had handfuls of these brown pellets that were apparently duck friendly. They all went wild at the chance of getting them, so I figured they must be tasty. Meiyomon assumed the same thing and ate six of the pellets. I hadn't laughed so hard in a long time, watching him spit them out, making funny faces and telling the little kids we met along the path what a bad idea it was. We went out to lunch too. We got grilled sandwiches. He wanted fast food, but I couldn't bring myself to get any. He made do with a grilled cheese. I had a grilled chicken sandwich with roasted bell peppers and onions.

After lunch we headed back to my apartment. It was a Wednesday, so Hikari was at school, teaching her fourth graders. Natsuni was home though, and Meiyomon played monopoly with her, Gatomon and Goblimon, while Armadillomon and I read the next three chapters in our book. He couldn't hold a book, so I read to him most times, or he listened to audio books. We were reading a classic, which Meiyomon declared to be the most boring thing he'd ever heard. I thought he was rude for saying so, and Armadillomon argued that the story and pacing were actually quite riveting compared to others we'd read. When Natsuni finally declared bankruptcy, leaving Gatomon to win—as per usual—Meiyomon announced he wanted to go for another walk. I could tell by their faces, that Goblimon, Gatomon and Armadillomon wished they could do the same. But I couldn't take them with me. Not with those activists out there. Gatomon didn't look enough like a cat to pass for one, no matter how many times she argued the opposite. And Goblimon? No. It would just be tempting fate. Meiyomon got enough stares, even though everyone thought he was human. I couldn't risk it.

"Where are we going?" Meiyomon wanted to know.

"Wherever you want, I guess," I told him. I waited for him to slip his jacket on. I was still wearing mine. A simple, black jacket. Not warm. I mostly wore it to block the wind.

"Let me grab my shoes," Natsuni said. "And my jacket. Don't leave without me."

That surprised me. She spent most of her free time indoors after the riot. It hadn't been very long, just three days, but she'd refused to leave Goblimon's side. She wanted to be sure he—and Armadillomon and Gatomon—were safe at all times. I personally thought she'd been in shock. She couldn't comprehend how anyone could feel so negatively towards digimon. If it were one _particular_ digimon, she could understand, but to hate digimon as a whole? It just didn't compute. It didn't make sense.

"Goblimon, Gatomon, Armadillomon, are you guys ready to go?" she called.

"Uh..." I said _eloquently_.

"We can't go out there," Gatomon reminded her. "Not unless we want to get attacked. I'm not feeling up to it today though, so I think I'll pass."

"We're not going out _there_," Natsuni said with a wink. "We're going someplace else. You guys deserve to have a little fun too. I think Iori has an aunt that he needs to visit. It's been awhile. Too long, don't you think?"

"The Land of Dreams," I realized, feeling stupid for not thinking of it earlier. Besides, my "aunt"—the fairy queen of summer, otherwise known simply as Summer—really did deserve a visit. I used to visit her weekly, but that practice sort of stopped since I'd started this year's classes. I really didn't have an excuse. Yes, my workload was larger this year. But I wasn't working like before, like the previous four years. I was fully dedicated to my education for the first time since I started my post secondary education. I was keeping up with my projects without trouble, and I'd even had a legitimate _case_ that didn't take too much time. My first case. I was actually really pleased with how it turned out—even though I felt there would be more to come, since Mari couldn't keep her mouth shut. I was even more proud of the fact that it had been for a friend. It made it more memorable I think.

Natsuni dashed off to grab a pair of running shoes and her jean jacket—the one her father bought her in secret, because her mother thought it was unladylike to wear denim—and started tossing bread, mayonnaise, a can opener and six cans of tuna into a reusable shopping bag. She looked ready, as she turned to walk towards us, now that the four digimon had crowded around me, excited about going on a trip _outside_. But she stopped again, and hurried over to the fruit bowl on the counter, selecting seven assorted pieces of fruit—three oranges, two apples, a pear and a plum—and then thought to get a bag of carrot sticks out of the fridge.

"This should be enough," Natsuni said slowly, looking around the kitchen, hoping she might catch sight of whatever it was she was missing.

"Water?" Gatomon suggested, stretching out. She had a tendency to sleep all day long. The fact that she wasn't sleeping right then was sort of a miracle. I chalked it up to her excitement though.

"Thank you!" Natsuni cheered. After she'd hunted around to find the four reusable, metal water bottles we owned, she filled them to the brim. She'd tossed a few plastic tumbler glasses into the bag and went to stand by the computer stand. She looked to us. "Aren't you coming? I thought you'd all be ready by now."

I rolled my eyes, and we headed into the Digital World. Taichi had it set up that—for the most part—everybody landed in the Temple when they entered through the gate. It was where I wanted to go anyway, so I wasn't too fussed. It also really helped with the whole tourism idea. Not that many people actually _go_ to the Digital World. For the most part, they just keep their digimon with them on Earth. Others used the gate simply to drop digimon back into their world like trash. I hated people like them. All their digimon ever did was love them. Care for them. Treat them with respect. That they couldn't do the same really spoke of their character. I detested beings like that. Evil digimon had those tendencies. I didn't see much of a distinction between these humans and those same evil digimon. There were several minor evil digimon. One less now, with Etemon missing. As much as I detested his kind, I didn't feel that the world was better without him. He was needed for the balance. Everything seemed off kilter now.

We ran into Leomon on our way down the hall. He stopped for a quick greeting, but he looked grave. He was stressed, it was obvious by the way he held his shoulders. They were tense, far too tense to be healthy. He hurried on from us, and Natsuni watched after him, anxious. Ogremon stopped Goblimon for a little chat, distracting himself most likely, from the negative findings of his own work. They were _still_ discovering digimon that were missing. The total had gone from seventeen to twenty-three. They expected it to continue to rise. It didn't seem like many, in the grand scheme of things. There were millions of digimon around the Digital World. But this was just in File Island and the Continents of Server and Folder. There were other continents. Other islands. The _oceans_. With Divermon among the missing, Taichi was frantically searching for _some_ digimon that could try to get a census going there.

I didn't know much else of what was going on. Taichi was keeping several details close to the chest. He shared what he felt was necessary—or whatever Neo or Koushiro (mostly Koushiro) told us before he could stop them—and that was it. He wanted us informed, but not scared. He was falling apart at the seams though. I hoped we would catch sight of him today, during our brief walk to the doorway for the Land of Dreams. It didn't happen though. By the time Ogremon had finished his piece—a good ten minutes later—we'd only caught sight of Kotemon—on break from Knight training—who we'd invited to join us, and Centarumon as he made his way down to the basement labs. He waved to us, but he was on a mission. He worked with Koushiro, which meant he was probably delivering more numbers. I prayed that the twenty-three didn't increase too much. At all, really. But I wasn't quite that optimistic.

I ushered my companions through the door, and felt my shoulders relax. The Land of Dreams had that effect on me. I knew it could be a dangerous place, but when I first walked through the door my eyes were met with was a beautiful meadow. Blades of shimmering golden grass that reached nearly to my knees were speckled with wild flowers. I knew the names of them. My aunt told them to me. She'd seen them on Earth once, and thought they were beautiful. There were delicate cup-like flowers, the petals a dusty blue colour, with white in the centre of the blossom. Those were called baby blue eyes. Pretty white flowers with vivid purple spots at the tip of each petal, called five-spot were scattered amongst the blue. Cornflowers of blue, white, pink and red bloomed among the red and yellow blanket flowers. And the dark purple wine-cup blooms were bold against the delicate whites of the Queen Anne's Lace. There were also African daisies, clover and buttercups. She loved them all, and in the Land of Dreams, they never went out of season. They bloomed constantly. At times, she'd add other flowers, like the marsh marigolds, the cosmos and the black-eyed-Susans. But these were her favourites, and she never bored of them.

In the distance, I could see a garden setting. The grass was shorter there, cut like a lawn. There was a bench swing, made of fallen trees and grapevines. There were stationary benches, and a low table. A fire glowed in the centre of the circle they created, but it burned no wood. It was just flames. Instead of smoke, the flames sent out burst of sparkling energy, which made it seem like the sky was shimmering. There were rows of daffodils and tulips, rhododendrons. Bunches of hyacinths and irises, with circular patches, where the shorter flowers grew, like the zinnias and marigolds. There were gladiolas, dalias, orchids, petunias and pansies. There were hydrangea bushes, with large blooms standing proud. My aunt spent ages sitting among these flowers, watering them, pruning them, despite the fact there was no need to do so.

A path led from the garden—I knew, but I couldn't see it—lined with rose bushes with bright red blooms to her greenhouse, where she grew vegetable upon vegetable. Only one plant for each one. In the Land of Dreams a plant simply didn't die. It continued producing forever if that was the wish of the plant's creator. There was an orchard too. The greenhouse actually stood in the centre of it. There were trees producing different fruits, she had grape vines, and pineapple plants. There were berry patches too. My aunt loved nature. Though there were few animals allowed here. There were a few rabbits, and hummingbirds. She wished for bees to pollinate her plants, and there were countless butterflies. She had a firm control on the population, so there was no need for predators. The rabbits ate the grass and clover, along with vegetables that she set out for them. The hummingbirds and bees at the nectar, and the butterflies at vegetation. She had hummingbird feeders hanging from the trees in the orchard too.

It was a beautiful and self-sustaining place she'd created.

I knew it wasn't all there was in the Land of Dreams, but it was all I'd ever cared about. Her meadow, her garden and her orchard. I'd never looked beyond them. The field was vast, so it wasn't like I could just _see_ past it. I'd have to walk to its edge. And that was something I'd never bothered to do. I came to this land only to see my aunt after all.

And see her I did. She was sitting on one of the stationary benches in the garden. She held a rabbit on her lap, letting it nibble at a piece of kale she was holding. She didn't look quite as happy or carefree as I'd hoped she would. She was staring vacantly into space, absentmindedly petting the rabbit. Her usual vibrant countenance was gone. She always seemed to glow, but that bright shine was dim today. Her hair hung with less volume, no million watt smile adorned her face.

She didn't even hear us coming.

And we had _Meiyomon_ with us. Gatomon headed directly for the area directly beside the fire. She breathed in deeply, and curled up for a bit of a catnap. The sky darkened a bit, creating a twilight atmosphere just for her. She purred loudly, letting out a big yawn, and then—smiling to herself—drifted off to sleep. Kotemon sat opposite to Gatomon, also beside the fire, meditating in its warmth. Armadillomon found a rabbit of his own to play with, while Goblimon sat amongst the flowers, observing them quietly, taking in each new one with fascination. Natsuni set her bag on the low table, and tried to explain the different varieties of flowers to her partner. When all this DWD stuff was over, I was sure Goblimon would want a garden. And I wanted to give him one.

Meiyomon was cheering loudly and chasing butterflies through the field, trampling the grass and wild flowers. It took only seconds for them to spring back to full height and wellness though, so I decided not to ruin his fun.

I headed to my aunt. She didn't see me, even when I sat next to her. She was still staring into space. She'd done that before, when she was trying to see what was coming. Searching through her knowledge of the future, desperate to find the answers needed. She didn't know everything though. Her future knowledge was running thin. She'd be just as unsure as the rest of us soon. I knew she wasn't looking forward to it, but I thought it would be good for her. She'd see my end of things. Understand why we all worried so much all the time.

"See anything?" I asked. She jolted out of her daze and let out a little yelp. The rabbit on her lap scampered away quickly, still holding the kale with his teeth. Even when scared, he wouldn't give up his favourite treat.

"Iori!" she gasped. "I didn't see you come in."

"I figured. Do know what's coming?" I asked hesitantly.

"No," she said. "And I'm afraid."

"I don't suppose you could just erase everyone's memories again, like you did before?" I said. It was a long shot. But it might be the best option. "Maybe people weren't as ready for the digimon as we thought. I just want them to forget. It would easier. It would be _safer_."

"I can't," she said, helplessly.

"It was a onetime thing?" I asked, quirking my brow at her.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I still have the ability. I've even toyed with the idea. But it won't work. I could do it, but it wouldn't help. If anything, it might make matters worse."

"How?" I asked hollowly. "Digimon are going missing, and beaten, and targeted. People who support them...how long will it be that those people are targeted as well? It's dangerous for me, for my mother, my _brother_, Natsuni...every one of my friends. _Armadillomon_."

"If I take away their memories of the digimon, they will still hold that hatred. It just won't have a focus anymore. They beat digimon, make them feel helpless, worthless, they _remove_ them. Without knowing about the digimon, those same feelings, the anger, fear and hatred will target anything and everything. Whatever it can latch onto. Animals, children, friends, parents. No one will be safe. There won't be a target to aim at. They'll be attacking at random, without reason," she told me.

"They don't have reason now," I insisted.

"No," she agreed. "But they won't remember, and they'll know there was _something._ It could drive them mad, trying to find the thing they hate. They'll try everything. They'll target _everything_. As bad as it is, them targeting digimon, it is at least a focussed aim. Without that, no one would be safe. I want them to stop too. But this isn't the answer."

"I was hoping for a cure all, like last time," I admitted.

"I know," she said with a sad smile, her eyes glistening with tears. What little shine was left to her burnt out. "And I wanted to give it to you. I want nothing more than to see my Forgiving Knight safe. I just can't do that."

"Do you know what _I _can do to fix this then?" I asked, desperate.

"I don't know," she whispered, her eyes fixating in space again. "_Yet_. I will find out. Just give me time."

"Okay," I said. "Take all the time you need. But don't compromise your health. You're important too. Don't you ever forget it."

She smiled softly. "I won't. Thank you, my Forgiving Knight."

"Now, how do you feel about joining us for an afternoon of stress-free fun?" I asked. She sighed and pulled herself to her feet.

"That sounds wonderful," she said with a grin.

She conjured up a ball, and we all played dodge ball—even Gatomon who had woken up to all of the noise we'd been making—and monkey in the middle and soccer. She taught Goblimon to weave daisy chains, and Gatomon ate most of the tuna Natsuni brought with us. There was enough left for Goblimon, Armadillomon and Natsuni to have a sandwich though. Meiyomon accepted the fruit, but was too full from lunch to eat anything more. We all had a lot of fun. I even gave Meiyomon, Kotemon and my aunt a lesson in Kendo. She was wearing a ball gown, and kept tripping over it, but it looked like she had a lot of fun. Natsuni snapped pictures left right and centre with the small digital camera she'd found in her pocket—she borrowed it from Hikari so she could get portrait pictures of each digimon for our hallway, she'd yet to actually take them though.

It was only around six, when we were leaving, that my aunt spoke about the problem once more. "I left my home before any prophecies could be made after the last, about Yggdrasil. I have limited knowledge of the future, my dear, sweet Knight, but I will do my best to aid you in your future endeavors."

"Home?" I asked.

"Not today," she said, shaking her head. "Maybe I'll tell you about it another time. There is still hope however, and I want you to hold that hope in your heart. I never want you to give up."

"I won't," I promised, though I wasn't sure either of us—her_ or_ me—believed that hope existed.

"I will call my sisters," she decided, holding her hand out in front of her. A globe of pure energy formed in her palm, and she threw it into the air. Moments later—a few seconds,_ really_—two other fairy queens appeared. Winter and Spring. Winter's hair was still short, still severe, her dress still classy, and form fitting. Spring was still as eccentric as ever, her spiral curls wildly sticking out every direction, her dress was bold purple and bright red and hard on the eyes. Her unequaled enthusiasm wasn't as bright as I'd remembered though. And Winter looked solemn.

"We need to think," my aunt told them.

"We know," Winter said, her voice tinged with distraught. Spring sat on the ground then and there, motioning for the others to do so too. They did—though Winter looked like it pained her to do so—and Spring grabbed their hands. They held tight to one another, and their eyes lost focus.

"Let's go," I suggested. "Give them some privacy."

So we headed back to the Digital World, where Kotemon bid us adieu, but thanked us for a much needed break. I missed spending time with him. He was always so busy. He reminded me of Grandpa though, so I tried to keep time open for him. Things didn't always work in our favour. As much as I tried to convince him to come with us, he was determined to go back to training. And I didn't have a good argument against it. He _needed_ to train. Things could go very bad, very quickly.

Instead of heading home, Natsuni _insisted_ we go to my mother's for dinner. It was a family affair after all, and we really ought to go. I couldn't bring myself to care if I went or not. But Meiyomon's face brightened considerably at the suggestion, and I knew there was nothing to be done. I couldn't avoid it. I could _feel_ the anger building up within me. I didn't _want_ to go to a stupid dinner party. Not when I knew who would be there. It wouldn't just be my mother and my brother. No. It would be my brother, my mother and her stupid new family! I liked Takeru and Yamato. But they weren't my family. I refused to see them as such. Natsuni was always telling me how childishly I was handling things, but she didn't understand. Her parents were both still alive, and married to each other. Despite the absolute horror that was her mother. We weren't dressed to Natsuni's typical standards, but she knew that she wouldn't get me to leave the apartment if we stopped back in to change.

"You know what, Iori? I gets to do all sorts of really cool things now that I've gots a dad," Meiyomon said happily. "He takes me to the park and he _plays_ with me there. And he took me to a baseball game, and he takes me to cool movies, that Mom won't go see. And he plays _catch_ with me, and he'd not afraid of the ball when I throw it back! Isn't that cool?"

I stopped walking. The Temple walls ceased to exist for me.

"Your _dad_?" I asked slowly.

This wasn't happenening. Hiroaki was _not_ Meiyomon's father. He was _my_ brother. I hated that man. He wormed his way into my mother's life, he wasn't taking my brother too. Besides, Grandpa was _Dad's_ dad. That meant Meiyomon had to be Dad's son, in order for him to be his Grandpa too. It didn't matter to me that logically he couldn't be. Dad had been dead for ages. Meiyomon never even met the guy.

"Hiroaki can't be your father if Grandpa was your Grandpa," I said, logically.

"It doesn't matter, Meiyomon," Natsuni said, cutting in quickly, before Meiyomon could get upset at the choice I was laying before him. She glared at me, and I knew she was upset. "You can think what you want. We're late, so let's get this gate open directly to our destination, okay?"

So we did, even though I was furious at Hiroaki's invasion into my life. I hated him. No. That wasn't right. He was actually an alright guy, a good man. I just hated everything he did that involved my family. We got to the door to Earth and we recalibrated the destination, and we ended up in Hiroaki's office. _Great_.

"We're here!" Natsuni called loudly, leaving me no opportunity whatsoever to escape. Meiyomon ran quickly out into the dining room, and Natsuni grabbed my hand, dragging me along. I knew Armadillomon would stop me if I escaped her, and Goblimon was next in line. There was no getting out of this. I sighed, accepting defeat. There was nothing to be done, after all.

In the dining room, the large table was already set, and surrounded by people. Gatomon jumped into Hikari's lap. She was next to Takeru, and he was next to Patamon, then Gabumon was there, next to Yamato. There was an empty spot beside Yamato, and Mom sat at the end of the table, next to that. Hiroaki was opposite to her, and Meiyomon was quick to take the first chair beside him. I sat in the middle, leaving Natsuni to sit next to my Mother, and Armadillomon and Goblimon sat on either side of me. Gatomon took the final chair on _our_ side of the table, since there were just no room on Hikari's side.

"You're my Daddy, right?" Meiyomon asked Hiroaki. I clenched my fist.

"Of course he is," Mom assured him. Hiroaki smiled at my brother. The anger was building steadily. I would explode if they didn't just _stop_ talking about it. "Now, Yamato. I wasn't sure if you were bringing anyone, so I set an extra place. You never tell me anything, so I didn't know if you even _had_ a lady friend, and I didn't want to snub her if you did, so I left space for her."

"I don't have a girlfriend," Yamato said bluntly. There was an awkward silence after that. Natsuni, Takeru, Meiyomon, Hikari and Mom tried to drive the conversation throughout dinner, but it never stuck. No topic they brought up would continue for more than a minute, and each was followed by at least two minutes of silence as they tried to think up the next topic.

"So, Yamato," Hiroaki said awkwardly. "How is everything?"

"It all sucks," Yamato said, rolling his eyes.

"You're going to have to give me _something_, Yamato," Hiroaki insisted. "I'm trying here, but I can only do so much. Why can't you meet me halfway?"

"Why?" Yamato asked incredulously. "Fine. You want to know what I think? My life sucks. My band kicked me out, my replacement job went up in flames. I hate everything to do with _this_. I hate that you chose to marry Fumiko. That you chose to move into this house, an actual house, _only_ once I was gone. I hate how much effort you're putting into helping raise Meiyomon, when you couldn't do the same for me and Takeru. Your own kids. You were _always_ working, Dad! You were _fine_ in the apartment, and I was too. It was my home, Dad. My childhood _home_. And you just gave that up for some woman, when you wouldn't put the effort in for me? I don't want to seem jealous, because I'm _not_. I just don't think it's fair. And Iori!"

I looked to him startled. Natsuni grabbed my hand to comfort me. I didn't need it. I had horrible ideas about _him_ too. And Takeru, and his father. I couldn't be offended by _anything_ he said. It would just be hypocritical.

"Yeah, I like the kid alright," he continued. "But that doesn't mean I wanted him to be my brother!"

"You're going _too_ far, Yamato," Hiroaki shouted, causing Yamato to stop talking.

"I love having Iori as a brother. And Meiyomon too," Takeru said, seeming confused at Yamato's dislike.

"It's almost like we're actual siblings now, Iori," Hikari joked, holding Takeru's hand. "Instead of just pretend ones."

"It's really not fair of you, Yamato, to take this out on Iori," Mom scolded.

"Just shut up, Mom," I snapped. "'Cause guess what? Yamato is the _only_ one in this freaking house that's got the right idea! I understand _everything_ he's saying. All of it. And I feel the same. I don't like that you moved out of _my_ childhood home either. But it wasn't just that, was it? No. It was my _father's_ childhood home too. And it was the first home Grandpa bought. He spent most of his life in that apartment. I fully expected that my own kids would grow up there. But they _can't_ now. Because you sold it. Without even consulting me. I would've bought it if you needed me to! I _wanted_ to live there."

"Iori—" Mom said, wide eyed and anxious to make things right. But she couldn't.

"And what are you going to do about the dojo? You going to sell that too?" I asked. She started to shake her head, but I wouldn't give her a chance. "Don't think I didn't see the for sale sign. That was Grandpa's life! Do you not know how important that place is to me? It's the _only_ reason I was able to get over the pain and fear from losing Dad. And it's the only reason that me _and_ Meiyomon _and_ Kotemon were ever able to move on after Grandpa. You sure as hell didn't put any effort into it!"

She was starting to cry. But I couldn't stop. This was stuff I'd been holding inside for ages. And it was all spewing out. I had no control over it.

"These people?" I said, gesturing to everyone of her new family. "They _aren't_ my family. If I wanted more family members, I'd add them myself. You're a train wreck. I chose a fairy queen for an aunt, Hikari for a sister. And I chose Meiyomon as a brother. I chose people I knew wouldn't leave me the way my real family seems to have a tendency to do."

Takeru looked like I'd slapped him, and Hikari had tears in her eyes. She was torn between being touched that I still thought of her as a sister, and fear over my outburst. It was so easy to read her. Yamato was just passive about the whole thing. He knew too that it would be hypocritical to argue my points. Hiroaki seemed close to snapping too, and Meiyomon was openly sobbing. I was too scared to look at Armadillomon, Goblimon and Natsuni. Gatomon looked bored though, Gabumon was just trying to hide under the table. He didn't like confrontation. Patamon looked angry that I didn't like being Takeru's brother and Mom... she was crying. Still.

"And screw Hiroaki!" I shouted angrily. "Because _my_ dad is Meiyomon's dad, even if it doesn't make any sense, because we shared a _paternal_ grandfather. And you know what? I'm leaving. Because I didn't chose to have Takeru and Yamato as brothers, and I would _never_ want to replace my father either. If you want to spend time with me, Mom, you can do it without them. Because I'm done. I'm a _Hida_, not an Ishida, and my father was Hiroki, not Hiro_-aki_." I stood up and pushed my chair away from the table. I turned to look at her. "_I_ can tell the difference." And then I stormed out, feeling a whole lot better to _finally_ have all of that off my chest.

Now I could only wait for the guilt to set in.

_**Taichi Yagami:**_

I was frustrated.

No. That was a lie. I wasn't frustrated. Being frustrated meant that I was feeling or expressing distress and annoyance. I was beyond annoyed, and _distressed_? That wasn't it either. That was too tame. I wasn't in a tame mood anymore.

I was _mad_.

It was one thing to miss a call or two. Sixty-five though? That was passed ridiculous. I'd called the Japanese ambassador sixty-five times in the past week. He was the one I'd had the most communication with since getting my position as ambassador for the Digital World. He called me weekly, just for a quick update. And he never missed more than two in a row. Until now anyway. It had been five weeks since I'd heard from him. But I didn't let it affect me too much. At first. He'd been on a two week getaway to the Bahamas, so I didn't fault him for ignoring me for a little while. But that's the last I'd heard from him. Six weeks ago, when he told me he was going to the Bahamas. For just _two_ weeks.

That left four weeks that he _could_ have contacted me.

But he didn't.

Nope.

The one time in all my years of doing this stupid job that I actually _needed_ to talk to him, I couldn't get a hold of him. What's worse, is that I couldn't contact _any_ of the other ambassadors—not that I could really talk with most of them anyway, unless they knew Japanese or were willing to suffer through my very stilted English. Not one of them. But sixty-five phone calls later, and ambassador Rida (I didn't actually know his first name, so I always had to call him "ambassador," it was kind of embarrassing really) still hadn't gotten the message that I wanted to talk to him. No. _Needed_ to talk to him. The world was revolting against the people they hired me to represent. I needed assistance. What use were ambassadors if they didn't work together when their jobs called for it?

Sixty-five calls.

I almost had to laugh at that. I'd called twelve times, just _today_. Every hour, on the hour since seven o'clock this morning. I hadn't been able to sleep. I hadn't slept properly in days. I couldn't relax enough to do it. I was always stressed out. Always tense. I hadn't seen Rei in ages either. Not really. Maybe an hour or two each day. I was always working, and she was always at home, with Pal and Pul. Sometimes Agumon too. I needed to spend time with them, I knew I did, but I didn't have many options. I needed to do so many things all at the same time, and I just couldn't do it on my own. I shouldn't have to.

Rida should just pick up his damn phone. We'd sure be having _words_ when he did! I had a lot to say to him, and none of it was very nice. I was _mad_.

I'd sent off emails too. I tried to spam his inbox, demanding attention. I'd sent at least thirty emails that literally only told him to give me a call. He still hadn't. I didn't know how much longer I could handle this! We were supposed to be a team. I couldn't do this alone. Even the digidestined wouldn't be able to do much if they didn't give us their support. They asked me to do this job, so that they could always keep the peace. But they weren't putting any effort into keeping up their half of the deal. It was like they were shutting me out.

No.

It wasn't _like_ that at all. They _were_ shutting me out. I hadn't been called to a meeting of any sort for longer than Rida had been ignoring me. They had to know what was going on. It wasn't like these DWD protesters were _hiding_. They were throwing tantrums by burning down restaurants and rioting fashion shows. They wanted to be taken seriously, and by ignoring it, Rida was making it worse. They were growing confident, cocky even. The Temple was already housing a Veggimon, a Penguinmon and a Crabmon. Jun was playing host for a Gekomon. There was a desolate DemiDevimon hanging around too. And I'd just gotten word that there were two more.

That wasn't even including the missing files that Benjamin kept finding. Centarumon just confirmed that we went from twenty-three confirmed cases, to twenty-six. Three more digimon completely disappeared. Koushiro was trying _everything_ to bring them back, but their data had been moved from the mainframe. He continuously tried to locate the missing files, but he couldn't do anything more. He wasn't giving up, but I hadn't seen him have this much trouble in a long time. He didn't know what he was doing anymore. He was floundering and it frightened me. Koushiro was supposed to be the level headed one, the one with all the answers. He wasn't supposed to be doing guesswork and panicking. He was just about as stressed out as I was. And he didn't even know about the Rida issue yet.

I threw my phone down on my desk. Sixty-six. Still no answer. I was done trying. I had some digimon to attend to anyway. I swiped my phone off of the desk, dumping it into the top, right-hand drawer. I had an awesome swivel chair that usually kept me happy. It wasn't working anymore though. I had a picture of Rei on my desk, I know it was cheesy, but it actually really helped. There was a picture of Hikari, Agumon, Gatomon and I as well. The walls were boring. Very sophisticated looking. Not that I really fit the bill. I was a mess, almost all the time. I was too exhausted to put much effort into my appearance, and I was pretty sure all of this stress was causing me to go grey prematurely, not that anyone seemed to care. I glared at the phone and slammed the drawer shut. I ran a hand down my face and took a deep breath. It was time to face the music. I had to go meet these new digimon.

I ran into Babamon immediately after exiting my office. She looked me up and down, and dismissed me. She'd been doing that more and more lately. Evidently, working my butt off wasn't a good enough excuse to "let myself go." At least I wasn't stress eating. I gave up that habit. I'd have gained at least thirty pounds by now. I would've only fit into my sweats. I was still wearing suits. Forgive me if I didn't bother with a tie anymore. If anything, I'd _lost_ weight with all this stress and running around. I was also fairly certain I was going to be bald before this was over—my new habit of pulling on my hair kind of sucked, but I couldn't shake it.

"Do you have anything for us?" Babamon asked.

"No," I said, clenching my fists and cursing Rida again.

"I hope you do soon, then," she said lightly, and walked off.

A lot of the council members were acting like that lately. They wanted results, but I couldn't give them any. They continued to pile up the pressure, and I was going to break. I just didn't know when. They wanted me to find Etemon and Divermon and the twenty-four other digimon, and I couldn't find them, and we were getting confirmations of more and more cases every week. I wanted to do my job for them. I wanted to actually be able to _help_ the situation. But stupid Rida wouldn't let me. And now everything was sucking, and why the hell did I ever think this job was going to be fun? Why did I accept it? It was too hard when nothing was cooperating. I was running council meetings when I didn't technically have to, since it wasn't part of the job description. I was also helping to lead the digidestined—even though I'd given the title to Daisuke, along with my grandfather's goggles—and _trying_ to keep up a relationship with the girl I loved. There was so little time, that I couldn't get any of the jobs done completely. And I wanted so badly to succeed, but there were times when I thought it would just be easier to just give up. I could do a lot more good as a civilian at this point, instead of being an ambassador. As an ambassador, I had to follow certain protocols, do everything by the book. As a civilian, I could bash some idiots face in if he was hurting a digimon, and it would be over.

I stomped my way down the steps into the courtyard marketplace. Leomon had dispersed the crowds, and Ogremon had loosened the bonds on the digimon before I even got there. I prepared myself for the view, but I still winced when I saw them. Gazimon and Kunemon. There were bald patches on the silver feline-rabbit hybrid. One of the buckles from his tail was missing, and someone had forcibly removed the claws on his right hand. Blood was dripping from the wound. It wasn't often I saw a digimon bleed. I'd almost forgotten they _could_. They've always seemed nearly invincible to me. Either they were perfectly fine, or they were turned to data, to be recycled. I'd hardly seen anything between the two. Kunemon was missing half of his left antennae, and the stinger that should've been his tail. Gazimon was unconscious, and the little larvae digimon had curled into a ball, whimpering in pain.

"Get Jou here, now," I told Leomon. He nodded and rushed off. I knelt down to Kunemon, but he rolled away from me. He was afraid of me. "Ogremon, take care of them. A human is probably not what either wants to be near right now."

"I will," he promised.

I clenched my fists and stormed back into my office, dialing the phone once again. Sixty-seven. And no answer. I threw my phone at the wall, watching it smash against the brick. I still had no answers! I had no names, no proof that the governments of Earth were even doing anything to stop the threat. They sure seemed a hell of a lot more talkative when it was _Earth_ and _its _inhabitants that were in trouble.

I nearly collapsed into my chair, exhausted. There wasn't anything more I could do. Not today. Jou would take care of the digimon, Ogremon would give them lodging. We'd have five guests in the Temple. I hoped there wouldn't be more, but I expected there would be. I sighed. I just wanted to go home. I wanted to eat a real meal. I wanted to watch television, or play a board game. I wanted to talk with Rei for hours about nothing, like I used to. I wanted to curl up with her and watch one of the shows Pal and Pul put on every week. They were quite the actors. I'd missed so many shows. I didn't even know what was on television anymore. Any of the shows I used to watch would be riddled with spoilers now, I was so far behind. Rei usually just told me to go to sleep if we even saw each other. She knew I wasn't up for anything. I was too tired. All. The. Time.

I looked down at the scattered pieces of my phone, deciding I'd pick them up tomorrow, and grabbed my briefcase. I walked down the hall to the staff room, spotting Babamon and MetalifeKuwagamon sitting at the table.

"I'm heading home," I told them, in case they cared.

"I _do_ hope you'll have information for us tomorrow," Babamon told me.

Why couldn't these guys just say "Bye" anymore? It wasn't like _they_ were trying to come up with answers of their own. They didn't dedicate every waking hour to protecting digimon-kind. They were sitting in the staff room for God's sake, eating coffee cake and playing tic-tac-toe! I was running myself ragged to help them, when they weren't bothering to help themselves. Divermon was still missing. _Tinkermon_ of all digimon was out there searching for him. The only thing that I'd ever seen her interested in was that spa of hers. But she was out there searching. Andromon was on the Knights, so was Centarumon, and _he_ was part of the lab team too. Leomon and Ogremon were carefully keeping track of their sectors. Why weren't MetalifeKuwagamon and Babamon doing their part? When did tea-time become more important to them than their friend's life?

"I hope _you_ have some for me," I informed them. "Or else I'll have to think about assigning someone new to your positions. You're always hanging around the Temple. Go out and do your damn jobs!"

They looked at me like I was crazy for _daring_ to shout at them. I was fuming. How could they not see that?

"I'm thinking Palmon and Tentomon are looking mighty promising," I warned them. "And _they_ are willing to do as they're damn told. Maybe we need some _younger_ energy on the jobs, eh Babamon?"

"Well, I never!" she gasped. MetalifeKuwagamon knew that Tentomon had every right to usurp his position, since his digivolution—TyrantKabuterimon—was the _king_ of all bug types. The threat would work on him. I knew that much. Babamon on the other hand... Maybe I should seriously think of having her replaced. Her knowledge was valuable, but Centarumon and Tinkermon had been around just as long, and they sure seemed to care more. Babamon clearly realized how serious I was being—maybe she saw it in my eyes—and she stood tall. Well, as tall as she could. "I will find what I can," she said testily. "I do my part, you'll do yours."

"Sounds fair," I said firmly. "I'm leaving."

I didn't wait for her to say anything else. I just left. I was tired, and I still had to walk home. Agumon was still doing something to do with the Knights. Maybe Neo sent them out on another scouting mission. I didn't know. He'd come home soon though. He never slept at the Temple, and no matter how stressed Agumon got, it never affected his sleeping habits. He _was_ a stress eater though.

It took me twenty minutes to walk home. On a good day, it took six. Today was not a good day. I was miserable, dreading the look on Rei's face when she realized I was going to pass out soon, and that I wouldn't be up for entertainment. She loved to entertain. She liked hosting dinner parties, or having friends over. But these were dangerous times, and everyone was always busy. I could only hope there'd be time for her parties after we finished this.

There was an annoying noise ringing through the entrance way when I'd made it inside. It was a sort of plucking. Like a guitar, only it was the same note every time. And the note rang out only once every five or so seconds. I headed towards the living room, where the sound originated thinking I'd find Pal or Pul playing with a toy. Instead I found Rei lounging on the couch, plucking the same string and looking generally _very_ bored. She had the guitar Yamato had given her for her birthday across her lap, and was staring at the ceiling. I spotted Pal and Pul passed out on the coffee table. Rei had covered them with a blanket, and it was a testament to how tired she must've made them that they didn't wake up to that annoying plucking she was doing. She heaved out a large sigh.

"Bored?" I asked. She nearly threw the guitar across the room, but she caught it at the last second, sitting up in less than a second. She _did_ let out a high-pitched scream though. Pal and Pul looked like they were going to wake up, but Pal just rolled over, draping an arm over Pul.

"Don't _do_ that!" Rei hissed at me. But she couldn't stop a smile from spreading across her face. "And if you _must_ know, I was practicing. I'm not good at this though. I thought if I practiced a lot, I'd get really good, and Yamato and I could write a song together or something, but it's not working. It doesn't help that Pal and Pul are sleeping on my sheet music."

"But you're bored," I repeated, grinning. She was determined not to call it that. She would come up with a different hobby, but she wouldn't say she was _bored_. She detested the word. She knew there was always something to do, she just had to go find it.

"I'll have you know I finished the sweater I was making for Agumon today," she said proudly. "And it matches the sweaters I made for you and me. I'm going to make a pair for Pal and Pul too, but I thought I would try something else for a bit." In other words? She got bored of knitting. "I also finished that series of scrapbooks I was making. I've now included all the pictures I've ever taken ever. So I'm going to have to get some more of those, to continue chronicling my life. I installed the bridge I made of popsicle sticks and glue in the bathroom. It now bridges the gap between the countertop and the toilet tank. Pal and Pul thought it might be fun to walk across, instead of flying."

"Fun day," I said, rolling my eyes. She'd been taking pictures _just_ to have more to scrapbook lately, and she took up knitting _only _when Sora told her it was great fun but really time consuming. She made the bridge to test how weight was dispersed, and she even made a Rube Goldberg machine that would turn the kettle on for her after eighteen complicated steps that she had to reset every time she used it. She learned how to do a cartwheel, and could now do a handstand for thirteen full seconds before falling down. She could run a mile in just over seven minutes, and on a lark she learned to river dance. She'd read a book on bird watching before realizing there weren't any non-digimon birds in the Digital World, and decided to learn to fold a linen napkin seven different ways.

She _had_ to be running out of ideas.

"I shouldn't be lacking for ideas," Rei said, heaving another big sigh. "There's always been a long list of things I wanted to do. Stuff I _couldn't_ because I couldn't use my legs. I can move them now, but I don't want to actually _do_ any of the stuff. I think I only wanted to _because_ I couldn't. Not because I thought I'd like it."

"I wish I had more time to do stuff with you," I told her.

"You don't have to," she said. "I want a job. I really, _really_ want a job. But there aren't a lot of jobs that I can do on Earth, but there aren't many jobs here at all. Isn't there _something_ I can do? I don't even need to be paid. I swear. Just give me something to _do_!"

"So you _are_ bored then," I said with a smirk.

"Taichi," she whined. "I'm being serious. If _you_ don't, what about Digitamamon? I could be a waitress. I never got the chance to do that before. It's even one of the things on my list. Not my favourite thing on that list to be sure, but I need to do _something_."

"I can ask around," I said. "But _only_ if you admit to being bored." I was teasing her of course. I wanted her to be happy. And I knew that Neo would _make_ a job for her if I asked. She was slowly driving herself insane being cooped up all the time.

She narrowed her eyes at me, and a smile was toying with the corners of her mouth. She opened her mouth to answer me, but didn't end up saying anything. The front door slammed open, causing Pal and Pul to awaken. There was the sound of several hurried feet, and Agumon came into the living room, followed by my mother's Dorumon and Kotemon.

"What's going on?" I demanded in a panic. Why were they in such a hurry? Were there _more_ digimon at the Temple? Had they caught a human actually putting them there? Did they have answers? I needed to know!

"We've got information about Etemon," Dorumon said proudly.

"More specifically," Kotemon said. "On the last place he was located before his data ceased to exist in all planes of existence."

My heart clenched tightly and all of my remaining energy left me all at once. I sank to the couch, partially sitting on part of Rei's guitar. It wasn't comfortable in the slightest, but I couldn't care less at that moment.

"How do you know?" Rei asked for me.

"Koushiro," Agumon said as though it explained everything. And it kind of did. "He did some digging. He couldn't reboot the file, because it was wiped from existence. He thought maybe it was just hidden somewhere, but he found the spot where it was deleted from."

"But it's confirmed?" I asked hesitantly. "That he's been _deleted_? He's gone?"

"Yes," Agumon said. His eyes were tight, and I knew he was solemn and scared. It wasn't a look I ever liked to see on his face. He was usually so happy and bright. But he—we all—had just learned that there was a way to permanently delete a digimon. I thanked the stars that Neo didn't know how to do it. He'd caused Patamon and Agumon to be rebooted as eggs, and that wasn't even mentioning his jogress addiction.

I could have _lost_ Agumon.

I felt the bile rising in my throat. Was this how Mari felt all the time? I knew it was hard, but this feeling... and I hadn't even lost Agumon permanently. It was just because I _could_. I shook my head. I needed to breathe. There was work to be done. I wouldn't be going to bed yet.

"Koushiro is so mad," Dorumon told me. "He was determined to find all the digimon _alive_."

It was bittersweet, that's for certain. We finally had our answers. But it was the answer we hoped to avoid. It was nice to actually _know_ what was going on. But it was dreadful. And scary.

"The number is up to twenty-seven too," Agumon told me.

"All of them," I said, because it had suddenly hit me. It wasn't just _Etemon_ that was deleted. It was tweny-seven digimon. When had they added another one? "Divermon?"

"Koushiro is trying to dig up the location of deletion for Divermon as we speak," Kotemon informed me. "After, he plans on running through the list. He's aiming to find more answers."

Of course he was. When was he ever not? Okay. Breathe Taichi. Etemon is gone. Divermon is gone. Twenty-five other digimon _all_ _gone_!

"Where was he? Where was Etemon?" I asked finally. It was the best place to start. The only place really.

"Myotismon's old castle," Kotemon said.

"Why?" I asked, confused.

"We don't know," Agumon said. "Koushiro suggested that it might've had something to do with the door inside the castle."

"The one we used the Gomamon card on?" I clarified, though it was unnecessary to do so.

"That's the one," Agumon confirmed.

"What's so special about the door?" Rei wanted to know.

"Myotismon's door could travel between the worlds," I told her. "Without a key. But the castle was destroyed a long time ago. No one should've been able to get to it."

"But someone did," Agumon said, his voice thick with emotion. "And they destroyed Etemon when they got there."

This was too much. Far too much. I couldn't handle this. Not without sleep. Not without a plan. Not without a team.

What had Etemon been doing there? I wondered if he was trying to copy Myotismon's battle strategy, finally ready to join the _big_ leagues. But he'd gotten caught. By something. I needed more. I needed to know who it was. I wished we were in the streets of Earth, fending off Etemon's attacks. He might've been evil, but he wasn't _bad. _He was funny even. He didn't deserve to go out like that.

"What are we going to do about it?" I asked, mostly to myself.

"Maybe some of the Knights could stand guard," Dorumon suggested. He was itching to do something more than scout missions.

"No," I said firmly.

"Why not?" Dorumon demanded. "I'm strong enough. I could do it!"

"Etemon was strong too," I reminded him. "It's a horrible idea to put the Knights there. This person—this _thing_—was able to get Etemon. It's stupid to send a digimon there when it could mean deletion. We're not dealing with recycling data anymore. It's not _safe_."

"Oh!" Rei shouted. "I can go! I'm a human. Not a digimon. They can't delete me. This is perfect Taichi. You don't have anybody that you can afford to station there. I'm doing _nothing_ all day. Let me help you, Taichi."

"I can't—" I started. I didn't want to risk her either.

"I'm not a digidestined, I know," Rei said. "But they're busy most of the time. I don't have a job. I won't be needed if a fight breaks out somewhere. I _can_ sit around and watch a door. Let me be useful Taichi. Let me _help_."

"Damn it," I said, giving in. She was right. I didn't have any other options. I needed the digidestined on call, in case things got worse.

"I won't let you down," she said with a grin. "I'll find who did it. And then we can get justice for those poor digimon."

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Miyako is familiar with nightmares, but what happens when real negatives try to wedge themselves into her life? What happens when Michael learns about the affect the media can have on the mind of a rising star?


	13. Nightmare

**Y/N: **One of my least favourite characters plays a part in this chapter. I don't even know why I hate him so much, but I can tell you he's in Michael's part. I hate him more than any of the bad guys we've ever written. He just puts my teeth on edge. There's only two characters that are at his level of dislike, Hikari's boss, and Kurayami's therapist. None of them are major characters, so I don't understand why I have such intense negative feelings for them, but whatever. Point is, one of them is in it, and it's like nails on a chalkboard to me—which is actually a credit to Urazamay's writing, since he created and is entirely responsible for all three of the characters I despise. This note is long, and it doesn't even _say_ anything. Oops. I wrote Miyako's part, and I really liked the friendship developed in it. Read and review if you so choose!

**U/N: **Don't remember much about this chapter but I like Miyako and Michael, so that's certainly something. Sorry about the not uploading on the schedule we promised, but I'll be working harder to ensure at _least_ two go up a week, hopefully one every other day like we said from now on. So yay. Enjoy? And y'all should review a bit?

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 2: Challenge**

**Chapter 13: Nightmare**

_**Miyako Ichijouji:**_

"What do you think about lilies?"

"Most people use roses," I offered.

"I know, but that seems too...common, don't you think? I don't want her to think I'm boring."

"Ken bought me roses last week," I said, slightly offended.

"But you're married, _that_ alone makes it special. I think Dad stopped getting Mom flowers after she accepted his proposal. You're still getting flowers, so that's romantic. Right?"

"Sure it is," I said, rolling my eyes. I still typed 'lily meaning' into the computer in front of me. I was leaning on the library desk. Mari gave me instructions before she'd left to America, she wanted me to continue cataloging her books while she was away. I was getting paid to do it, so it wasn't too bad. Just really boring. The library wasn't open to the public, so no one came in to visit. It was starting to wear on my patience. I'd started reading a book about babies before Mantarou called. I wished I still was. It was full of repetitive information and was written rather dryly, but it was _still_ more interesting than hearing about my brother's new girlfriend. They'd been dating for three months. That's it. And he was acting like they'd be together forever.

I could remember acting like that about Ken, but that was different! Ken and I were meant to last. I would rather jump off a _cliff_ than be related to this _woman_.

"It says here that lilies are best given to new mothers or brides-to-be," I told him. Hmm. Maybe he'd get me some when my baby was born.

"Maybe she'll take it as a sign!" he exclaimed happily. I winced.

"Or she might think you're moving _way_ to fast, and dump you," I cautioned.

"It can be a sort of test, right?"

He started ranting about how it was the perfect way to test her dedication to their romance, and see if she thought it was heading the same direction he did. It was sickening to hear. So I tuned him out. My mind turned to a much more serious topic—as it often had in the last couple of days. The fashion show.

_Visions of the catwalk and Hikari's unconscious body flooded my sight, and though she'd woken up, and was alright, I couldn't help but feel the same fear I had then. My baby! I was always worried about my baby..._

_I called for Ken when I'd gotten a chance. I couldn't tell him much, just that things were dangerous, and that we needed help. Someone was attacking the models._

_He arrived, though my memory of it was fuzzy. My worry for my baby was rivaled by my worry for my friends. I was panicking, and I remember distinctly the moment when Ken got to me. He touched my arm, and I collapsed into his. I watched over his shoulder as his fellow officers slapped cuffs on the three, big men that had been picketing at Mimi's restaurant. The ones that started this mess. I watched as Michan tried to slip away, dragging her friend Tako behind her. She was trying to blend into the crowd. Acting like she'd been a victim too. But Mimi called her out._

_Too many of the guests for the fashion show had followed in these men's footsteps. Too many to be charged. Many of them left the moment they saw the police uniforms. Six or seven remained, dedicated to the cause they'd been fighting for. They too were taken in for questioning._

_The ambulances arrived after that. Paramedics checked us all over. I had to tell _another_ person about my baby. She gave me extra attention. She respected my privacy and didn't tell anyone. I remember being so sure that she would tell Ken. Because I wasn't focused. I was still scared. My mind wandering miles per second. I couldn't grasp what was going on. It was too much for me._

"Miyako?"

_I was in a daze. I didn't even see them take Hikari in the ambulance, with Taichi by her side, to the hospital for further testing. Neo was with Rei, they wanted to take her in too, because of her nasty fall out of her chair. She was trying to refuse, but Neo wouldn't let her. Sora was on the floor, in a worse daze than my own, staring at the ruins of her show. Yamato wanted to be near her, to comfort her, but he didn't know how. Instead, he stuck close to Mimi, with Hideto and Kiyoko, leaving Koushiro to try and break through to his best friend._

"Miyako?"

_Ken pulled me out of the mall. He asked Jou to take me home with him, Emiko and Momoe. I couldn't be alone, he said. I needed to be surrounded by people, or else I'd fall deeper into the panic. Jou agreed. I spent the rest of the night listening to Momoe rant about Jun's wedding plans, until Ken was finally dismissed from work, and we could go home. We curled up in our bed, hugging Wormmon and Hawkmon close—though they didn't understand why. A practice I still hadn't given up. Hawkmon was starting to get annoyed..._

"Miyako!"

"What?" I asked, jerking back into the present.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really," I admitted.

"Want to talk about it?" he offered.

"Yes," I said. "It's like this—"

"Oh, wait," he said suddenly. "I've got a call coming in. I can't ignore it, she'd hate me. I'll call you back later okay? I'll listen then. How does that sound?"

I didn't bother answering him. There wouldn't have been any point. He'd already hung up on me so he could talk to his girlfriend. I hated that woman. So much. I was having a lot of trouble handling everything, and he ditches me in my hour of need because of his girlfriend. Because he doesn't want to keep her waiting. Doesn't want her thinking she's not the most important person in the world. I could understand that, really I could, _if_ she was _worth_ it. But she was not. And I was angry that my own brother was so willing to abandon me for her.

No one knew anything about her. Not even Mantarou. She didn't share _anything_ about herself, but was determined to milk any and all information out of Mantarou about not only _his_ life, but his family's too. She was so prissy. She was prim and proper when our parents were around, but the second they left the room she was a real _witch_. She was demanding and controlling and Mantarou was _always _asking me for ideas for gifts, despite the fact that both her birthday and Christmas were _way_ far off. She'd never done anything—as far as I knew—to deserve one, but I always ended up caving and telling him things anyway. His favourite gift by far was flowers. He got them all the time—twice a week at the very least—but his stupid girlfriend was always acting like he never did anything for her.

I knew for a fact that the Inoue family didn't live up to her standards, and _obviously_ Mantarou wasn't being upfront about his true nature. He was a free spirit—practically a hippy—but this girl had him in a suit and tie, actually utilizing the degree he'd gotten in business that he _gladly_ would have let gone to waste. He was now a part of a world that he didn't _fit_ with, but she'd twisted his head around to the point where he _thought_ he was happy. But it was obvious that he wasn't. It wasn't funny. Not like when Chiziru got a boyfriend and became a different person for him. _That_ was funny. But only because she did it on purpose, and only for such a short period of time. But even _she_ had settled down—with a _nice_ guy. A guy that let her be herself, only emphasizing her best personality traits. Mantarou was lost to the Inoue clan. I couldn't find him anywhere in this new imposter.

Not that Dad cared. He _liked_ this girl, and the effect she seemed to have on his son. He liked that he got to meet her, that Mantarou wasn't so ashamed of him and Mom anymore. But that wasn't a good enough reason to let Mantarou get taken advantage of!

And yes, I was getting too involved with my brother's love life. I knew that. But I couldn't help it. It was the only _normal_ thing I could focus on without freaking out and panicking. If I didn't put all of my energies into something, visions of the fashion show come back, images of the wreckage the fire had caused the restaurant. The list of digimon that weren't coming back—_ever_—was also a common worry for me. And Hawkmon. I was so scared someone would grab him—or Wormmon—and I would never see him again. I couldn't handle that. I would _never_ be able to handle that.

And it wasn't only all of that. I was so worried about the baby. With all of this crap going on, how was I supposed to stay calm? Stress isn't good for a growing fetus. I needed to be calm, and not panic, but that was impossible with restaurants being burnt down, and riots happening at fashion shows.

It was like the real targets were the dreams of the digidestined. Mimi and Sora's were gone. And I don't know how stupid Daisuke thinks we are, because I totally noticed that he was never at work anymore, and when he claimed that he was, he was working at the cart in the Digital World, instead of Earth. I noticed. Oh _did_ I notice. I searched high and low for that damn cart! I couldn't find it anywhere, and I was really _craving_ his teriyaki noodles. The rumor on the streets was that the cart was vandalized. That was a third dream. And he hadn't even told us. And Yamato! His friends kicked him out of his own band. That was a fourth dream.

Was this going to be a thing? A common thread that linked all of the attacks together? I couldn't let it be. I really couldn't. My biggest dream was to be a mother. And I was freaking out all the time because there was an actual chance that they could take that away from me. One strong hit to the stomach, a fall down some stairs... It wouldn't exactly be hard for them. I couldn't let them do that. And I was so scared. I just had to wait until the three months were up to tell anybody. Why couldn't three months go by faster? I needed help. I needed someone to tell me that things were going to be okay.

I needed to calm down!

And I needed a decent night's sleep. I couldn't get that either though. Because my dreams were plagued by the one thing that scared me above everything else. Sigma. And I was pretty sure it was because of my baby. Why was he haunting me now? Was he not really dead? Was that why all this stuff was happening? The peace was only supposed to come when we'd defeated the Great Evils. Yes. Trust still had to swoop in and deal with the one from Earth, but what about Sigma? If he was haunting my dreams again...maybe that was why the peace didn't last long enough for Trust to show up.

Weren't we supposed to enjoy peace and quiet while we waited for him—or her? Didn't we _deserve_ it? And then, whenever Trust arrived, _then_ things could go to hell in a hand basket. But not before.

But it was.

So maybe that meant that Sigma really _was_ back, and he was after my baby?

Oh God. I needed to talk to somebody. Somebody who could talk me out of my worries. Mantarou's girlfriend wasn't enough to distract me this time. I curled my hands around my stomach, protecting my little bundle of joy. Nothing could take it from me. I wouldn't let them. My breathing sped up, and I lowered myself—shakily—to the floor, having a brief meltdown. I needed help. Who could help me?

Ken. He would be the obvious choice. But I wasn't ready for that. The three months weren't up yet, and he was the most important reason to wait. If something went wrong before the first trimester ended, I didn't want him to suffer the disappointment of losing the child. Not when it would've been _my_ fault. No. I wouldn't do that to him. I'd rather suffer in silence then tell him I wasn't able to give him the family we both so desperately wanted.

Daisuke? He was one of my closest friends, but he was also _Ken's_ best friend. I couldn't tell Daisuke before I told Ken. Daisuke had a big mouth. He was likely to go straight to Ken and blab about it, saying how great it would be to both have babies around the same time.

Iori. He already knew about the baby. I wouldn't be breaking my promise to myself about waiting another time. But he wasn't the best at comfort. He was actually ridiculously _bad_ at it. Besides, he was in class. I couldn't wait until it ended. I needed help _now._

Sora and Mimi were out of the question, despite how much I valued their opinions. I couldn't heap my own troubles on top of theirs. I didn't want to be selfish during their time of need.

Kurayami was very good at giving council. But I didn't know her nearly as well as I'd like to. I didn't want to share my deepest fears and secrets with someone that didn't understand me. I liked her, but I didn't really _know_ her. Not well enough to share. I knew Hikari...but she was so happy all the time. I didn't want to rain on her parade.

But Mari...

I knew Mari enough. Mari knew enough about my fears and dreams and I trusted her with everything. She'd always kept all of my secrets before. She probably had some stored in her memory bank that even _I_ had forgotten. Mari would be the best choice.

I counted out the days in my head. She _should_ be back from America by now. She was probably jetlagged and irritable, not wanting to be disturbed... But it was worth chancing. I needed her. I pulled myself to my feet, grabbing my coat, fastening it securely before folding my arms in front of my stomach again. If I was going out in public, I was going to be protected.

The walk to the Alias III apartment was long. And horrible. I saw danger in the eyes of every person that passed me on the sidewalk. In the eyes of small children—who might knock me over on accident—and in those of the business men and women, walking confidently in their suits, talking on their hand-free headsets. One homeless man wearing several coats jumped up when I passed and I screamed, drawing strange looks. He assured me he only wanted some spare change. I threw a few smaller bills at him. His eyes lit up and he thanked me profusely. I felt guilty for it. I'd only done it to get him away. Everyone was a potential enemy. I was too scared to think straight. I'd seen him several times in the past. I'd always given him some change. We'd had long conversations before. I didn't need to fear him. But I did. This wasn't good. I couldn't be seeing friendly faces as enemies.

I quickened my steps and nearly ran down the hallways to Mari's door—careful not to trip along the way. I banged my fist against the door hastily, faster and faster until the door opened and I'd hit Hideto in the chest. He caught my hand and sent me a concerned glance.

"Mari," I gasped. "Is Mari here?"

"No," Hideto said. "She's still in America. I don't know when she's coming back."

"I thought she was supposed to be here," I said, desperately. "I need to talk to her. I _need_ to."

"Calm down," he said. "I'll...make tea or something. That calms people, right?"

"I can't have tea," I said dismissively.

"Then hot water with lemon. Just get inside, okay?" he said, pulling me through the door. He glanced both ways down the hallway and then closed the door. "What's this all about?"

"I can't tell you," I said. "I need to tell_ Mari_."

"Mari's not here," he said. "But I am. And I'm willing to help you. What do you need?"

I debated it. Hideto wasn't even one of the people I'd considered talking to. But he _did_ understand the Sigma thing. And he was willing to help me... and I'd already made up my mind to talk to _somebody_ about this. Baby secret and everything else...

"Fine," I said. "It's really kind of freaking me out and—"

"Yeah," he said. "I'm going to stop you right there. I've got to get going."

"But you just offered to help," I said petulantly.

"And I will. But I've got to get to the restaurant. Mimi asked for me to be there. I don't really want to let her down, you know?" he said. "We can talk there though. On the way there too."

"Fine," I said. I waited impatiently for him to put his coat on and find his shoes. When he was finally ready, he held his hand up to silence me, urging me to wait until we were out of the building and away from prying eyes before I spilled my guts.

"Okay," he said. "Have at it."

"Thank you," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. I had wrapped my arms around my middle again, instinctively, my eyes flitting around at anything that moved, judging its threat level. Hideto gave me a weird look and I tried to pry my arms off, but I couldn't. I was too scared. "I'm scared. Of everything. But mostly Sigma."

"He's dead," he said firmly.

"Is he though?" I demanded. "Do we have any real proof? He's staring in my nightmares again. Did you know that? I'm scared that I'll wake up with bloody arms and scratches again. I'm so scared that I can't sleep. And everything's going horribly wrong during the daylight hours as well, and I just don't know what to think anymore."

"He's dead," he said more fiercely. "He _is._ And you're obviously worried about that baby of yours, so I'm guessing that it's just your subconscious putting a face to the mystery we're facing, and since Sigma is the one thing that scared you most, he's the one that's showing up in your dreams."

"What!?" I shouted awkwardly. "I don't know what baby you're talking about. I'm not having a baby. Get real Hideto."

"You are the most obvious person in the face of the planet, you know that, right?" he asked, raising his eyebrow at me. "You're protecting the baby right now. You're cradling your stomach. Only pregnant people do that. If you're going for subtlety, you're failing. I'd say _stop_ doing that, if you don't want to get noticed, but I don't know if you're able to do that."

"I can't," I admitted. "I'm so scared all the time."

"And you have reason to be," he agreed. "But don't let that fear rule your life."

"How do you propose I do that?" I asked him. He seemed full of it. How did he expect me to let go of my panicked thoughts? Did he not know me _at all_? Panic was a huge part of who I was. It came to me as easy as breathing.

"Trust yourself," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Trust your friends. Let your husband know when things are bothering you. Talk it out—if not with him then with _somebody_. Don't hold it back. Don't let it fester. You can't let something go if you don't come to terms with it. So do that. Find someone that is objective, and won't try to force their opinions onto you. Find someone that's willing to just _listen_ and let you figure it out on your own. That's all you _can_ do."

"So you really think Sigma's just a figment of my imagination?" I asked in a small voice.

"I think you were _there_ when he was killed, and you know without a doubt that he _did_ get destroyed," Hideto said. "And those add up to one thing: he's not coming back."

"Thank you," I said, feeling a huge portion of my fear and tension leaving my shoulders. There was still a lot there, but I felt a lot better. "It makes sense. I don't know why I couldn't see it before."

"Your fear was clouding your judgement," he said. "And I fully understand that. You know, Sigma was the one that scared me most too."

The easy way with which he acknowledged that made me feel better. I wasn't the only one that was scared of him. I had a big reason to be, but he didn't live with _me_. I was sure there were things that Mari, Hideto and Kiyoko had gone through that were just as horrid, even if they weren't the same.

I didn't tell him how I felt about it. Partly because I didn't want to remind him of things he would probably rather forget, but mostly because we'd arrived at the restaurant and I lost any desire to talk. It was worse than the newspaper photographs depicted. I was scared to go inside, but Hideto was walking confidently through the scorched doorway. If he didn't think it would collapse on him...

"It's not completely ruined," he told me, seeing how tense I was. "The structure is pretty sound. It'll need some work, mostly inspection. New paint. The chairs and tables are garbage—what's left of them anyway. And Kiyoko's going to have to come up with a new design. He's not looking forward to it. This was his and Mimi's baby after all. He's almost as distraught about this as Mimi is. Almost. Not that I'd know for sure, since Mimi won't exactly _talk_ to anyone about it."

"Add the electrical wiring to your list," I suggested. "Someone's going to need to check that nothing was melted during the fire. It's not safe to just leave it."

"M'kay," he said, typing a note into his phone, so he'd remember. "Thank God Koushiro insisted Mimi have a digital copy of her paperwork on her laptop. She'd left it at home the day of the fire, thankfully. I don't want to see Mimi all strung up because of it again. Izumi and I had to issue a stress leave."

"Do you think it'll be redesigned entirely, like last time?" I asked.

"Don't know," he said, shrugging. "I do know that Mimi's office is going to be gutted and changed completely. Not because of the fire damage—"

"But because of the memories," I said, understanding completely. I could tell just by looking at him that it was hard for Hideto to be here. I couldn't imagine how much worse it would be for Mimi. She'd almost lost her life in the fire. And Palmon's. "Speaking of Mimi... Where is she?"

He pointed his finger in the direction of the kitchen. "There. But she doesn't want to talk."

"Still?" I asked, saddened by the news.

"Yeah," he said. "So I've just been giving her space." I decided I'd do the same. I was here as Hideto's guest. I didn't want to be a pest. "Is that all that's bugging you?"

"No," I admitted. "But I doubt you want to hear me rant about my brother's stupid new girlfriend. So I won't make you endure it. Just know that's she's horrible, and you agree." He snorted. "I want to thank you. For listening. For _helping_."

"I didn't really do anything," he said, embarrassed. It was a new look on him, and it didn't suit him. He was always so bold, confident. To see that confidence wavering felt wrong. But I couldn't help but think I'd gotten a glimpse at the real Hideto. "You did most of the work anyway. But I do think you should think about telling Ken. About the baby I mean."

"It's crossed my mind," I told him. "But my three month mark is closing in fast. I might as well just wait now. It won't make _too_ much of a difference."

_**Michael Washington:**_

I rolled my head back, over the edge of the couch and relaxed. I was lying along the length of the cream, light orange and gold coloured couch, my legs resting on top of Betamon who had crawled underneath them. The walls had some really annoying wallpaper on them, though it did look nice, I just wasn't really a wallpaper kind of guy. I didn't want to change anything though, because it was Willis' house.

The room—along with every other room in the house smelled of burnt popcorn. Jenna and Chi had attempted to make some popcorn to watch a movie in the screening room, but Jenna forgot about it and it burnt. Even after I'd told her to not forget about it. Mari had actually left the house to get away from the smell, which was as strong as it had been an hour ago when it had happened.

Across the room I could hear Tatum's keyboard clicking away like mad as she finishing something up for her research work job. She'd completely abandoned being an actress, and was happier than ever. She outgrew the drama of it all—thank god—and had moved on to what really made her happy, which was using her natural talent. Her brain. I liked to think I was smart too, and to a point, I was. But not as smart as she was. Or Willis, or Koushiro. I just knew random facts about things I felt like learning. Luckily, I didn't have to be smart. I was an actor.

I'd just hosted an interview in the sitting room, where some nosey lady kept asking me annoying questions about my personal life instead of my career. They all seemed to. It was rare to find one that cared about what I was doing outside of dating. Though, with Tatum being a celebrity at one point herself—having been a recurring guest star on a popular television show, and filming one movie as a side character—the interviewer only wanted to know what was next for her. Where would we next see Tatum Jefferson.

I told them they'd be seeing her on the cover of a magazine. Probably Time magazine for being the most brilliant girl in all of America. Then she'd probably become president or something equally amazing.

Then Tatum ruined my compliment by walking into the room in a onesie. The pajamas were cute—it was the fact that they saw her right then, instead of on the magazine like I'd predicted. Then the interview changed to a couple's interview about coupley things.

"_When are we expecting a marriage?" The interviewer asked._

"_We're still young." Tatum said, avoiding my eyes. She held her cereal bowl closer to her face and took another bite, trying to hide her flushing cheeks._

"_But you're only getting older from this point onward." The interviewer responded, pushing annoyingly._

"_I'm only twenty six." I said with a shrug, "Tatum's birthday was less than a month ago." _

"_If you plan to get married to each other, why wait?" The lady asked._

"_If we're planning on getting married to each other, what's the rush?" Tatum countered smartly. "We'll get married when he asks me."_

"_And I'll ask when I'm ready." I added, looking to her with a smile. She smiled back. _

We'd handled that well. Well enough at least. It was when the interviewer moved on though that was the problem.

"_What about children?"_

_Tatum looked to me, "Baby?" She asked._

"_What?" I asked in return._

"_A baby." The interviewer confirmed._

"_Where?" I was flustered._

"_Why?" Tatum continued._

"_When will you be having a child?" The interviewer asked again, "We want to know!"_

"_Babies are weird." Tatum said, laughing nervously._

"_What are babies?" I finished stupidly._

It had been a topic Tatum and I had always avoided. Tatum was not one to keep something to herself if it was troubling her, and so I knew that if she wanted to talk about it, she would have. Thankfully she didn't want to, and neither did I. We weren't ready for a baby. Not yet anyway. We were in love, and I totally intended to marry her when the time came, but I just didn't want a kid yet. Maybe in a couple years... but not now. Not yet.

But Daisuke and Kurayami had Haruki now—and of course there was Emiko... were we all supposed to pop out children now? Were they all supposed to be friends? Maybe we should wait simply in spite of that idea. Maybe, just to make sure our kids don't go through any ridiculous love triangles, we could wait to have our kids until Haruki was older. I didn't want to have a daughter—or son—who was in love with one of the digidestined children. I'd had it hard enough when I was in love with Mimi... Koushiro and Jou were in this weird love square thing going on, and it just became complicated. I didn't want my kids to go through that too... no. I'd wait this one out.

Betamon snorted down by my feet and caught my attention. He was drooling a little in his sleep, which was kind of gross to be honest. Monodramon was sleeping on the end of the bed, a good five feet away from us, snoring softly, and just past him was Tatum, still wearing her argyle onesie, and on her computer. Her hair was tied in a ponytail, and judging by the relaxed look on her face she appeared to be done working.

And then the relaxation melted away and she gasped.

"You're joking..." she muttered, appalled. I sat up accidentally hitting Betamon's fin with my foot and waking him up. I jumped to my feet and walked toward our comically large bed. Tatum was sliding her finger across the screen of her laptop and reading something very quickly in her head.

When I sat down next to her I was able to read the title of the article she was reading, and I understood her disgusted facial expression.

_Tatum Jefferson is pregnant?_

Right underneath was a picture of her from her movie where she'd played a pregnant teenager in a zombie apocalypse. I grabbed her resting hand comfortingly and squeezed it gently.

"The whole article is about what we talked about today," she said with a groan. "Who even cares though? I haven't been in anything for years!"

"That would be my fault," I said with a sigh. "It also, is the job of my publicist to get it off the internet. Like, now."

Tatum laughed coldly, and pushed her computer off of her lap where it landed softly in the depths of the deep red duvet that covered our entire bed. "Don't bother. Mr Smith isn't going to be doing anything useful here." I cocked my head, confused. I didn't know Tatum had such little faith in him. "Has he ever?" I thought that was a little harsh. Mr Smith did everything for my family. He instructed us in every aspect of our careers, keeping our reputations in check, and he even found us jobs every now and then. Sure he wasn't the kindest guy or the best kind of friend, but he meant well... usually.

Also he was selfish—but that wasn't a good point, so I'd not bring that up.

As it came to be, I didn't defend him for a moment. Instead my eyes caught sight of something on Tatum's computer screen. Part way through the article of her being pregnant, right after the line _'Jefferson refused to deny the pregnancy rumours'_ which was a lie as there weren't any pregnancy rumours until now, was a link in dark orange writing that read _"READ MORE: Michael Washington; Public Enemy Number One?"_

"Hey look, Tay," I sad with a grin. "I'm Harry Potter." Her eyes flicked to the computer and she smiled momentarily, but apparently the seriousness took her over. I didn't care about rumours and probably never would. Whatever this article had to say was probably nonsense anyway, and anyone it convinced was probably either dumb as a post, or as naive as a child. Tatum however, was invested in reading the entire article. The computer was pointed away from me, so I couldn't see, but since she was taking so long and, by the looks of her finger placement, even re-reading the article, I figured I should probably take a look.

The first thing I noticed was the picture of me and Betamon outside that dumb coffee shop we'd gone to a month ago. That was the day those idiots insulted Betamon, and we'd had to come home and cheer everyone up from their funks. It was a pretty horrible night, and that picture wasn't much better. My hair was windswept, pointing in odd directions—as it turned out, that sweater I'd worn didn't look good on me at all, and I looked a little cross eyed. And that's without even mentioning the horrendously red nose and ears I'd been sporting. I understood Mr Smith suddenly when he told me it was important to always look and be perfect. That was what I'd have to do. Try harder to be perfect.

"Michael..." Tatum said, reminding me that I was going to read the article. I looked down and was able to read one sentence before my phone began vibrating in my jeans pocket. _"Michael Washington, most known for his role in 'Travel Time' was seen here with his digital companion, shamelessly supporting their cause.'_

What cause was I supporting? And whose cause was it?

I answered my phone instead of asking Tatum though. "Hello," I said, realizing I hadn't looked to see who it was.

"Have you seen it?" The whining voice of Mr Smith came through the phone to my surprise. More often than not I'd have to contact him in any situation, and rarely would he ever call me. Unless it was something important.

"Seen what?" I asked nervously.

"The article."

"The one about Tatum being pregnant?" I asked, knowing that wasn't the one he had been referring to. I wasn't an idiot; I was just not in the mood to hear him rant and lecture me. "Don't believe it. It's not true."

"Stop playing dumb with me m'kay?" Mr Smith spat. "You know full well what article I'm talking about. You have no concept of reality, do you? You're just like your father—always with your head up in some cloud of make believe and optimism. I told you. I _told _you this would happen! And what did you do? You kept gallivanting around with the fish." I groaned loud enough that it disturbed Monodramon's sleep, and caused Betamon to startle back to a state of awareness. "Betamon is a _kind_ digimon. You know that. I know that. They don't—and they don't care either! You need to work on your image. How many times do I need to tell you that? Your image is who you are. You saved the world, yeah? No one cares. They care about what you think and how you look." I swear he never took a breath. "You look like crap in that picture by the way," he added hastily, trying to regain his composure after lecturing me.

"I know I did," I said flatly. "I know, believe me." I really didn't need him to point it out to me. Did he think I was blind? I saw more faults in myself than he ever would, so I was pretty sure it was time he laid off a little. I knew I wasn't the best looking guy ever, but I was doing my best, and even_ I_ was aware that my best wasn't good enough.

"The public is going to hate you now," Mr Smith said, ignoring me. "There's nothing I can do about that. You realize that right? It might die down on its own if you promise to stop bringing Betamon with you everywhere."

"No," I said without thinking. "That's not your decision. You get to pick my wardrobe when I go out—you get final say in what projects I pick up—but you don't decide who my friends are and you most certainly do _not_ pick my family. Betamon is my family, and I want people to know that."

"Michael Washington," Mr Smith argued. "You do not tell me how to do my job."

"You tell me how to do mine all the time."

"That _is_ my job!" Mr Smith whined.

Tatum's hand was still wrapped with mine and she wiggled her fingers nervously, watching and listening to me. I tried to not look to Betamon but he was sitting on the couch at the other side of the room still, and it was hard to not see him staring at me with his big round eyes. Monodramon was awake now too, and the pressure of having everyone listening to me was more than I'd anticipated. "Listen," I said to Mr Smith, "You said people care about what I think, and I've been informed that there's a group of people who think digimon are bad. If people care what I think then maybe I can make a difference in that thought process. I want them to know. I want people to look at me and see that I supported them."

"You'll ruin your career," Mr Smith said sharply.

"So be it," I said softly. "But wouldn't it be better to lose my career, and look back on this time knowing I stood for what was right, and did my best with the opportunities I'd been given, than to hide away and feel ashamed that I didn't try to help?"

There was a long silence and finally Mr Smith said, "Just wait until your father hears about this."

I hung up the phone when I realized the line was dead, and sighed. I wished more than ever that I was good at arguing. I thought I had a good point, but Mr Smith was smarter than I was, and as it seemed, he was going to go to my dad and get him to talk some sense into me, and I couldn't disobey my father... He was, well, he was my dad! Maybe I was just biting off more than I could chew. Maybe I was thinking too highly of myself. Maybe I couldn't make a difference at all and should stay at home and let the battler of diversity play on without me.

Never had I gone out in public to support people of different nationalities, even though I obviously did support them—most of my friends were Asian for goodness sake. I'd never spoken up about feminism—which I totally supported. I never stood up for the LGBT community—which I also supported.

Why should I go out and risk everything I had just to try to talk sense into people who were so stubborn they would never change their mind?

Once again, Betamon gave me the answer I was looking for. Just looking to him, and seeing him worn out from the crappy life he'd been given, sent the truth back to the forefront of my brain. Betamon was everything to me, and I knew Tatum felt the same about Monodramon, and I knew every other partner felt similarly about _their_ digimon. We had to not back down. That's what we had to do.

We had to go out and show every single person of the world why the digimon are the good guys.

I wasn't sure how to do that, but I wasn't going to pretend I didn't support them just so people liked me more...

"Betamon," I said calmly. "We're going for a walk."

"Cool," Betamon said with a grin. I knew he was worried I'd tell him I couldn't take him anymore. Worried that I'd turn on him. And it hurt me that he thought I could ever do such a thing. And now I'd just have to prove to him that I meant what I said when I'd told him I'd never let him down ever again.

I was already standing, heading to the door when I heard rustling on the bed. I turned back to see Tatum crawling over to the end of the bed, looking to me with wide eyes, "In the digital world?" she asked me. Suddenly that seemed like a way safer option...

"Nah," I decided. "That would ruin my plan."

"Oh my god!" Tatum said, frustrated as she threw her hands in the air. "There you go again about that darn plan! _What_ plan, Michael? What are you doing?"

"I can't tell you," I told her with a wink. "But it's good." She groaned and fell back onto the bed as I led the way for Betamon. We were heading down the east hallway when we passed Terriermon, who was dragging a stuffed bear along the ground.

He paused and looked to us with sad eyes, and continued on his way. I didn't know what to say. Both he and Lopmon were in a depressed mood. Willis had been gone for nearly a week now with no contact. I wasn't worried in the slightest though. Sometimes I didn't see him for long periods of time. He liked to camp, or go to the Digital World, or just go to a different country spontaneously. Though he would usually bring Terriermon and Lopmon with him, I figured he was fine anyway. Besides, if he'd shown up dead he would have been in the newspaper.

Mostly I wasn't worried because I knew if he showed up he'd be annoyed that we were worried about him. Though it was totally rude of him to not contact us—he wouldn't want us making a big deal out of it... but Terriermon and Lopmon were not okay with his disappearance. They missed him and were worried he'd never come back. They'd only been apart once—between 2006 and 2009 when the Digital World was closed off. And even then they were the first digimon we had found upon entering the world again.

The movie Jenna and Chi had chosen was specifically to cheer up Terriermon and Lopmon, but it had apparently not worked. Terriermon had left after all.

Coming down the stairs I could hear the movie playing underneath us faintly. I couldn't make out which movie it was, but I heard Dad's voice, so it was one of his I guessed. But it didn't matter much. Lopmon wasn't watching it either. She was sitting in the window seat of the dining room, which I noticed when I passed her. She had one hand up to the glass as she waited sadly, watching for him to come back.

Mari seemed worried too, I noted as I opened the door for Betamon to go through. She tried to pretend she wasn't, but one of the only reasons she was really here was because of Willis... I thought anyway. The other reason being Lalamon's mysterious flower that just liked to never die in the yard. She was out walking now, and even though she said it was because of the smell of the house, I thought maybe it was to look for him.

Maybe she thought she'd find him somewhere in a ditch or something. I didn't know. But every time his name was mentioned she checked her phone to check for any messages from him.

It was sad really, to see everyone so worried, but honestly, I just wasn't. Besides. He couldn't be in town or our digivices would locate him. There were only a few lights on the map though. I decided to check it again, just to mark them down in my memory again.

There were two back at our house, which was a good distance behind Betamon and I already. Two blinking lights noting that Jenna and Tatum were still at home. There was my dot in the center, pointlessly showing me my location. There were a few others. One behind me, which I guessed might be Mari, there were four others too. Two which were together—I knew that would be Sam and Maria. They were inseparable. The other two made sense to be Steve and Lou. Unless one of them had left town, and instead one was Willis...?

"Where are we walking?" Betamon asked, his fins stepping on the damp sidewalk. It had rained all the previous night. I loved when it rained, especially at night—it was so relaxing. And it made the air smell amazing, and since we'd just come from a ridiculously smelling house, the fresh air was even better than usual. It was warm now though. We were nearly in May, and winter was long past, something I couldn't be happier about. My hands got so dry in the winter...

I looked down to them and saw that there were flakes of white skin around my knuckles. I hadn't moisturized... I also hadn't checked a mirror before leave. Looking down I saw that my shoes were red, which simply countered the green jacket I was wearing.

What did my hair look like?

It didn't matter—I looked like crap. I genuinely considered going home to change, but we'd already been walking too long, there would be no point...

"Michael?" Betamon said cautiously. "You alright?"

"Yeah, fine," I told him. "We're going to follow the digivices," I said, showing him my screen. "We'll find Willis."

Betamon looked excited. He had been trying harder than anyone to cheer up Terriermon and Lopmon, and if we could bring Willis back to them then he'd certainly be pleased with himself.

The sun was entirely blocked out by the sun, so it was hard to be sure, but it seemed like it was going to get dark soon by the time we had arrived at the restaurant where the two lights had revealed two digidestined to be. Looking inside, Maria and Sam sat together, giggling like they were newly in love—which they were not. They'd been together for years.

Before we left the restaurant to keep looking Betamon requested a sandwich, so I ordered one to go, which proved to be pointless as he ate it in one bite.

Looking back to the digivice, I saw the light I'd thought to be Mari's had joined Jenna and Tatum proving me correct which meant there were only two left. The closest one led me straight to Lou's house, and there was no point going inside, that was enough evidence in my opinion.

The last one was a bit further away, so the walk took longer than I'd have liked. But when we were nearing it, Betamon decided he needed a break.

"But we're almost there," I said, pointing to the device in my hand.

"I have short legs Michael," Betamon said quickly. "Just let me rest!" And I had to obey. I couldn't keep pushing him—that wouldn't be right. So we found a bench and he climbed on top. I took my jacket off since he looked cold and laid it over top of him which certainly comforted him.

"Do you think he's okay?" Betamon asked softly. "Willis?"

"I do."

Betamon didn't say anything else. He just breathed deeply, closing his eyes. At one point I swore he was asleep, because he looked so relaxed, but I poked him and he opened one eye, so I guess he was just really exhausted.

With a quick glance to my digivice I noticed that the final light was coming toward me. That was good news. And then it stopped about a block away.

"Hey, Betamon..." I said, not taking my eyes away from the device. "I'll be right back." I told him.

"You're leaving me?" he asked, appalled.

"I'll be _right_ back," I promised. "You can come with me, but I'm just going around the block. I'm lazy and it looks like Steve won't come any closer."

"You're so sure it's Steve?" Betamon asked, and so I nodded. "Then why bother looking?"

"In case it's not," I said.

"Okay... well, hurry back," Betamon said with a laugh. "I'm comfortable."

I nodded and laughed with him, promising I'd be right back once more, and then I started jogging toward the light. As he wasn't far away it took me only a moment to locate him. And I was right. It was Steve. He was wearing a plaid shirt and black pants, which really made his partner SnowAgumon stand out like a sore thumb. Or like a snowman in the summertime, really.

I sighed, kind of disappointed that I was correct. I would have much preferred it to be Willis honestly. Not that I didn't like Steve—he was a cool guy, just that I wanted Willis back so everyone could stop worrying.

I would have stayed to talk to Steve, but I knew I should get back to Betamon, so I turned away and jumped, startled when I saw a girl. She looked to me with a flat expression and walked on. Her hair was long, dark and braided, and that was all I really noticed of her before she walked by me, her eyes fixed on something ahead of her.

My feet stopped moving on their own accord, something was off, and my mind and body were on different pages. I turned back, my stomach twisting a little as I tried to trust my instincts.

The girl who had passed me pulled a device out of her woven bag, and it proved that one should always trust their gut instincts. She was holding a white and silver gun, concealing it behind her back to some degree.

Who in the _world_ would walk around with a gun in the daytime? She was _crazy_. Then again, we were in America...

I was following the girl without any clear plan in mind, and before I knew it I was hiding behind a tree in the park I'd followed her too. She was staring at something I couldn't see, across the little pond. I crouched down and looked through the branches, and saw a pair of white dinosaur feet.

I crawled quickly into view, and looked to the girl with the long braid of hair, as she slowly held up her gun, trying to do so casually, pointing it directly to where Steve and SnowAgumon stood.

"STEVE!" I yelled. He looked up instantly, and SnowAgumon pointed either to me or to the girl. "RUN!" He didn't wait for a second, and the two of them shot off. The girl ran straight through the pond, trying to cut some time in her attempts to catch them but they were gone, and she swore loudly, throwing her gun to the ground in frustration, pulling at her hair.

She froze when she saw me, staring directly at me. I didn't follow her lead though. Instead I jumped to my feet and was rushing back to Betamon as quick as I possibly could. I didn't know what had just happened, but I did know she had to be one of those people who hated digimon, and I'd left Betamon alone on a bench.

I found the bench I'd left him on quickly, taking the most direct route, to ensure I'd get there as fast as possible, and was fueled with rage the moment I spotted it. A man was standing, his hands up in defense with Betamon growling at him from the bench.

Before I knew it I was standing between them and being shoved aside as the man grabbed at Betamon. I swatted his hands away and scooped Betamon into my arms.

"Get lost," I said sharply. The man thrust his body forward in attempt to frighten me and then stormed off. "Pick on someone of your own species."

"Oh, but the humans aren't the bad guys," he said, stopping in his tracks.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said. "I meant _your_ species. Neanderthal." The man was angry, but there were others standing around now, so he just turned and walked the other way.

"This this your plan?" Betamon asked shakily from my arms. "I don't like it."

"No," I said. "This was bad. My plan is good." Betamon snuggled closer to me, upset, and when I turned around I saw that everyone who had come closer to watch the fight was holding their phones up to record it. One of them exclaimed loudly that I was Michael Washington, and I groaned. I knew they were going to put it online, and it was only a matter of time before Mr Smith saw it.

And that sucked.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Willis and Mari deal with a weirdly formatted chapter explaining what's going on from a different perspective, and that's basically all I can say :P


	14. Forced Entry

**U/N: **uuughhhh. this is the poster chapter for all chapters with poor planning. But it ended up this way and it was kind of fun to write in the sense that it was a different story telling perspective. I'm sorry I failed already at keeping up to date with the schedule. I'm not at home, my sister has the files and wouldn't put them into doc manager. BUT this one is here.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 2: Challenge**

**Chapter 14: Forced Entry**

_**Willis Kennedy:**_

Once I'd tried to make a relationship work for a very long time when both parties knew full well that it was not going to work out.

Once I had made the decision to enter the Digital World when I thought it was in danger when, if I'd just stayed home that day I wouldn't have had to say goodbye to my two best friends for three full years.

Once I rejected the girl who I loved simply because—well there was no reason. I just did it.

Once I made the conscious decision to not use the rusted key my father had left for me, which resulted in time wasted, wondering about the fate of my family, when in reality, if I'd just used the damn key my mind would have been at ease knowing the truth.

Once I had tried to create friendship, greedy over the love that I felt with Terriermon and Lopmon, craving more affection. This attempted creation of friendship had resulted in a virus monster that had fled the country through Digital means and began targeting my future friends.

The point was... I'd made a lot of mistakes in my life. But the most recent mistake, and possibly the most boring, was that I'd chosen to stay behind inside my workplace instead of going home to my family and friends. Did I have a reason to stay in this building? No. I did not. It was simply curiosity that kept me here, and of course, as I knew, curiosity killed the cat.

I'd never understood that saying before. But now I did. I knew why.

Curiosity led to the cat being hungry and uncomfortable for days. Curiosity was the reason the cat had to shower in cold water daily, and the reason he wasn't wearing his own clothes. Curiosity caused the cat to be left to work permanently forever, with no hope of seeing his friends again for a long time. Curiosity was not something the cat would ever give in to again.

The cat, in this case, was me.

I was the cat.

I came to work Friday thinking'Gee, can't wait until I can go home tonight to that party that my friends want me to go to and fall asleep in my own bed tonight.'

But that wasn't how Friday had gone. Friday had been filled with tedious boring work where I'd not been allowed to leave, until finally my chance had arrived, and I chose... to stay? What was _wrong_ with me?

After everyone had left, Arnold had sat everyone who stayed down for a talk.

_Director Arnold stood at the front of the drafting room, staring to the side, out the wide window. We were seated in stiff, uncomfortable wooden chairs around a shining wooden table. There was a monitor at the end of the long oval shaped table, next to where Arnold would be sitting._

_The only others who had been stupid enough to choose to stay were all sitting around the table with me. I recognized only one of them. A man in his late fifties. He'd been working here as long as I had at least—probably longer. There were two other men, one looked like he was past retirement age, and the other around forty. There were two women, one with short curly hair in her fifties maybe, and the other with long blonde hair was probably the youngest person to work here aside from myself. _

_Arnold turned to us all gracefully, and floated to the end of the table, where he calmly sat down and placed his hands palm down. "I must thank you all," He said softly, "Thank you for coming to my rescue. It is of great importance to me that this particular assignment be worked on, and I couldn't be happier with who my team is compiled of." His eyes lingered on the blonde haired girl in a way that clearly said he did not want her there, "We have much to accomplish."_

_The girl whom he did not entirely like raised her hand. "Sir," She said, "What is it that we will be doing?"_

"_That is none of your concern." Arnold snapped. He honestly had the shortest fuse of anyone I'd seen, maybe ever, digimon _or_ human. It was like his calmness was a well rehearsed facade that he did not believe in, or enjoy, and whenever someone questioned it, or triggered even the smallest of his peeves, he would break. _

_We all knew what he was capable of. A few years back during our previous employers last mission, Arnold turned on him, and left the room. To be fair, there was no proof of that happening. It was all a rumour, but because of his personality, it seemed likely. He was the most ambitious person I could even imagine, and although ambition would usually be looked at as an asset, with him it was his most horrifying quality. He wanted power so badly that he would let his best friend die at the hands of a monster he, himself, had made. _

_Again. Rumours are just rumours—but seriously. That's the kind of thing he'd do._

"_But h-how will we know what to do?" The girl asked timidly._

"_You will do exactly as I say." Arnold said, trying to regain control of his temper. "No more interruptions." He spoke louder this time, "I do not take kindly to those who disrespect me." The girl in question blinked stupidly at him and he stood up again. "We are creating something big. Something more powerful than any of you could ever hope to dream of. Something that, if executed precisely will create true peace."_

_That seemed unlikely. Didn't he know that only the bearer of the crest of Trust could bring true peace? _

_Duh._

_But what he was saying did seem interesting. Something with enough raw power to create peace... _

_This coming from Arnold kind of frightened me though. What did that mean?_

"_Sir," I said, making sure he was not about to say anything. "Even with your sparklingly brilliant mind," He flashed a smile at me, showing me his teeth which were actually sparkling, "How did you dream of something so powerful?" I wasn't sure which questions to ask, but any information was better than no information._

"_A friend helped me," Director Arnold said gently, sitting down, once again calm and collected, "He and I worked together to envision a better world. A world where we will be looked at as heroes. A hero does not have to be the man of brawn. This time the hero will be the brains. Me. My plan will create peace to surround us all."_

_So he'd said._

_He then stood, grabbing a stack of papers, and began handing out thick packages of paper. One went to each of us, and we looked at them, some looked confused, but what I was seeing was fairly straight forward. I did create a lot of the software after all. _

'_Section A' _

_That was my task. I could do that._

Then we were given sleeping arrangements in which we were told to _not _sleep. At least for as long as we could. He didn't care if we were rested or not, he just wanted his work done, and there was a lot to be completed. And so we were told to make good use of the coffee machine in the kitchen and to sit down and work.

The actual sleeping arrangements involved the couches in the lobby, pulling out into a bed. I'd had to share a bed with some random guy who sweated like nobody's business and kept taking the blanket. It was disgusting. And to make matters worse, he snored like a pig. Like, loud as all hell.

The first night wasn't even so bad. I could handle being uncomfortable for a night or two, no matter what the predicaments. I loved camping after all, and I'd been stuck in adventure mode a time or two, so there was nothing that could slow me down in that department.

It was the fact that bad things just continued to pile up. First, the smelly puddle of sweat that I had to sleep with, and then the fact that the coffee machine made coffee that tasted like tar, though it did effectively wake me up every morning, that was for sure. Showering with cold water was one of the worst—because I could only go so long without showering, and that was the only option we had. At least there _were_ showers to be fair—not that it made any sense. Why would someone install showers _here_? That didn't make any sense. But I was glad they had done so, even if they did fail miserably at hooking up the hot water. Considering everyone here was of above average intelligence you'd think one of us would be able to do it, but we were never given the opportunity to try.

The worst—though perhaps that could have just been because of my current irritation—was the clothing. There was a storage room with plenty of spare clothing, all of which was too large and uncomfortable. The pants were tied together tightly with my brown leather belt the best I could do, but they puckered horribly around my waist. The shirt I'd been given was white, and stained, so I just left it off and stuck with a white t-shirt I'd found in the room. What was worst of all though, was the irritating, scratchy grey fabric the underwear was made out of.

How in the world was I supposed to get any work done if I couldn't stop thinking about how itchy my butt was?

Luckily there was a washing machine in the building. Unfortunately, it did not come paired with a dryer, and so all of my clothes were currently hanging over chairs in someone else's office drying. I thought many times of just putting them on anyway. At least they'd be more comfortable than this, but if I managed to wait it out, I knew I'd be happier in the long run.

What I was doing though, wasn't my task... and that was because of what had happened over the weekend.

First, on Saturday, our first real day of work I'd been partnered with someone I didn't know, and who refused to speak to me. She looked at me like I was scum or something, I didn't mind because she looked like she wouldn't be too pleasant to talk to.

Even then, on the first day I hadn't thought I'd be there that long, I thought maybe part way through the night, maybe into the next morning at most. But by the time the sun was going down I was still working away at my computer, adjusting all the mistakes the Director had made in his programming. Well someone made mistakes, I didn't know who, or care who, I just knew there were mistakes.

But whenever I saw that the Director was out of his office, and therefore not paying any attention to our monitors or what we were up to, I'd start working on breaking down the signal barrier. I just wanted to tell Michael, or _someone_ that I was okay, and that I was at work. I figured they'd at least assume that, but talking to someone might've been nice.

Especially since I'd gone through all of Sunday without saying a single word until dinner time.

_I'd just finished throwing my clothes into the washing machine for the first time, and retrieving the horrendous clothes I was not looking forward to wearing. I'd already taken my deliciously cold shower and was drinking the perfectly disgusting coffee provided for us. _

_Standing on the white tiles of the kitchen floor, surrounded by people who looked like they were ready to jump out the window, I realized I wasn't going to get to go home any time soon. I didn't know how I knew it, but something about that moment made me realize we were in this for the long haul. My co-workers' eyes were heavily lidded and they had dark sagging bags under them. Their hair was messy and entirely un-presentable, and their clothes, like mine, did not fit, and were barely staying up. One man had actually been given coveralls to wear, and I think I'd have preferred that. At least they'd be on my body._

_Each of us checked the refrigerator in turn, hoping food would magically appear, but obviously it did not._

_Then, as if by some miracle, Director Arnold entered the room with a bag full of groceries. He gently set them on the counter, and all of us sort of flocked around the food like a flock of __edacious vultures who had not eaten in a month. It had only been less than a day, but god was I hungry._

_Director Arnold somehow looked flawless. He looked rested, his hair was well groomed, and his suit looked as new as ever. It was a little unnerving actually. He stood, watching us eat momentarily. I'd grabbed an apple and an entire loaf of bread. I didn't know what I was going to do with it, but I wanted it all. _

_Finally, Arnold cleared his throat, and spoke, "I've been reviewing what you have all accomplished, and I am disappointed with the results." His eyes scanned all five of us. "Production is usually done much quicker than this."_

_Production is usually run by more than five people, but wisely, I said nothing._

"_Section B is not programmed, and Section C hasn't even been touched." His eyes landed on the two women who were sitting at the table. They swallowed whatever food was in their mouth to respond, but they didn't get anything out, because he didn't let them. "I do not care for excuses. I want to see progress." He was very serious, and if anyone talked after that, they'd have a death wish. He then turned to me, "Good work." He said, nodding his head._

"_T-thank you, sir." I said, my voice cracking, from not having been used. _

"_Now," he said, pacing across the floor, "If the work on all four sections is completed by the end of today I will allow you to return home briefly. Perhaps you could all do with a nice warm bed, and a fresh change of clothes. You will then return immediately following." Everyone, and I had to admit, myself included, was smiling then, "But _only_ if you complete everything."_

"_Sir," The eldest man said, raising his hand, "I have a question about payment."_

"_You are being paid by the hour." Arnold said flatly, "Everyone who chose to miss work for the duration of our project is at fault if they are unable to make their personal payments. They made the choice to back out of our goals. We six are visionaries. We will be admired by all, while those left behind will be forgotten. I will not be forgotten."_

Needless to say, we hadn't gotten our work done. I'd barely gotten my own work done as it was. I tried to help the others, but they were too far behind and there was no chance to finish by the end of Sunday. Sections A, B and C were all finished by the end of Monday, no thanks to me. I'd finished my work, and while I was pretending to help for a while, I was really working tirelessly on breaking the signal barrier so I could just call someone. I tried using my digivice to contact people to no avail. I used my D-terminal, still nothing. I even tried to go into the Digital World, but the gate refused to open.

Probably for the better. I didn't want to be associated with digimon at all at this point. Not after the events that unfolded on Tuesday.

_Everyone was gathered in the main office areas by that day, and I was much more comfortable wearing my own clothes, and they'd been freshly washed for the third time that week—but I was certainly planning on throwing them out the moment I got home. It was inconvenient to work in the open, because that meant I had less time to hack away at whatever system was keeping us confined inside. Whatever it was it seemed to give life to the building though. The doors and windows wouldn't even open. It was like the building itself was trapping us inside._

_Though that could be safer. I was pretty sure one of my colleagues was ready to jump out the window. Everyone looked even worse by this point, stressed, tired, frustrated and lonely. We'd not bothered to get to know each other. I don't know why none of them did so, but to me, it felt that giving in and speaking with them would be the same as admitting we were never getting out. But I wanted out. I just wanted to be done what we were doing._

_The original four sections we'd been working on were all finished and in one folder. It appeared that this was the virus of what we were working on. My task was to read through the code of the virus several times to ensure it would work properly._

_I only skimmed through it once, but it was fine, I was sure. Instead I resumed hacking the systems. I always felt really weird about creating the virus part of our projects. Nothing could live without balance though, and to create life you had to create chaos and control within the code. I didn't know what the others were doing today, but I wasn't making the control, so they were I figured. _

_The Director was pacing around the room, checking over our work a few minutes later, so I had the code open, casually reading through it. "Have you discovered any mistakes?" Arnold asked briskly._

"_I have not, sir." I said, "I've been through it several times, and no mistakes have jumped out at me."_

"_Then you are not looking hard enough." Arnold said, folding his arms, frustrated. "I inputted mistakes into the code to ensure that whoever was in charge was doing their job. I know where the mistakes I created are, and I considered removing them when I placed you in control of the assignment. I thought you would be the one person here that would not fail me." He turned his back to me, "I was wrong. You're as useless as the rest of your colleagues. You do not deserve recognition for my masterpiece. My work of art." Then he walked off, across the room to the elevator. As he was waiting for the doors to open, he turned to me and said, "Find the mistakes." _

_When he was gone I began muttering under my breath about how it was stupid to meddle with your own project. He was basically screwing with his own 'masterpiece' just assuming we'd catch it. He could have caused a massive explosion. Though, the mistakes he added were very minor, which I'd found with one thorough read through. So, as much as it made me angry to admit it... he knew what he was doing._

_When I was starting my second read through the telephone began ringing in the center of the room. No one else even looked up from their seats, so I ignored it as well. But when it stopped ringing, it just began again a moment later. I waited it out again, but on the third call I couldn't take it any longer and I answered the phone. "Hello?" I said into the phone._

"_That is not a very professional greeting," A voice that sounded a bit like gravel being dumped through a wood chipper came through the phone, surprising me. I'd never heard anyone who sounded more like a stereotypic man. His voice was low and strong and... there was something about it that I just couldn't explain._

"_Sorry," I said, clearing my throat, "How can I help you?"_

"_I would like to speak to Director Arnold." The man said._

"_I'll have to retrieve him." I said, "He's just left. I'll ask him to call you back." He grunted his approval, "Uh, who are you?"_

_The man sighed, disappointed in my I guess, "Maugrim." The voice said, and then he had hung up._

"_Kay..." I said slowly, hanging the phone up. I was heading down the elevator, unsure where Director Arnold would be, calling out nervously on every floor until I reached the basement, where I had no need to call out. I could see him, through a sheet of glass at the end of the 'Kennel'. This was where we kept Arnold's monsters. The ones who were successful anyway. Nervously I walked down the hallway, looking to the creatures inside the cages. They were all similar—always sporting the colours violet and black. They weren't digimon, and they weren't humans. They were something else entirely. Something created by man. _

_The information I'd provided from Diaboromon was changed drastically, but still stood as the base of the operation. Diaboromon was made using a combined data code from Terriermon and Lopmon, with me being dumb enough to tamper with it to make him stronger. I'd wanted someone to help me fight Marshall at the time, and Diaboromon was the one for the job. _

_But when I'd brought the information to the office they changed it. They took away the code that made them digimon, and added... something else. I'd never actually figured out what it was, but it had to be something to do with humans. There were too many similarities to ignore. _

_They were good creatures though. All except the one at the end. "Behemoth" his oh so clever name was. Arnold had named him. He was bigger than the rest and less human. Arnold was in his cage at that moment, stroking the long slender snout of the animalistic creature. The glistening golden eyes flicked up to me, but neither made any other indication that they cared I was walking toward them._

_The entire room was silent, each creature seemingly holding their breath as I walked down toward the Director. As I neared them though I could hear faint murmuring from within the glass box, and when I was finally standing just outside the door I could hear him speaking._

"_You're not like them." He was saying, "You're perfect. You're real. And soon, there will be no need for differences. Because you will be alive_._" _

_Stupidly, I knocked on the door. Arnold spun around quickly and Behemoth began barking in weird spluttering sounds. I jumped back quickly as Arnold opened the door, shutting it behind him quickly after slipping out. "What are you doing down here?" He asked loudly over his pet's squealing._

"_I-I—"_

"_Speak!" _

"_The phone!" I shouted. "Maugrim called. He wanted your attention." Arnold's face lit up with a strange sense of victory and satisfaction and he pushed past me, leaving me alone to stare at the screaming pet._

_Following him upstairs was one of the smarter decisions I'd ever made though. I acted as if I were getting a drink of water for the better part of an hour as I listened through his office door. I didn't hear much of the phone call._

_Just that they were __working on transferring the power into a weapon of sorts rather than just an energy source. That was good information... if only I could figure out what it meant._

It didn't take long for me to decide on my next course of action that lasted all day yesterday-Wednesday. I didn't know exactly who Arnold was talking to Behemoth about, but I had a feeling it was the digimon. There was something about the way he'd said it that made me suspicious. And that was why going to the Digital World would be bad. I didn't want an enemy as powerful and mysterious as Arnold. He could take me out and make it look like I'd never existed at all, like a file removed from the hard drive all together.

Plus Behemoth wasn't someone I wanted to be crossing.

But I was going against his wishes, and that meant every moment for the past two days I'd been on edge, waiting and watching for something to go wrong.

Poor choice of explanatory words as I was, in fact, making things go wrong. I was placing fractal codes in the wrong folders, and adding things that ought not to be there. Just small things. Subtle things. Earlier today the Director wanted to see how it was all coming along, and he'd tested everything out only to short circuit the entire room, and blow every fuse in the whole building.

That was pretty funny for me, as it was all my fault, but I didn't have to try hard to conceal my amusement because no matter how funny it was, I knew that if I was caught I could easily be disposed of. He obviously didn't like me much anymore, and if he found out what I was doing he'd certainly not need me—he didn't need me now. I was tampering with everything he was doing.

We were back to work now though, well not me. I was working on the signal deal. Finally I'd been able to locate the source of the barrier. It wasn't inside the building at all. It was a satellite. It was pretty straight forward from there on. I was good at hacking things—it was how I made my living. Finally, breaking through the last wall of security I was able to use my phone.

Well not really. I'd have to change the settings, which I now had full access to... but doing so would more than likely cause alarm to Arnold, and he'd lock me up or something.

I was staring at the page with the signal for a moment, wondering if I'd have time to hack into the Digital World and open a portal there... I couldn't stay here much longer without being found out anyway. I needed to go... but I wouldn't have access until I turned the signal back on... and I wasn't sure I'd have enough time...

I was staring at the page, my digivice in my hand rolling between my fingers absent mindedly wondering out I could escape when the Director stepped from his office again. I hastily shut the signal page and opened something one of the others had asked me to look over.

The Director's office was at the other end of the room, but his eyes were narrowing in on me anyway. He looked away a moment later, setting my nervous, shaking body to rest. He couldn't know I'd been doing anything. He had no more proof than he'd had before.

_I_ couldn't even have proved it. But... maybe I should stop just in case... but what if what we were creating was something really _really_ bad? I'd pretty much done it all for them as it was, it was the least I could do to whoever it was to be aimed at to tamper with it as often as I could manage without being caught...

"Kennedy." Arnold said, making me jump and slam my hand down on the table, dropping my digivice. It rolled along the ground in circles until it hit Arnold's black leather shoe, where it lost all momentum and landed with the screen facing up.

I quickly grabbed it, and tossed it aside. "It's nothing," I said to him, "Just something my friend gave me. A watch. That's what it is." Arnold looked to me, his eyebrows burrowing into one another as he thought. Suddenly he came to some conclusion and he moved straight toward his office.

Everyone was staring at me, and my heart sank quickly.

He knew what was going on. He was putting pieces together. I'd made Diaboromon. Where did I get the information? Someone was stopping this from working. I had a digivice—add in the fact that I was featured in a movie about saving the world with the help of the digimon...

I quickly turned back to my computer and opened the signal page and began changing every one of the settings I could possibly hope to. I paused briefly considering an attempted hack to get to the Digital World, but I saw Arnold standing in his office through the glass wall, turning to the door.

Instead I grabbed my phone and started typing madly to Mari

"_Help. At work. Get me out." _

I had barely clicked send when Arnold had grabbed me by the shoulder roughly with one hand and pulling my phone out of my hand with the other. He threw it toward the ground and began dragging me through the room.

"I knew I couldn't trust you." He said through gritted teeth as I fought against his surprisingly strong hold. My heart was hammering now. Was I going to die?

Dammit! I forgot my digivice on the desk...

"At first I thought you were admirable." Arnold said, "But I was smarter than you. You think you're all that. You young people always do. But guess what Mr Kennedy? You were wrong. I found you out—You and everyone else who has ever tried to stop my dreams from becoming a reality."

Even in all the rush and blur of things I could really only focus on how typical villain he was sounding. I was scared out of my mind, I was no longer in control of my body as the elevator made a soft 'ding' on every floor we passed by. His grip was getting tighter—I could tell but for some I couldn't tell. I couldn't feel it. My knees buckled under my weight and I gasped for a breath that I was, for some reason, unable to take.

"Trying to escape?" Arnold said, pulling me back to my feet. "I don't think so. You betrayed me. You turned your back on me and joined the wrong team." Arnold was insane now. He was smiling like a mad man.

Where were we?

The basement?

He was going to kill me.

He was going to feed me to the monsters.

Was it bad that all I cared about was that I was wearing my own clothes?

_**Mari Goutokuji:**_

It was strange, when the coin was in the air. You call heads or tails because you can't make up your mind, and yet while it was up there you knew which one you wanted it to land on.

There I sat, on the edge of a sidewalk, people passing me, talking about their days excitedly, some of them pushing into me with no respect for a human being. Some of them even went as far as to think I was a prostitute, which I'd let them get away with as I was sitting on a street corner. But I wasn't wearing anything too bad. Jean shorts, a tank top and a whimsical sweater like thing that I'd borrowed from Tatum. I'd been sitting there for at least fifteen minutes, just thinking to myself, watching the colourful cars drive by—or park in a traffic jam, really. The air was thick and gross, the sky could be described the same way, and the ground... well yeah, that too. I wasn't even sure why I was sitting there and not back at the house... probably because it seemed pointless with Willis around.

Which brought me back to the coin in the air.

Willis was gone, and I didn't know how or when he was going to come back. It made more sense to go back home and prepare the library, like I'd been doing the past couple months. Hideto and Kiyoko would more than likely be no more help than Michael, Tatum or Jenna, but at least I'd be home. I was worried about Willis and everyone was acting weirdly around me as if Willis not coming home would cause me to explode. I'd be pretty angry, yes. But I'd still survive! Willis was just a good friend now, and people lost their friends all the time.

Not that I wanted to lose him.

And not that we _had_ to just be friends anymore. From what I'd seen last Friday, Marshall had moved on finally to the dark haired girl, Veronica, who ran the hate club against the digimon, which meant that it should, in theory, be okay for me to date someone.

Not that I was ready.

Nor was I ready to see the outcome of the coin.

But that wasn't up to me. There were many things in this world I could do, but stop gravity was not one of them, even though that would be amazing.

And it landed with a soft _clink_ on the dirty road in front of me. I looked down to the coin I'd found on the ground in the first place and sighed. It was heads.

Tails meant I was to stay at Willis' house and wait for him, heads was to indicate my departure.

I reached down and flipped the coin over.

I wasn't going anywhere anyway, I didn't know why I thought I would be able to.

I tried to talk the talk, but I was _scared_. Willis wasn't coming home and I didn't know where he was. Was I overreacting to this? Most likely! But he was gone, and did that mean he wasn't coming back? Because I'd lost too many people to accept the fate of losing him too.

I'd gone to his work on Saturday three times, trying to get inside, but the doors had been locked and all the lights were out each time I checked. Sunday I visited only twice, while I looked in some other of his favourite places, such as his favourite restaurant, the movie theatre, and the kill shelter next to the mall. He often took people there to help get some pets adopted.

I myself had adopted a scraggly old cat a couple years back. Chandler, his name was. He was already nearing death, but it seemed wrong to just let him go. He died not long after, but he took a real liking to Hideto, much to his dismay. Kiyoko was scared to go near the thing. I couldn't be sure, but I figured it was at least partly to do with Sigma killing both my hamster and guinea pig while he was possessing Kiyoko.

Willis was nowhere to be found in this enormous city. And to be fair I couldn't be sure of that—it was after all _enormous_. What if we were thinking too small. He clearly wasn't hanging around like a fool. What if he was dead in a ditch somewhere? Or kidnapped? Or shacking up with some girl...?

I absentmindedly reached for my mess of hair and ran my fingers through it, working away at any knots that had formed with the wind.

What was I supposed to do?

I made up my mind quickly, and jumped to my feet. If I could ever join the mass of people heading down the street I'd be going to Willis' work place again. There had to be someone there eventually, and that was the last place he'd been seen. It was nearly lunch time, I noticed as I checked my phone. That meant someone would _surely_ be leaving the building. Or staying. Or standing near it. Someone _had_ to work there still! I wasn't in the wrong place either because there was a big gaudy sign that told me where to go.

Soon enough I was walking down the street, feeling weird wearing shoes with no heels. I felt short and unseen, like everyone was purposely looking away from me, trying not to see me, like I _was_ that gaudy sign.

Pushing through the people to get to the crosswalk, I rushed across the road, and continued on my way. The walk went by in no time. I knew the way there better than I knew the way to any other place. I'd walked there more often recently than anywhere else, except perhaps my library. I didn't have a job see, aside from that one. Well I did, every now and then, but I was fired repeatedly.

I could have kept the jobs but I didn't take direction well.

Hideto and Kiyoko were still shocked when I'd tell them I was fired. It was always for different reasons. Once it was because my manager said that only the men could work more than twenty hours a week because they were simply better at the job. And as a woman I did not take that well. I wasn't some crazed raging feminist who fought for my rights over every little thing, but as the job folding clothes at a store in the mall, I simply had to disagree. Both genders were equally capable.

Once I was fired simply because I was late. I _had_ been two hours late... three days in a row, but I didn't need a job! I was doing perfectly fine on my own. And how I was doing that, no one needed to know. No matter how bad Hideto wanted to.

And then there it was, standing tall in front of me. The dark stone walls rose high toward the horrible looking sky, standing there as if it were some monument to greatness. But it wasn't. It was some stupid building that took Willis. I kicked it, annoyed and instantly regretted that.

Limping toward the front door, I pressed my face against it, cupping my hands around my eyes to see through the glass.

The lights were still out completely. That just didn't seem believable! Why were the lights out all the time? Had they all been _killed_? Was everyone still inside? Could that be possible? Probably not...

I grabbed the shining brass door handles and pulled on them, finding that the doors were locked. I shook them, trying to break the lock, but they remained solid and closed.

Cursing under my breath I paced around the building, looking through the windows to see offices with their lights off though every single one, until I was back at the door. I took a few steps back to look up, to see the windows from higher up, but again, there was nothing. It was mid day though... maybe I just couldn't see the lights that were on. There _had_ to be _someone_ inside!

There had to be.

"Excuse me," A woman's voice said, causing me to turn around, almost excitedly.

"Do you work here?" I asked a little pre-emptively. The woman was clearly a reporter of some kind. She was wearing a pink blazer and had a clipboard in one hand. The woman shook her head, her hair bouncing along. She smiled to me and stepped closer, "Then... what do you want?"

"I was just wondering if you could partake in a survey?" She said brightly.

"No?" I said, shrugging my shoulders, "I'm kind of busy is all."

"It will only take a moment!" She said insistently—and that she was. Everyone on these streets was persistent enough to either get you to do what they wanted you to, or to stalk you until they scared you into doing it. So either way I felt as though I'd have to do the survey.

"I'm _really_ busy." I tried in one last effort to get out of it.

"What's your name?" She asked, ignoring me, holding up her clipboard. She clicked her pen and readied herself to write it down, pushing her hair behind her ear.

I sighed, defeated. "Mari," I said.

"Mm-hm." She hummed, writing down what I'd said. "And how old are you?"

"Twenty five," I said quickly, tapping my leg impatiently. This was already proving to be boring and a waste of my time. Not that I'd be able to find him or anything, but I still wanted to try.

"Oh...kay," the girl said finishing writing it down, then she looked up to me with wide brown eyes, "And how do you feel we should rid ourselves of the digimon?"

I felt like I'd been slapped across the face. It was so sudden—so out of the blue. Was this what people were doing now? Just walking around town spreading the word that the digimon had to go? Was this how crap like this got blown out of proportion? Because I wasn't going to take part in it. And to prove that to her, I walked right past her, ignoring her.

I was fuming. Or was I upset? I couldn't tell. I was unhappy in any case, and it wasn't until I was nearly back to Willis' house that I realized what I should have done.

I shouldn't have walked from her. I should have told her exactly what I thought. She needed another perspective. If she was the one spreading the word then I could be the one taking part in spreading _my_ word. The word that the digimon were good. Usually. But it was no use anymore. I was already turning into the laneway of the lot, kicking a rock along the paved drive.

The world was going to turn against us. All of us. I may not have had a partner anymore, but I was still heavily involved... but that was enough trouble. Enough pain to go through as it stood. I needed to know Willis was okay so that we could focus on what was really important.

The upcoming revolution I'd be leading in attempts to smack some sense into the people of Earth. That's all a person really needs, I found. A good smack upside the head and a scream in the face until they got the point across. They had such thick skulls, humans. I didn't want them to miss the message, no matter how simple it was.

"You are wrong."

That's all there was to it.

"You're home!" Jenna cheered, startling me. I looked up to see her with her arms linked with Chi's. The two were heading down the driveway, dressed like they might be going out for lunch together. I noticed Kudamon was not around Jenna's neck and did not have to ask why to know the answer. It just wasn't safe anymore.

I smiled to her, unsure how to respond. The couple stopped in front of me, looking like they might have something to say, but the silence that followed was pretty awkward. "Well..." Chi said finally, "We'd better get going." I nodded, and waved to them, never saying a word. I knew I was going to hear about that later. I'd been so careful about making sure to smile and be positive whenever someone came around... they'd just surprised me was all.

I stopped outside the door, ensuring I did not make the same mistake twice, and I prepared myself, taking deep breaths before opening the door.

I pushed it open and relaxed instantly. The house smelled like lavender. Tatum had been going to every room to rid the furniture of the scent of burnt popcorn and I could not have been more grateful. I saw into the dining room where Monodromon was sitting, eating a sandwich at the table using t-shirt he'd found as a napkin covering his legs.

I stepped into the kitchen, looking for the others, and saw both Michael and Tatum inside, sitting by the island counter. They did not look up to me even for a moment, and resumed whatever whispered conversation they'd been having before. I imagined it was important to some extent or I'd have been at least welcomed home. It didn't bother me much anyway, so I decided I'd go relax outside with Lalamon's flower.

Sliding open the glass door I was met with a cool breeze wafting the scent of the flower garden toward me. I closed my eyes and let it sink in for a moment, feeling a sense of familiarity about it. It smelled just like Lalamon's garden did back in Japan. I hadn't been there in nearly a year. Since the anniversary of her death, which was at the end of May, one day after Willis' birthday actually. It was easy enough to remember.

When I opened my eyes to look to where the beautifully strong pink flower usually sat, I saw Terriermon blocking the view, sitting, his back to me. Lopmon was standing next to him, a watering can in her hand as she poured some water down to the flower.

A smile crept onto my face as I walked toward them. As I got nearer their voices met my ears.

"He'll be back." Terriermon assured Lopmon, who I noticed, now that I was close enough to, was crying. "Willis always comes home."

Lopmon sniffled, and set the watering can down, before falling into a sitting position next to her brother. "I'm just scared that he won't."

"But he will." Though even Terriermon sounded unsure.

"One day he won't." Lopmon said softly. "One day he'll die, just like any other human. I don't want that to be soon, but no matter how far away it is, I won't be ready." Lopmon cried.

"I'll never be ready." Terriermon said in a voice that actually broke my heart. I hadn't been this close to crying in a long time, but listening to them made me realize how selfish I'd been. I hadn't even thought about how they'd be taking it—not to this extent at least, and that was mostly why I was ready to cry. I was a bad person. I'd been so caught up about losing my partner that I didn't even think about how these two would be feeling at the potential of losing theirs.

"We'll just be born again," Lopmon said softly, reaching for Terriermon's hand. "I guess... unless we die here, with Willis... but what happens to dead digimon?"

"I don't know." Terriermon said, looking up to her, "B-but... if we die, we'll die together... We'll always be together. Y-you and me."

Lopmon leaned sideways and hugged Terriermon, and I had my hand over my mouth, unsure if I should join them, or leave them be. "I know that." Lopmon said, "I just never want to say goodbye to Willis."

I wanted to tell them that they'd be okay! That Willis _was_ going to come back, but I had no proof, and I wasn't one to give people false hope. I told them the truth, whether they'd like it or not. In this case I didn't even know the truth, so how was I supposed to treat them?

I just needed to hear from Willis. I needed him to tell me what was happening. I needed to tell the two digimon in front of me that they would be okay—that _Willis_ would be okay.

_Beep. Beep._

Terriermon and Lopmon turned sharply to face me and I froze, listening to my phone beep. With shaky hands I grabbed at my phone. I tried to ignore the look Lopmon was giving me as Terriermon turned back to wipe his eyes, but it was too hard. She looked broken. I pulled out my phone and turned it on, and stared at the screen.

My heart had skipped a beat, and I'd literally dropped my phone. I caught it awkwardly and brought it back up to see.

"_Help. At work. Get me out. I think I'm in trouble." _

It was from Willis.

"G-guys." I said nervously, unsure what this news meant. I fell to my knees, unable to stand any longer, and showed them the phone. Terriermon was next to me in an instant, taking the phone with a bragging look on his face, which he'd sported ever since he'd learned how to use a phone. He stared down at the message, Lopmon looking over his shoulder, then as one, they looked up to me.

"What does that mean?" Lopmon asked. "When did he send this?"

"A minute ago," Terriermon said, pointing to something on the screen. He smiled brightly to Lopmon, "He's okay!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him, and I smiled to them, still shaky.

_Help._

He'd said help. He'd said he was in trouble. I got to my feet, taking my phone from them. "W-we have to do something." I said. "Come on, Tatum will know what to do."

We had just shut the sliding door when I heard an impatient sounding knock on the front door.

I started rushing toward it, slipping a little as I passed through the staircases, my heart pounding. Somehow I knew it was Willis. I was just so sure. He was home. He'd sent me a message, and now he was back! He was going to be okay!

I threw the door open, ready to greet him, aware of Terriermon and Lopmon rushing behind me and suddenly I shut the door most of the way upon seeing a man who was certainly not Willis. I ushered Terriermon and Lopmon with my foot, pushing them behind the door. I didn't know who this was, but I wanted to slap myself for thinking it would be Willis.

Why would he be knocking at his own front door? And more importantly, he'd _just_ told me he was stuck at work. He was in trouble at work. Not here.

The man in front of me was wearing a pinstriped suit with a white suit and a tie with an ugly pattern repeated across the fabric. His hair was neat, and his face was bright, but somehow annoyed. Looking into his eyes I could see some kind of burning desire to accomplish something, and somehow it was unmistakable.

"Can I help you?" I asked finally, plastering a fake smile onto my face.

The man was leaning slightly to his left in attempt to get a good look at something behind me, and once again I found myself pushing Terriermon and Lopmon with my foot, further into the corner. "Hello madam, I work with Willis Kennedy and I was merely wondering if this is his current place of residence?"

"Who's the stiff?" Terriermon hissed from behind the door.

I kicked toward him with my foot and laughed loudly to cover up his voice. "He lives here, yes," I said, smiling brightly. "He's not in right now, could I take a message?"

"Oh, well, where is he?" He asked me, "I'm his employer you see, and I have something to ask him."

Willis' boss was standing outside Willis' house looking for Willis when Willis was stuck at work? That seemed more than a little off to me, but I didn't know what to say or do, or who to trust and who not to trust even. "He's somewhere," I said, deciding to not tell him where Willis was. He should know, shouldn't he...? "I thought he'd gone to work." I changed my mind quickly. The plan popped into my head quickly and I trusted my instincts.

"He hasn't been to work in days!" The man said with a shocked expression, "Surely you knew that." I shook my head, once again confused. Where was he if he hadn't been at work...? Had someone else sent the message. No. No one would choose me to send it to _except_ Willis. Maybe Marshall... but I'd seen him the Friday Willis had left. It couldn't be him. "Could I have a moment of your time?" He was still craning his neck to look behind me.

"I'm busy right now," I said, "Maybe later?" I smiled to him and shut the door, but he knocked a second later, so I slowly opened the door back up. "Yes?" My eyes fell to the device in his hand. A digivice... was it his? Or was it Willis'?

"Willis left this at work," The man said.

"When?" I asked, "I saw him with it just the other morning!"

"Ah, well I don't know." The man said, "I was wondering if you could tell me what it is."

"I don't have a clue." I said, "Willis is a strange guy." I was trying to find a way to trick him into telling me something. If I could break him then I'd know he was lying, and who to trust and what to do next. But I couldn't stand here talking to him forever, I'd have to work fast. "Well, I'll give it to him." I said, reaching out to grab the digivice.

The man pulled his hand back quickly and jerked his other one forward, pushing the door open. I grabbed it quickly, but knew it was too late. He'd seen inside, and I could feel Terriermon rushing back into hiding around my legs.

"What was that?" The man asked.

"My dog." I said firmly.

"Woof." Terriermon added.

The man's nostrils widened as the fire in his eyes raged suddenly. His lips curled into a smile and he grabbed the door, pushing it. I gaped and started pushing back with Terriermon and Lopmon's help. "Willis just texted me from work!" I shouted out the door in one last effort as my body was pumped with adrenaline, pushing as hard as I could against the door as the man tried to get inside.

"That's not possible." He shot back to me. "There is no signal."

And there it was. I knew where he was for sure now and I'd even be able to get him maybe if I could deal with the creep on the other side of this door. We were getting the upper hand on him too, but just when I thought we'd won I looked down to see his leather shoe jam itself into the door, propping it open.

Terriermon leapt out and bit him hard, forcing him to retract his foot and stop pushing all together. The door slammed shut and I locked it with my shaking hands. My entire body felt numb as I backed away from the door, the man screaming on the other end, slamming his fists into it loudly.

"Monodromon!" I shouted, catching his attention. He looked to me from the dining room and ran toward me, "Come on." I told him, leading the digimon into the kitchen. "Guys!" I shouted to Michael and Tatum. "We need to leave. Now." They knew something was wrong before I'd even come through the door. Both of them were heading to check out what the noise was already.

"What's going on?" Tatum asked.

"Some freak wants inside." I said sharply. "It's Willis' boss. Willis is at work—he's in trouble, and we need to get him."

"But first," Lopmon said, her voice higher than usual as she spoke quickly, "We need to get to the Digital World. He has Willis' digivice, and I have a feeling he doesn't want to play nicely. We should go."

"NOW!" Terriermon agreed loudly, setting us all into motion. We ran through the side door of the kitchen and up the stairs. I stayed back to make sure everyone was going, and just as Monodromon had made his way up the stairs, the front door flung open, the lock broken through the door frame. Lopmon screamed and I turned to run after them all. Michael was leading the way toward his bedroom where—thankfully—a laptop was propped open on his bed.

His digivice was already in his hand and he pointed it to the screen, and with a flash we were all gone.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Confrontation—Mimi, Kari and Jenna


	15. Confrontation

**Y/N: **This chapter was fun, I guess. I wrote it a long time ago... but I enjoyed the new elements that were added into the story.

**U/N: **So I'm actually home now. I promise I was emailing and calling to get my sister to put it up but she just ignored me, which, well, it's not my fault exactly. I'd like to take some of the blame to seem a bit more kind I guess, to share the blame and whatnot, but it's legit just not my fault, so whatevs. I hope you like the chapter though :) I liked writing it I know.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 2: Challenge**

**Chapter 15: Confrontation**

_**Hikari Yagami:**_

"Are you ready?" I asked nervously, staring to Kurayami who sat across from me on my living room couch. She was leaning back into the grey cushions and trying to be comfortable. The lighting from the rustic lamps was dimmed as much as it could go while still giving off light, and the curtains were drawn tightly closed. Gatomon was sitting on my lap, purring softly as I stroked her spine. Kurayami had come alone to my apartment to get the help I promised her in terms of therapy. I was no therapist by any means, but I liked helping people, and I could at least try.

She had left her hair down and put no makeup on, trying to be as comfortable as possible, and she went as far as to wear pajama pants and a loose t-shirt. She said comfort played a big role in uncovering lost memories. Though I wasn't sure how she could possibly have known that as she had yet to uncover any. I had just come from school though, so I was wearing these stiff flats that I had bought thinking they would be good to wear around the students. I was wrong. I was also wearing a dress, and had my hair pinned back with a series of pins.

I'd made us both some hot chocolate too. Hot chocolate had never failed in helping me when I was sad before, and who knew what kind of memories this would bring up. I needed to be prepared. So I'd set scented candles in various places around the room too. I didn't have any that were the same, so the room kind of smelled like the baby of Christmas and Spring-rain. If that was possible. I'd also asked Iori, Goblimon, Armadillomon and Natsuni to leave for the duration of our session, which was fine. They didn't need an excuse to go see a movie or two.

"Well," Kurayami said just as nervous, if not a hundred times more, than I was. "I think so."

I nodded, "Right. Sorry if I'm no help."

"You'll be more help than Dr Chiryo," Kurayami said quietly, pushing her blue and black hair behind her ear. "He didn't help at all." She then took a deep breath and looked like she was about to pop, then she let it out in a broken kind of way and leaned back. "I'm ready." She said, closing her eyes.

I looked to Gatomon who looked up and kind of shrugged her shoulders, and I took that as a sign to begin. "A-alright," I said getting off to a shaky start. "Just b-breath slowly."

"You ought to try it yourself," Kurayami joked, and I relaxed a little seeing her smile at me. "But before we do anything else," She sat up for a moment, "can you promise me something?

"Anything," I agreed.

"Don't stop." She said in a low voice, "Don't stop no matter how scared I get. I need to know."

"Of course," I smiled back nervously. How was I supposed to let her sit in front of me in fear without coming to her rescue? I wasn't sure I would be following through with the promise, but I'd try at least. "Breath in with me, and breath out." I'd been to therapy before so I knew how to talk in a slow calming way. It had been when I was younger, and really sick. My mother thought I might need it to cope with the thought of being left alone in so many activities. Unable to go on long drives, or play outside, or even eat ice cream without falling over in a heat stroke or something else that was entirely random. I was so thankful to Gennai for finally explaining what that was. I was prepared to live my whole life not knowing, but I was glad I knew now that it was because of my destiny. I'd been thrown into the Digital World's drama at such a young age that it tampered with my genetic makeup. So I was pretty much a super hero.

As we were breathing together, I slipped the uncomfortable shoes off of my feet and let my bare feet fall onto the soft light blue carpet of the living room. The air was the perfect temperature for being relaxed that was for sure. I could barely even tell where my feet stopped and the air began.

"Okay," I said when I felt like she'd relaxed enough. I watched her as she continued to breathe the way I'd instructed her to. Her eyes were shut gently and I was now in full control. It was a very strange feeling, being the one in control of another person. I knew she wasn't completely succumbed to the treatments just yet, but soon enough, if I could do it correctly, I'd be in charge. Or that's what the information I'd printed from the computer said. I'd done some research too, just in case. I was going for a hypnotic approach where I could get her into a state between being asleep and being awake so I could worm the memories forward without her blocking them again because of stress which would permanently lose them. Or so the internet said. "I want you to talk to me about your father."

Start somewhere simple, somewhere calm.

"His name is Okotte," Kurayami said in a dreamy voice that sent shivers down my spine. Okotte Higorashi, he was born _ to Satoshi Higorashi and _. He was an only child, spoiled rotten as a child, but when his mother passed away he was given a taste of reality as his father was suddenly placed in charge of raising him. He became a better man who studied to become a paleontologist before switching majors in school to be an engineer instead. That was where he met my mother, Kanashimi—"

"Okay," I said, cutting her off to avoid getting into the topic of her mother too soon, I knew that would be one of the trigger words, because I knew the story. I knew what was lying behind those closed doors. I'd been told the story before. Her mother killed her only son, driven by the darkness she allowed follow her through life. Then, when Kurayami was born she allowed the darkness to take her as well to keep her safe. Nothing could harm her aside from the truest of darkness. Then her mother took the darkness away, leaving Kurayami helpless in life with her father.

But that was all I really knew. Except that her mother came back possessed by the one true evil of the Dark Ocean and she died in Kurayami's arms.

"What do you know about your childhood?" I asked, seeing Kurayami's eyes flicker back and forth like she was dreaming. I straightened myself in my chair feeling a little unnerved. Gatomon placed her paw on my arm to sooth me, but I felt like I was doing wrong. Kurayami had been controlled before, by Fanglongmon, possibly the most evil of those we'd faced, and here I was, trying to do the same thing.

I had permission... but hadn't he too? He could only get in if you let him.

Kurayami started listing off things that happened in her early years of school, like how a bully picked on her because she never brushed her hair, and once Kurayami received a love letter from a boy one grade older, but she sent it back after writing 'who are you?' on it, and he never sent it back to her. She continued for a while until she paused for a good ten seconds. She froze, not breathing, her chest expanded as her lips pursed and her eyes shut tighter. Then she relaxed a moment later and was breathing normally.

"Uhm... okay." Gatomon said in a voice that I knew Kurayami would not be able to hear.

"Kurayami, are you okay?" I asked just a tad louder than Gatomon. She did not say anything, but nodded in confirmation. "Describe your mother to me."

"Tall..." It seemed for a moment that was all she had to say. "Naive, friendly, hard to please... dark hair... like mine. Her eyes... well sometimes they were blue. Sometimes they were... they were... not." She swallowed uncomfortably and I knew we were teetering on the edge of something. I just knew it had to do with her mother, but I didn't know what the first step to take should have been. I didn't want to scare her into consciousness, but I also didn't want to awaken the wrong memories. What if something really,_ really_ horrible happened and I was the one to remind her of that memory? I would never be able to live with myself if she could not get over the pain.

I clenched my fists and shut my eyes and decided to take a running start. "You said you remembered something that you didn't before. Tell me about that." Slowly I opened my eyes to see Kurayami's closing tighter. Not in the anguished way she had before. No, this time she was thinking about something just out of reach. Perhaps she'd forgotten again.

Finally she opened her mouth slowly and said "Trees..." Then she nodded slowly, "I see trees." Oh crap. She actually _went_ there in her memories? She thought to relive them instead of remember? That was scary... I thought about waking her up, but how scary could trees really be? "I'm holding an egg."

"Describe the egg." I said calmly, "Focus on details. Keep calm."

"_You_ keep calm." Gatomon said again in her barely audible voice as she took one of my trembling hands. Her being there was comforting, but not enough it seemed as my heart was still pounding away in my chest.

"It is white." Kurayami said, "with pink markings... I think it's... Labramon." Gatomon looked interested, or maybe confused. She'd had Labramon's egg in... 2009—wow time sure flew by. That was nearly six years ago, but we knew about that. She didn't have Labramon before then, Labramon would have remembered.

Unless he never hatched...

"There's a bee... but he's scared." Again she swallowed, nervous now. Her hands started clenching into fists so I started to speak quicker and more anxious.

"Tell me about the bee." I said quickly. "What do you know about him?"

It was an instant reaction. Her hands opened and her breathing returned to normal. She was silent for a while which gave me enough time to feel pretty proud of myself. As much as I still felt particularly afraid for both Kurayami and myself, I was impressed with how far we'd already come. In my first attempt to hypnotize someone, I may not have exactly succeeded, but I had managed to get her into a state where she could tell me things.

Was it possible for her to stay like this? What if she never woke up? I was sitting forward quickly, but Gatomon calmed me just as fast, pushing me back into my seat and looking to me with her big caring eyes. It was moments like these that I understood why Myotismon had hated them so much. Because they were the most beautiful and kind things I'd ever seen. And those were the things he never was.

"He is my friend." Kurayami said about the bee. I was pretty sure it was a digimon to begin with and at this point I was certainly hopeful of it. Not that there was anything wrong with befriending insects, it just didn't seem like a very helpful clue in uncovering her past if it was just a bug. "He has the crest of knowledge on his head." I'd never seen a digimon like that. Not that I could remember anyway. "He has come a long way with me. I met him back in his hometown across the sea. He saved me from the wolf." It was starting to sound a bit like a fairytale really, but it was something, and it was starting to sound like it could actually have been from her past, and that was good. Nerve wracking. But still good. There was no telling when in her past a bad thing may have occurred, and I was scared to uncover them. It was like wandering blindly through a mine field where you _know_ you'll hit a mine you just don't know when.

"What wolf?" I asked simply.

"Fangmon," She said calmly. My heart had jumped; I'd been so sure she was going to say Fanglongmon, and I was _not_ ready to open that can just yet. "He was a mean wolf who came to the town of the insects. He tore apart their things and made them sad. I remember seeing them cry. I remember feeling their sadness and I'd never felt it before. I remember crying with my friend, hugging him. When I'd fallen from the tree Honeybeemon—that was his name. He found me. He thought I was a bad guy, but I told him I wasn't. I lied to him. I was a bad guy. I did bad things." I saw a tear fall down her cheek and instantly felt my own eyes burning. Her voice was becoming more choked as she tried to speak, remembering some things that she clearly did not want to.

I wanted to quit now. I wasn't cut out for this. I was a good listener, but I wasn't someone meant to force their friend to cry and traumatize them. I wasn't sure I could keep going. I was frozen in my seat anyway, it would have to end. My voice was entirely extinct it seemed, and my mind was frozen on the memory of the single tear falling from her cheek to where it landed on her lap.

"What happened after Flybeemon found you?" Gatomon asked, taking my place. Kurayami seemed thankful to say something, though it was hard to tell exactly.

"We argued a while." Kurayami said, "And we attracted the big bad wolf. Fangmon. Flybeemon knew a hiding place, and we hid from him. We became friends that day, and he brought me to his house. I slept in his home, and I learned to cook from his friends. Until Fangmon came back again. But we got rid of him. We made a costume. A big one, and we scared him away. All the bugs were inside... it was like a monster." She smiled, enjoying this particular trip down memory lane. I had to admit it sounded pretty cute, even if there was a wolf trying to attack them.

"How old were you?" Gatomon asked, continuing her research in her quest to find the information I should have been looking for.

Kurayami seemed to think for a moment, and fell short on her answer, "I don't know." Gatomon looked frustrated and confused. She wanted to place this on a timeline, and I had to admit, it would be helpful. "It was right after my mom went away." Gatomon's ears perked up and we both stared toward Kurayami. "I... I think I was looking for her. Gennai had given me the way inside... we were outside that day. My dad had left me and Gennai came to me... I was scared of the dark that day. I'd never been scared before—but I remembered what could be out there. What was looking for me."

And then she was panicking, and I was once again frozen. "Kurayami! Just breathe!" Gatomon said, "Out, then in. Out then in."

"That's what he said." Kurayami said instantly calm, remembering something else, "That's what Gennai said to me. He calmed me down." She paused for a moment and then smiled, "I didn't know it was him at first. It wasn't until a lot later that I knew it was him. But he knew, even then. He knew I was meant to be in the darkness... he talked to me about the shadows... the ones that would come for me in my head... the ones that talked with my mother... he talked with me again later too. In the Digital World... but that was a long time later..." I nodded, I think I may have known the time she was thinking. Gennai spoke with her just after Apocalymon's second defeat. So that seemed at least plausible in some aspect.

"After we got rid of Fangmon," She said, jumping right back into her previous story, "Flybeemon agreed to help me find my mother... I thought she might be dead... and he brought me to the place where things go when they die. That was where I found my second friend. Porcupamon... he was a little like me. He was alone, and sad. He had no one to love him, and everyone thought he was weird. But I loved him... I felt his sadness too. I wanted to be his friend and he came with me... and he showed me a funny egg... the one I'm holding now... he showed me it and told me it was my partner... he told me that he will hatch when I find my family. I'm still looking."

So in her head she was back in the frame of mind that she was in before. That seemed a little scary to me. She was so hurt and broken back then—not that she wasn't still, but she'd made a life for herself. I was half tempted to stop this all right then and there, so she wouldn't have to go through it all, but I'd made a promise. I'd have to try my best.

"We always looked for her." Kurayami said, sad again. "We looked everywhere. Every town we could find, we would ask for her. We would ask if they'd seen my mother. And every time Fangmon would be around. He would try to bite us and hurt us, but I talked to him. I talked to him one day, and I learned that he did not have a home. He was looking for a home. A place to feel loved and wanted. And I knew what that felt like, and I promised him that I would help him find a place to live. And that's everyone that's with me now."

Gatomon hummed to herself for a moment, thinking, then she sat up and leaned forward, eager, "But why are you here?"

"To find my mother." Kurayami said nervously, as if answering to someone other than Gatomon.

"But what brought you here?" I asked, trying to get Gatomon's answer for her.

"Someone told us of a being who knows all. Someone who has all the answers and who can tell us where to find my mom." Kurayami said slowly. "Someone by the name of Fanglongmon... are you him?"

"N—" I tried, but Gatomon cut me off.

"Yes."

My eyes darted to Gatomon in annoyance. I did not want to scare the pants off of Kurayami, and by pretending that her worst fear was sitting with her and asking her questions I feared we were about to. Gatomon held her hand up to me in a way only she could, and she pressed forward, "You think I know where your mother is?" Gatomon asked.

"Well, yes." Kurayami said, "You told me you did. You said so just after you helped my friends."

"How did I help your friends?" Gatomon asked taking full control knowing that I had no intention to play make belief as the dark lord of the Digital World.

"You replenished the forests by Flybeemon's house so his friends can survive." Kurayami said, "You showed Porcupamon to the land of misfits where he could live with those like him... and you helped Fangmon realize his home. Then you promised me to help me find my mother. Just as long as I do as you say."

"Will you do it?" Gatomon asked.

"I don't know." Kurayami decided. "You said that I had to. If I don't you will take the happiness away from my friends. And if I go with you, I will never see them again... But I want to see them again. I learned a lot from them. I learned feelings... I learned to... to cry. I love them. But I've been looking for so long..." She was worried and stressed, making her decision, and so was I, just watching her. "My friends don't want me to. They say they can be happy without your help... but it won't be as good. I accept. But first I think I will leave my egg with Flybeemon... I don't trust you."

According to police reports, her mother had gone missing fifteen years ago, making Kurayami seven or eight years old at this point in her memory. She was making such a big decision, and I couldn't bear to watch it happen. She was so hurt and conflicted. She wanted happiness for everyone, and she was doing the right thing, but she was doing it the wrong way. My hand was covering my mouth as I watched her panic, fighting with herself to make the right choice.

"I will come." She decided finally.

And then her eyes popped open and stared directly at me, freezing me in place. Her piercing blue eyes were staring right through me as Gatomon tensed up in my lap. "Kurayami?" I asked slowly, "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay," She said, her eyes still wide and open. "But I'm alone. It has been a year since I came to the Digital World. I am now Fanglongmon's puppet. I will do what he says whenever he tells me to. He is God. He has given me a partner. He is Apocalymon, but he is smaller. Weaker." Kurayami's eyes slowly shut, and she returned to her laying position. Gatomon and I both watched her with bated breath. One more panic attack like that and I'd wake her up. It wasn't fear—it was unhealthy. She could be seriously hurt if we moved too fast or too far. We had already somehow come so far in a place where we were not meant to be welcomed. Kurayami graciously let us in, and it touched me deeply that she _trusted_ me enough to confide in me. But I didn't want to anymore.

I was looking for a way out—and if that made me a bad friend, then so be it. I didn't like hearing her voice quake with fear, and I didn't like seeing her body tense up every time she thought of Fanglongmon.

"My Master sends me on many missions." Kurayami told us, "He sends me to the Temple to talk to Gennai. He wants me to get the information he will need. Gennai will give it to me, but not to Master. I have learned about different worlds from Gennai's library where he lets me read. Mostly I open the books and allow Master to read. I cannot comprehend what they are telling me." Once again I came to the realization of how young she had to be. Eight years old... Thinking back to when I was eight, and trying to imagine what it would be like to have been through so much pain and heartache. Sure I had been sad for many years, and I felt alone, and broken, and that since I was so sick it had to be a message telling me I wasn't meant to live... I'd been through a lot by then too. I held my emotions in, just like she had, and I thought it was impossible for someone to love me. Just like her. But never could I picture myself giving my mind over to a monster... but never could I imagine what I would have done if I'd lost my mother either.

Kurayami was constantly showing me how similar we were. The difference was our mothers. Mine chose light, and while there was no other option aside from darkness, her mother chose the darkness for her. Her mother was offered darkness because Kurayami was destined to posses it, and there was never a question of whether her mother would accept that fate for her daughter or not. Because she had to. But because of the decisions our mothers had made, and the events that passed for our families before our births, we were different. And nothing that happened to either of us was our own fault... I knew that now... I just hoped Kurayami did.

"I found the great evils." Kurayami said, "Master wanted to know their locations, and then I broke the book. I put it in the fire. No one else was to know the information. Lucemon was being reborn. Milleniummon's location was unknown, Myotismon was dead, or so they thought. We later discovered he had possessed a human on Earth, and used his body to return himself to the Digital World. Sigma was dead, doomed to eternity in the Dark Ocean, but his soul lived on stronger than any other soul. Only his body was gone. The Demon was in the body of Dragomon at the time, residing in his home in the Dark Ocean. He was already looking for Hikari... the child of light that could save them. Daemon was in the forest of magic, his home in this world, but Earth did not have a great evil. It was listed as unknown. Gennai did not know what it would be. Perhaps he could only see into his own time. I don't know. I didn't know. I couldn't know." She looked confused again, wondering this time where she was, or who she was or something.

Maybe she was waking up now. Maybe she could confuse herself into waking up again.

But she didn't. She was desperate, and I could see it, she wanted to stay in this state, and she was pushing herself deeper into the depths of her own mind.

"Master wanted the Great Evils, but I could only go to one." Kurayami said, "Daemon did not want to join Master. Not unless he gave him something he wanted in return. Master had no access to what he wanted... but I did. I couldn't tell them though. I did not want to go to the land of darkness. My mother never let me go. She said it was a place of pain and despair. I did not want to feel those things. But I'd gone before... I only felt alone. I felt like I would be alone for the rest of my life. I still feel that way now."

I wasn't sure if she meant as an eight year old, or as a twenty-two year old, but it hurt to hear either way.

"The people at the Temple know I'm a spy now." Kurayami said, her voice once again breaking. She was scared again. "They know I am Master... and they are coming. But he will protect me." Kurayami suddenly gasped in fear, and her hand jerked quickly, her eyebrows showing great sadness as tears began pouring from her closed lids. "They were not bad people. Master said they were... Gennai was always so kind... they were good. They were good people, and he is k-killing them. He is hurting them, and I can't stop him. I have to do what he says. I have to watch as he..." She was struggling now to get the words out and I was once again in shock. "I have to watch him do it. I have to find my mother, and I promised him I would do just what he says. But he wants me to help now. He wants me to stop them too..." She seemed to be done, and I was wiping a tear from my eye, trying to stand up to wake her up.

Enough was enough.

But Gatomon stopped me again. "Did you do it?"

Slowly Kurayami nodded.

"I did what I could." She said, "I tried... b-but I couldn't do it! It w-was Gennai!" She was practically sobbing now. "He a-a-asked me if I c-could do it, and I could not! He knew I was the girl of d-darkness and he also knew I was not a bad girl... I could not h-hurt him. Gennai was a good man."

I stood up, knocking Gatomon to the ground as I moved to sit by Kurayami, but Gatomon stopped me again, pulling on my leg. "You promised." Gatomon said to me sternly. "She wants you to let her do this."

"I can't." Kurayami and I said as one.

"I can't do it though." She said, "I know I p-promised... but I can't."

Both Gatomon and I looked to Kurayami who was still sobbing, and I had to force myself not to look away. Gatomon was right. I did make a promise. My promise was not to the Dark Lord Fanglongmon, but to one of my closest friends. I had to keep this promise, because I had to trust her the way she trusted me.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice thick as I forced the tears not to fall. "If you did not kill Gennai, what happened?"

"Gennai w-won." Kurayami said, confused. "I don't know h-how... but he and his p-people... they stopped him. They locked him up. But he looked to me. He looked at me and he said..." She was scared to repeat the words, but it seemed there was no stopping her now, "He said 'Kurayami. You will do as I bid thee to do. You will awaken my sovereign. And you will free me.'" She said it in a lower voice, one that invoked fear into me just my association with the true owner. "But Gennai t-t-told me I didn't h-have to. And I chose not to. I ch-chose to be a better girl." Kurayami breathed in deeply, taking in the most broken, and choked breath I'd ever heard, even from that of a child. "But Fanglongmon did not give me a choice. And he broke me."

Kurayami was now too weak to sit it seemed, and she slid off of the couch, onto the carpeted floor, sitting rigidly on her knees. I fell onto my own in front of her, ready to catch her if she fell. "He b-broke you?" I asked.

She nodded. "H-he..." She was now in full control of her body and her hands came up to her face, hiding her eyes as she sobbed into them, "He made me go away... and he t-took control." She looked up to me, her eyes open wide, bloodshot and glistening with the tears of her past. "Hikari, I didn't w-want to... I swear."

I threw my arms around her. She was awake now. She cried into my shoulder and I did the only thing I knew to do which was to sit and let her do so. I was crying too, so I wasn't much comfort, but I could still hug her and tell her it was all going to be okay. Gatomon was standing nearby, looking horror-struck, unsure of what to say. "D-do you know what you... what happened next?" Gatomon decided to continue the conversation. At least now it would be entirely Kurayami's choice to respond.

At first she did not, and she continued to cry into my arms in the dimly lit room. She eventually thought it best to respond, and tried to compose herself, pulling away from my embrace. "Well I revived three of the sovereign. I did not know how, and Fanglongmon could not show me from where he was... but I knew someone who would know. Dragomon. I went to him, in the Dark Ocean, because I could feel no emotion... He told me he would help me for a price. I had to retrieve the dark spores from the dark tree. I collected them, and on my way back... someone came... I don't... I can't remember who. It was a man. He wanted my body—but it was too dark, and there was no room for his shadowy form... Sigma maybe. Maybe it was him...? But I gave the spores to Dragomon and he told me where to find the Sovereign. So I woke them up. Not before you all revived Azulongmon though..."

"That was a year later..." I realized aloud.

"I spent a l-long time with him inside." Kurayami said, defeated. "When they were all back, they released Fanglongmon from his prison, and I was reunited with... with my Master." She shuddered from speaking the words aloud. She sat straighter, remembering something suddenly. "There was something Dragomon showed me." Her hand grabbed onto mine instinctively and she squeezed, "He showed me my mother." Kurayami looked so pale now that she might faint, but she didn't shy away from the memory. She was much braver than I would have been. "S-she was d-dead. She was lying there... she was not alive anymore. Her body... she..." Kurayami didn't seem to know what to think, "A-and I d-d-didn't even _care_. I couldn't _feel_ anything. She meant nothing to me..." She was choking on air now, her hand around her throat and I tried hugging her again, but she just pushed me away. "Don't!" She said sharply.

"Kurayami," I said, "I'm trying to help."

"I know." She said flatly, "But I have to go." She stood up suddenly, using a lamp for balance. "Thank you for your help. But I can't keep talking about this."

"Kurayami," I tried again, jumping to my feet as well, "I think you should sit down and drink some water. I'm not letting you go anywhere alone. Let me call Daisuke?" She seemed to think that was a good idea and she fell back onto the couch. Gatomon rushed off to get the water I had suggested and I sat down next to Kurayami, "Are you going to tell him?"

"No," Kurayami said softly, "Not yet. I need to know more..."

"_More_?" I asked incredulously. "But that's enough, isn't it?"

"No." Kurayami said loudly, "Hikari, I remember... a moment... Apocalymon came from the woods and he... he told me he had killed my friend. Flybeemon... and do you know what I said?" I shook my head, and soundlessly replied with 'no'. "I said 'Okay.'" Kurayami said, appalled with herself. "'Okay' is what you say when someone tells you they moved the remote to the other side of the table, or what you would say if someone says 'how are you?' after a breakup. _Not_ what you say when one of your friends has been killed." She was speaking loudly, and she was angry, not at me, but at herself.

"But you weren't yourself," I tried, realizing how unsuited I was for this kind of thing yet again. "Fanglongmon had taken over—"

"But it was still _me_." Kurayami said. Just that sentence alone conveyed how hurt she was by it all. She was aching inside, and there was nothing anyone could do to fix that. And that was why I thought she was better not knowing. "And I... I did worse. I remember worse. I..." She trailed off. "Please call Daisuke." She decided, "I want to go home."

"Okay," I said softly, holding her hand one last time for comfort.

I stood up to get my phone. Honestly, this had been the most emotional Thursday evening of my life, and what was worse was that there was nothing I could do to make any of it better. One of my best friends was crying, and hurt and all she wanted to do was go home and pretend it had never happened.

After calling Daisuke I quickly texted Takeru.

_Please come here? I just... I need to do something. Bring a movie?_

And he replied quickly with,

_Okay._

_**Jenna Washington:**_

She was rambling on and on as if either one of us really cared about what she had to say. We didn't. But we had to pretend we did.

It had been Mari's idea. _"Keep your friends close, and keep your enemies in your range of vision so you can crush them if they come too close."_ That's what she'd said anyway, and like, it made sense. So we were doing it. Chi and I were.

Chi's hand was sweating more than usual where it rested, tangled in my fingers, keeping him safe. There was something about this girl that made him more upset than it made me, and that was saying something, because seeing the face in front of me made me want to cry, vomit and scream at the same time. She was horrible. Veronica, the leader of that bizarre underground digimon hate club. Her hair, as always was pulled into a long black braid. Her eyes were still the same sparklingly beautiful shade of green they had been before, and her eyebrows still kept thin and arched.

Mostly I just kept focusing on the crooked tooth in her mouth. There was just the one, but it was noticeable. It seemed to be her only flaw, and focusing on it helped whenever the sensation to punch her tried to overcome me.

Chi and I had been heading out to eat lunch together in our version of fancy clothes, and we'd run into Veronica along the way. We tried to avoid her and not make eye contact, but we'd been unsuccessful and she had been following us ever since, going on and on about her life. At first I thought it would be a good way to find out what was going on without having to go to the creepy meeting next week, but she wasn't telling us anything of importance. Just things about _her_.

"I love horseback riding, right?" Veronica said, "So this one time..."

"I had a fried salami sandwich for lunch yesterday, and it was so good."

"My boyfriend is the coolest guy. He beats up any other guys who look at me. He's so romantic."

"I like to hunt down living creatures and destroy them with my twisted, horrible mind."

You'd think that last one would have been an exaggeration, but it wasn't. Sure, it may have been paraphrased, but that's what she was doing! Running around killing things. Okay, not killing, but she was putting tracking devices on them so someone _else_ could kill them. Or something similar.

She was currently raving about her current boyfriend and how sweet he was. She'd leave the topic, but it seemed to always pull her back in after a while like she _had_ to tell us everything. Like how he broke into her house to leave her flowers one time, or how he never told her anything about his past at all.

Which was probably for the better. I knew her boyfriend was Marshall, and while I didn't know a _lot_ about his life, I certainly knew _some_, and I wouldn't tell her if I were him either. He'd been a pretty big dickhead from what I'd heard from Willis and Mari.

Throughout our adventure down town I tried to find as many excuses as possible to get out of the conversation. First I told her I had to get shopping, but she came with us, so I had to buy some stuff. Then I told her I received an urgent call from the hospital, but she offered to go with me, and I had to tell her that someone sent me a message telling me it was a prank, and that was when I realized I didn't even have my phone with me, so I couldn't go through with that anyway. She went pee once, and Chi and I thought about leaving her, but we were supposed to be on her good side.

I didn't want to be on her good side. She was a bad girl.

"So what were you guys thinking to do next?" She asked eventually, Chi and I looked to each other, both of us begging one another with our eyes, desperate to tell her we wanted to leave but each to scared to do so on our own. We looked back to her and shrugged as one, and she smiled, "Great, because I have something to show you."

She took my hand in hers and started dragging me through the streets. Chi was following along, I knew, but I hardly noticed, my eyes were focused on our hands. What was she thinking, holding my hand like that? There was something about the contact of our hands. Something electric and intense that made my entire body feel tingly, like I was about to leave my body and never return. I couldn't make sense of what I was feeling, but I knew I didn't like it.

When I looked back up from our hands I was lost, having not paid any attention to where we were going, so I would just have to trust her.

I nearly laughed out loud at the thought. I couldn't trust her. The only thing I knew about her was that she was a little obsessive, and determined to commit genocide. To me that screamed untrustworthy.

Finally we'd stopped. We were near an abandoned looking wooden house that had been concealed down numerous alleys and side streets. It seemed like a fantasy that this building would exist, hidden within the streets of our city. What seemed even weirder was that there were no people around. I obviously didn't know much about real world things, but I knew that this would be the ideal place for a sad, lonely homeless person to live with their stray dog or whatever.

Veronica released my hand and motioned for me to follow her up toward the buildings broken wooden steps.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and clenched my clammy hands into fists. I didn't like to admit it, but I was pretty easily scared, and although I never let that stop me from doing anything, this time I wouldn't have to do it alone. I reached behind me to take Chi's hand.

After only a couple seconds of waiting, I spun my head around to see him, and dropped my arm stupidly when I saw he wasn't there. I was staring at a tall brick wall, with a narrow alleyway jammed between two buildings. Had he not been able to keep up?

"We should go back for Chi," I said to Veronica who, I realized when I turned around, was already standing on top of the rotting wooden deck, holding the door open for me to go inside. "I think he got lost."

"He'll be fine," Veronica said, "He's a smart boy. Besides, it was you I wanted to show, not him. I kind of purposely lost him."

I knew how rude that was, but I couldn't say anything to her. I had to stick to Mari's plan. Veronica had to be investigated. Someone needed to know everything there was to know about her, her plan and the items she was using. Somehow I felt like we'd rushed into this and I kept reminding myself how rushing into it was better than waiting for a moment when it was too late. We didn't know their plan, but we knew it was bad, and couldn't wait around for them to execute it. So it was up to me—for some reason—the youngest of us all to get in there and investigate the truth behind the mask of Veronica.

Veronica looked to me with her intense eyes and watched as I made up my mind. "I won't bite," She promised. I smiled to her nervously and followed her up the three steps, careful not to step in the holes. I heard something hiss at me from under the deck and I jumped up the last step, panicked. Veronica laughed at me, "That's just one of the stray cats." I was beginning to feel more and more like I was in a very stereotypic horror movie.

Veronica pointed casually into the house with her thumb and I clenched my eyes before walking in.

I was instantly gasping for fresh air—or as fresh as the air was outside at least—because the house smelled of mildew and dust. And cat pee. Veronica didn't seem to mind though, and she strode right past me through the narrow entryway. To the right there was a set of stairs that twisted all the way up to the second floor of the house. Veronica had gone straight though, past an open archway that seemed to lead to some kind of sitting area. Personally I wouldn't have wanted to sit there though. It was kind of mouldy. The couch was torn and a spring was actually sticking through the seat, the table only had three legs, and the last corner was propped up with a bag full of what appeared to be garbage. The window behind the couch was coated in a thick layer of grime and it was completely impossible to see through the glass. The only thing in the room that was still intact was a small portrait hanging on the wall of two people.

"Who is that?" I asked bluntly, pointing to the picture. Veronica stopped walking and stood by me, staring to where I was pointing. Her face fell quickly and she turned to me sadly.

"They're my parents." She said. "They're dead."

I turned to her to gauge her reaction and realized I didn't know what to say at all. I knew what it was like to live without a parent, but I didn't remember what it was like to lose one. I had lived a privileged life of happiness and riches. I'd never had to work a day in my life, and I was happy to do so. It was kind of like a slap in the face to realize not everyone had it as good as I did. "Do you live here?" I asked Veronica slowly. She nodded briskly, her lips pursed, and she turned to walk the way she'd previously been heading. I didn't know what it would be like to live in a house that didn't come with its own movie theatre, or indoor pool. I would never know what it was like to live a life of sadness.

I wasn't complaining.

I was just realizing the brutal honesty that was the world. Most people were meant to live in a sad state of mind at least in certain points throughout their life. The least happy I could remember myself being was when I was ten and my teacher failed me on a math test. My dad fired her for me. I was a protected from everything.

"Veronica," I said, catching up to her. She was standing by a wooden door that went right. "How did your parents die?" She looked to me, almost angry, but did not answer. Instead, she pushed open the door she was standing by and walked inside. I shouldn't have asked anyway, it was way too personal. When I followed her through the door I first noticed that it was a kitchen... kind of. The table was scratched and looked like it had been used in a war as a shield at one point in its existence. There was a stove, but there were cobwebs covering the top elements, as well as the walls surrounding it. The sink was piled high with garbage, and dishes, and take-out boxes. When I turned around I noticed that there was another person in the room.

"Hey Jenny," Marshall said, his smile was prominent and attempting to be friendly. I knew enough about him to know that the smile was fake, and his true intentions were pure evil at the very best. Veronica stood next to him, placing her hand on his shoulder and smiled along with him.

I didn't know what to say, but they were both waiting for me to say _something_. I'd have to say something interesting. "Hey Marshmallow." Okay, so that wasn't entirely interesting necessarily, but it caught them off guard.

"You know his name?" Veronica asked, her eyes narrowing in on me.

"Yeah," I said nodding, "You... someone must have mentioned it." I was so stupid. I'd thought for a moment that him calling me by my name even if it wasn't exactly correct that he'd known who I was. Veronica likely mentioned me to him. That was how he knew me. He didn't remember me. Not yet anyway, I may have blown my whole cover. "You did talk about him all day." I added nervously.

Veronica nodded and looked to Marshall. "That's true."

"I love you," Marshal said, grabbing Veronica with his massive arms and pulling her into his lap to kiss her. A moment later they were entirely making out and I threw my hand up to block the vision as I looked down the wooden floor that may never have been washed. "Yeah, but don't call me Marshmallow." Marshall said, indicating that they were done.

I looked up to see that Veronica was still sitting in Marshall's lap, playing with his ginger hair, messing it up playfully. "So what did you want to show me?" I asked Veronica.

She looked away from Marshal and up to me and smiled. "Well," She said, "I wanted to show you our headquarters."

"This...?" I asked looking around, trying to find a way to not sound rude, "How many people would fit?"

"Not many," Veronica admitted, "But it's what we've got." She sounded almost ashamed of the fact for a moment, but she quickly recovered and smiled brightly. "What I wanted to show you though, was how far our technology has been coming. I know you've only been to one meeting, so I thought it would be a good idea to catch you up." I smiled, this time for real. This was the good stuff. This was what I wanted to know. Veronica slid off of Marshall's lap and walked to the cupboard where she pulled a file of papers, and dropped them atop the cluttered table, shoving things aside hastily making room.

Finally she opened the folder and I glanced over her shoulder. There was the prototype for her gun. The writing was too small to read from so far away, so I didn't get any information there, because she'd already flipped the pages. But I'd have more chances.

"This here," Veronica said, pointing to a picture of the red tracking devices. "They send a signal to the main computer at our main building. They work as a hive mind. It's really quite fascinating." The main building? I was just told this was her headquarters—but then what was the main building? "This one," Veronica said, catching my attention to show me a small camera, "This is really cool. We have cameras everywhere."

"That's creepy." I hadn't meant to say it aloud.

Veronica thankfully ignored me, "Oh, and the best one!" She showed me what looked to be a wand. That was pretty cool. "It's like a conductor of some sort. It gathers excess energy and puts up a kind of barrier to keep the digimon out." I was both appalled and impressed. Had she created it? No, there was no way, she wasn't speaking scientifically enough. If there was one thing I've learned from being Willis' sister it was that people who made things always bored people with the details. "We have one around this house right now. No digimon can get within a hundred yard radius."

"That's actually really cool." I said honestly. It was horrible, and was probably going to be used in a bad way, but the fact that people were able to make something like this was really impressive. "So what happens when they walk into it?"

"It's like a wall." She explained, "They just can't get through." Well that was good at least. It wasn't hurting anyone. "Once we get all the digimon back to their home, we're going to put one up using satellites, so digimon can no longer enter our world."

"Oh you're just throwing them into the Digital World?" I asked, "You're not killing them?"

"If only." Marshal sighed, disappointed, "We don't have the technology to kill anything, and we don't want to be actually arrested either. I've been to jail once." I looked to him, amused and he laughed, "It was stupid. The girl was asking for it."

Ew. What?

I didn't even want to know.

"This is so cool," I said nervously, but kind of honestly. The fact that they weren't planning to kill anyone, at least not yet, was good news. They were tracking them to capture them and send them back to the Digital World. That wasn't genocide! That wasn't bad! Not too bad anyway. It was like in the middle of the 'Hate Crime Pyramid' that my dad had drawn for me when I had come home every day a little dramatically about a bully. As it turned out my bully was on the bottom of the list with mean jokes and stereotypes. 'Acts of Subtle Bias' he'd called it. Next on the pyramid were the 'Acts of Prejudice and Bigotry' which included name calling and whatnot. Then there was 'Acts of Discrimination' which was all about harassment, and discrimination obviously. Then there was the 'Acts of Violence' which was where this ranked, as far as I was aware. This section of the pyramid was about assault, terrorism, threats, vandalism and desecration... whatever that meant. The only sections above this though were 'Acts of Extreme Violence to the Individual' which was restricted to three things. Murder, Rape, and Arson. I didn't want things to get to that level. I didn't want them to escalate any further out of control because we were not in control enough to handle that. And if it went even further, to the highest point on the pyramid, we would be facing 'Genocide'. The worst thing possible on pyramid of hate.

According to my dad anyway. And he was a pretty smart guy.

"It's more than cool," Veronica said proudly and dramatically, "It's wonderful. We're going to win."

"I'm happy for you." I said falsely. "Us I mean." I was disgusted that I'd included myself into that grouping. I was nothing like them. I didn't think anyway... I smiled to both of them who were looking to me like I had just made a blood oath to some kind of cult. "But I should probably go," I said, "Chi is probably lost out there, I should find him."

"Okay," Veronica said, "Feel free to come here any time though. Chi can come too." She smiled to me, and Marshal waved in a friendly way.

The moment I'd turned my back I felt tears burning to come from my eyes, and not because of the smell either. I was on friendly terms with _Marshal_. What kind of person did that make me? I was horrible! Even if I was a spy on the inside, I felt like scum being associated with them. I'd found some stuff out though, not much, but at least it was something.

I was pushing through the narrow passage to escape the secret haunted house I'd just come from, and found myself in a labyrinth of passages and alleyways, desperate to find my way back out to the main roads. A man was standing, leaning against a wall smoking something. He waved to me, but I didn't wave back, too nervous to do anything. He seemed like he was a friendly guy, but I knew that that wasn't always the case, so I needed to hightail it out of there. But I was lost and scared and confused. Finally I heard traffic to my left and considered climbing the buildings to find my way. Instead I tried to relax until I found my way out.

I did do it of course, but how Veronica expected me to get back there I wasn't sure.

"Jenna!"

I spun quickly and embraced Chi as he threw his arms around me brightly, "Oh my god!" I cried out, "Where did you go?" I asked.

He shook his head ashamed, "I couldn't keep up, Veronica knew her way around too well."

"Well, it's fine," I said, "I'm fine. Let's go home. I'll tell you about it on the way." And so we did. I told him what I'd learned, which took about two minutes, and the rest of the walk consisted of the two of us theorizing about what it could all mean or lead to, and him comforting me as I'd also told him how I'd felt. He was such a good boyfriend, even if our date had been cancelled because of Veronica.

"Veronica seems broken," I said when the conversation had finally died down. I'd intentionally left out what I'd learned about her as a person, saving it until the end. "Her parents are dead and she won't talk about it, and she lives in a shack. I think it's getting to her."

"Well she's got Marshal to love her," Chi shrugged. He didn't realize how unhelpful Marshal's affection would be in the support of happiness. I didn't bother telling him though, because we were home, and it was a long story. But it was true, about Veronica. I felt like there was something off about everything she'd said, but she was still broken, and there was no doubt about it.

"Why did they leave the door open?" Chi asked, pointing ahead. I leaned over, craning my neck to look around the fountain to where the door was indeed left open. Something about it seemed wrong though, so I grabbed his hand quickly and set off at a run toward it. I kicked the door further open and stepped inside, calling out.

"Hello?" I shouted, "Who's here?"

There was no answer. "I'll look over there?" Chi offered, and I nodded, letting him go. He headed toward the Dining room, but I just ran up stairs. I saw out the large open window that there was no one in the back yard, and when I searched Willis' room, then Terriermon and Lopmon's rooms I found no one was there either. Mari wasn't in her room, and Michael and Tatum's room was empty too. They'd even left their computer running. But one thing I unfortunately noticed was that each room was messier than usual. I knew I lived with messy people, but they weren't this messy—especially not Willis who hadn't been home in days.

There was no one in the kitchen downstairs either, nor in the pool or the screening room.

"Where is everyone?" Chi asked me when he joined me in the lobby. I shrugged, but didn't respond, I was already heading to my room to look at my phone. My room was equally messy, and I know I'd made my bed. Probably. But the covers were pulled back, the contents of my dresser and bedside table were thrown about the room, and my closet door was hanging open. I had like a bajillion new messages. I looked to see they were all from Michael asking me where I was, but I didn't want to read through them all, so I just called him.

'_The number you have called is out of this plane of existence.'_ The operator lady said, _'Please press 'two' to continue.'_ I pressed two and waited until the phone started ringing.

"Jenna!" Michael answered on the first ring, "Don't go home! Someone's in the house."

"No," I said flatly, "No one's here."

"You're there?" He asked sharply, "Get to the Digital World." Chi was leaning closely to listen as well, but something caught his attention somewhere else, and he left my room. "We're all here."

"All of you?" I asked.

"Yeah," Michael assured me, "Me, Tatum, Betamon, Monodromon, Terriermon, Lopmon and Mari."

"Mhm," I said annoyed, "Where's Kudamon?"

"I thought he was with you!" Michael shouted into the phone.

"You left him here? When someone was in the house?" I argued, "You're so inconsiderate! What if he was killed or something!" I was starting to panic, and was looking through my room hastily for Kudamon, as Michael explained what had happened. "Why was Willis' boss doing in our house looking for stuff?"

"I don't know!" Michael shouted, "And he could come back at _any_ time! So get out. Now!"

"Make me." I said rudely, "I'm finding my partner." Just then Chi walked back into the room holding a trembling Kudamon, and I dropped my phone, with a gasp. "Oh my god!" I said, jumping up to hug them both. "Are you okay?" I asked Kudamon, "What happened?"

"A m-m-m-man!" He stuttered, "He was i-i-in the house. Yelling! So I h-h-hid in the c-closet."

"The shoe closet," Chi confirmed, "I found him in one of Mari's boots. He was... well, he was crying."

I looked up to Chi thankful. I didn't know how he knew to look there, but I didn't care. I was so happy Kudamon was okay. Unfortuantely we were apparently meant to go to the Digital World now. The least I could do was please my brother I guess. I sighed and picked up my phone where Michael was calling for me loudly."I'm on my way." I said finally, and I looked to Chi, "you coming?"

He shook his head, "I should get home, tell my mom what's going on and stuff."

"Okay," I said, not commenting on how weird he was acting, but he kissed me really quickly and left me alone with Kudamon. Then I turned to my computer and headed straight to the Digital World.

_**Mimi Tachikawa:**_

The world was against us. I wish I meant that melodramatically, but it really seemed like the world hated us. We could never go more than a few years without _something_ going wrong. We were supposed to be retired. We weren't meant to be dragged back into this. We beat all of the Great Evils that we were _meant_ to defeat. I wanted to find Trust, just so I could shake some sense into the little jerk. Where was he? Or she? Why hadn't they already done what they were supposed to do? We only left one Great Evil for them. One. One single evil thing. We had to defeat so many more than that! It was hardly even fair.

I sighed.

It was like the Digital World was afraid of giving us a break. It didn't know how to stay at peace. Well, that wasn't exactly fair. It wasn't the Digital World that was the problem this time around. For the first time in...well..._ever_. It was Earth. The _people_ of Earth to be more precise. A bunch of people gathered together to fight against something they thought was evil. If it was anything other than digimon that they were fighting against, the problem would have been dealt with already. Instead, it was down to us: the digidestined. Sure there were some other people out there that had digimon partners. Most of them actually liked their partners too. That didn't mean they were helping to protest against it.

I wasn't being fair again.

It wasn't their job to do it. It was _ours_. And I actually didn't want them to go out and do something stupid, like stage a protest, and end up getting themselves—or their digimon—hurt in the process. It was better if we digidestined handled things. Only... it didn't really seem like we were doing much of anything to "handle" it.

Sora, Koushiro and I were walking through the Digital World with our digimon partners. We'd left the Temple a good while back, and were headed to a place we hadn't been in _years_. And when I say "years" I really mean it. This was back when we first met Myotismon. I hadn't even thought about this place since then. Not really. It was kind of in the middle of being destroyed the last time I was there. But apparently this was the last place Etemon was seen.

My heart clenched.

Yes. Etemon was _not_ one of my favourite digimon. He was a bad guy. The villain. But it didn't make it hurt any less to know that he wasn't out there anymore. He wasn't in Primary Village, waiting to hatch. He wasn't somewhere in the dessert planning his next grand scheme. He was gone. Deleted. Forever.

My skin prickled. I shook my head. It didn't do to dwell on it. I would just end up on a never ending downward spiral. I was miserable enough as it was. My restaurant had been attacked. Again. I had insurance—not that the insurance company was happy about it. It was the second time in three years that my dream had been ruined. Kiyoko and I spent hundreds of hours going through every detail of the place, making it better than before only for it to go up in smoke. Literally.

I clutched Palmon's hand tight in mine. She looked up to me, and instinctively knew what I was thinking about. She was always so smart. She smiled brightly and held tighter to me. She was still wearing a bandage on her arm. The white gauze wrapped around her wrist, and I hated to see it. I was happy that she was alive, but I wasn't happy that she got hurt while I made it out without injury. She wasn't always supposed to protect me.

Not on Earth.

Not against human attacks.

And that's what the fire was.

I wasn't sure I was even going to reopen my restaurant. Yes. It was my dream. But I hadn't had a lot of fun with it for awhile. It was getting better once Michan was gone, and Takeru and Yamato had been employed. But was that enough to rebuild it _again_? At what point should I sit back and realize that the world didn't want me to own a restaurant? When did I give up?

I couldn't help but wonder if I already had...

"Don't you agree, Mimi?"

Sora was talking to me. I smiled at her and nodded, not knowing what she was going on about. My answer satisfied her, and Koushiro didn't seem confused, so I must've guessed correctly. Palmon's was the only face to look at me worried. She wanted to speak to me, but I shook my head.

I hadn't been in much of a talking mood lately.

There was only one thing that anyone seemed to want me to talk about. And I still wouldn't. I couldn't. I knew that if I allowed myself to—even just a little—then I would just be a big bundle of nerves and tears and I didn't want that. I didn't have _time_ for that.

We were on a mission.

I was going to focus on the mission.

I_ was_.

"Do you think Rei's seen anything?" Biyomon asked. "We haven't heard from her yet. She's just been camping out there, waiting for someone to give her a break. Why didn't we go do this earlier? Why do so many of us need to go? Is it going to be dangerous? If it is, then you're lucky you've got me. And Tentomon and Palmon too. I'm not trying to say I'm the strongest. That would be really rude."

"Not to mention presumptuous," Tentomon muttered. I tried to suppress my smile. Koushiro didn't try at all. He was openly chuckling. Biyomon didn't seem to notice at all. She just kept talking and talking. She had more energy than the freaking energizer bunny.

"I'm going to scout out ahead!" she announced cheerfully, flying off ahead. I really wished I'd paid more attention to her rant. I had no idea what she was doing. Sora didn't look worried, so I forced myself to relax. We weren't going to get attacked. I really needed to calm myself down.

Without the ever energetic Biyomon, the silence was almost deafening. I couldn't handle it. The crunch of our shoes against the rocky dirt. The wind rustling the leaves on the trees around us. It was all making my skin crawl. I felt like I was being watched. I knew I wasn't. There weren't _that_ many trees here. It would be hard to hide. But still. I was on edge. I started rubbing my right arm with my left hand. I didn't want to release Palmon, so I had to settle for what I got. It wasn't helping much.

"Are you working on anything new, Sora?" Palmon asked, glancing worriedly at me. She knew what was wrong. She _always_ did.

"No," Sora said with a chuckle. There wasn't any humour in it though. Just a hollow laugh. "Maybe someday. But not now. Watching all my hard work get destroyed like that. I can't handle it again."

"Me either," I whispered. Sora looked to me, surprised to hear my voice. She reached over and caught my left hand, holding it tightly in her own. I squeezed back. With Palmon on one side, and Sora on the other, I felt like I could almost take on the world. _Almost_. There was still a part of me that was far from happy though. Koushiro and Tentomon hung around awkwardly. They were on Sora's left, just sort of standing there, unsure what to do. Biyomon hadn't come back yet, and Sora and I were having a moment with Palmon. They were just _there_.

I wished I could think of some way to include them. I loved them. Both of them. But I couldn't. It wasn't something we usually did. We were a team. Sometimes. He helped me when I got overwhelmed, and I made sure he took the time to eat and sleep. We'd watch _one_ television program together. Voluntarily at least. It was the only show that we both liked. Tentomon was more willing to watch my shows than Koushiro was, and Tentomon hated anything that wasn't a nature documentary—or the occasional historical one. We loved each other. We _really_ did. There were just some times—like this one—that I realized how different we really were. I knew he wouldn't appreciate being dragged into a group hug. He didn't have a very good grasp on compassion either. It was one of his little quirks. And Tentomon didn't like physical contact much. He avoided it as often as possible, and there was a time I might've just ignored it. But we've gotten to be really good friends. I respect his choices, and I know now that he wasn't doing it to be rude or standoffish. He just didn't enjoy touch.

"Are you ready to talk, Mimi?" Sora asked gently. And it was gone. That warm fuzzy feeling. The happiness. All gone with one little question. I shook my head harshly. "I _do_ understand, Mimi. I've had my dream ripped away from me too. More than once."

I just continued shaking my head.

"Sora, maybe you shouldn't," Koushiro cautioned.

"No," Sora said. "I'm not doing it to be mean. I'm trying to help. No one else is stubborn enough to get through to you, Mimi. And I'm one of the _only_ ones that can actually relate. If you won't talk to me, then try Yamato. He's been there too. And maybe he can relate better than me. He was betrayed by his old friends too."

"Sora," Palmon said with warning in her voice.

"You know I'm not bullying you, don't you Mimi?" she asked gently. "I really just want to help. Bottling things up doesn't solve anything. I know it doesn't. I do it all the time."

My shoulders were shaking, I was struggling to keep my emotions in check. She was right of course. She'd hit the nail on the head. It wasn't _just_ that my dream had been taken away—_again_—and it wasn't _just_ that Palmon had gotten hurt when I was supposed to be protecting her. It was the fact that two of the people responsible were my friends. My _friends_! They were supposed to support me, love me, tease me. Not ruin everything. Not fear my best friend. Not take out their anger on my restaurant. I gave Michan a job. She was the one that didn't do what she was being paid for. I tried my best to tighten the threads of friendship that the years had loosened. But she and Tako severed them. There was no coming back from this. If and _when_ I found proof of their involvement, I would be setting the police after them. No amount of pleading would make me revoke the charges against them. I put the effort in. Not them. And _this_ was how I was repaid? Screw that!

Sora and Koushiro were looking at me with wide eyes. Tentomon was trying to convince me he was very intrigued with the branches of a tree, and wouldn't look at me. Palmon was patting my arm with her free hand.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"I didn't realize how much you were holding back," Koushiro said anxiously.

"What do you mean?" I asked, hesitantly.

"All that stuff about Michan and Tako," Sora said. "I didn't realize how much you blamed _them_. I always figured you put more blame on those men..."

My heart sunk again. I'd said it all out loud. I was totally embarrassed. There was a reason I was trying to keep it inside. I was hanging from a precipice. I needed to block all of those feelings again. Push them back, or else I'd fall of the edge. There were steps to my emotions. I was angry. Furious. But after that fury burnt out... there was only despair.

"Sora! Tentomon! Mimi! Everybody," Biyomon called out, flapping her wings and flying at us at top speed. "You'll never guess what I just saw. Come on, come on! Follow me. I'll bring to you it. There were all these weird noises. It sounded like a bad thing. I thought the digimon were being attacked. Of course I was suspicious, so I went to check it out."

"Biyomon," Sora gasped. "You could have gotten hurt!"

"Don't worry," Biyomon told her. "I was wrong. It wasn't that. It was—no! Wait, I don't know what it was exactly, you've just got to see it. You'll never believe me if I just tell you."

We couldn't exactly say no.

Not because we didn't want to go see it. She just didn't stop for air long enough to give us a chance. She flew off again quickly, leaving us in her dust. Sora dropped my hand and started chasing after her digimon partner. Koushiro and I shared a look, following, only after Tentomon shot after them. I still held tightly to Palmon's hand. She was a slower runner than I was, because of her shorter legs, causing the two of us to trail after Koushiro and the others. We came to a stop—after falling to my knees no less than three times, and I dragged Palmon into a tree...—between Sora and Tentomon. What I saw shocked me to no end.

There were digimon and humans, together. The humans were fighting, yes, but they weren't fighting the digimon. They appeared to be their partners. The humans were beating on each other. Only...they didn't seem mad. They were doing it for fun. I couldn't wrap my head around it.

"What is this?" Sora asked, her voice bordering on awe.

"It looks to be a human-digimon fight club," Koushiro deduced.

"It's barbaric, is what it is," I corrected, disgusted. Why would anyone do something like this? Cause their partners to fight against other digimon just because they enjoyed fighting. I could _never_ do that to Palmon. Just because a digimon _could_ fight, didn't mean that's what they were created to do. It wasn't.

"Hey! You!"

A man called out to us. His voice was anything but friendly. He was sweating profusely, his forehead above his right eye was swollen, his knuckles raw. He had a bandana tied around his head to soak up some sweat, and to keep his chin length, dark hair away from his eyes. He wore beat up clothing, something the fighting couldn't ruin. His opponent was on the ground, holding his nose—recently broken—and swearing angrily at his loss.

A quick glance told me there were five other humans. Only two were female. One was standing to the side, with her digimon. Her clothes—all neat and tidy—suggested that she wasn't here to participate. The first aid kit at her feet gave her reasoning away. The ToyAgumon at her side was in pieces, and she was putting him back together, scolding him for his recklessness. The yellow, green, red and blue digimon looked sheepish as she reassembled his arm. She was smiling though, proud of his accomplishments in the ring. I'd thought she might be a kindred spirit, against violence. I was wrong.

The other female had her hair tied back in a complicated French braid, and was wearing a sports bra and track pants. She had tape on her hands and was fighting against the largest of the men. She wasn't winning, but she wasn't loosing either. If I hadn't thought it entirely pointless and barbaric, I might've cheered for her. The man she was fighting had no shirt, but was huge. His muscles had muscles. He wasn't fast though, like she was. He had more power than her, and it was a locked battle. Neither was budging an inch.

Two green, champion digimon—a Tankmon and a Tuskmon—were locked in a fierce battle. The only reason I knew they meant it for fun, was because none of them had dispersed into data yet. I was hearing growls of "Slamming Tusk!" "Hyper Cannon!" and "Horn Buster!" but I couldn't keep up with the battle. I couldn't tell who was winning.

An incredibly tall, and beautiful man, with long—I'm talking to his waist here—dark blue tresses, was cheering on his digimon: a Starmon. The star digimon was facing off against the other rookies. He must've been the digimon to have defeated the ToyAgumon. A Candlemon was weaving around the remnants of the Meteor Shower attack Starmon had unleashed. Candlemon was protecting his flame, but he didn't look afraid. Just determined. A Hagurumon was waiting his turn. Biding his time. Waiting for the element of surprise. I winced, knowing that Starmon was keeping an eye on the gear digimon, leading him on. Letting him think he'd have the upper ground. Starmon was doing all of this while fighting off a Falcomon—the latter having just used his Scratch Smash, trying desperately to deliver some damage to the star while scratching him with his clawed wings.

Starmon hadn't even broken a sweat.

The shorter, wider man next to the beautiful one was cheering for Falcomon. He obviously hadn't realized just how much difference a single evolution could bring. A champion fighting _seven_ rookies could still win. Kuwagamon taught us that. It was one of the first lessons we'd learned after coming to the Digital World.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Bandana guy was running at us now. I nearly ran away myself, but Palmon was holding fast to my hand. I didn't want to drag her behind me, so I stood my ground.

"What?" Biyomon asked.

"Get outta here," he growled. "You ain't welcome here. We don't like ya. Yer lame. Get goin!"

"Hold on a minute," Sora said, sassily. She didn't like the tone of voice he was using towards her digimon. Biyomon never seemed to notice, but Sora did. And you don't mess with Sora. "We have every right to be here. This is actually a free forest. If we want to sit down right here and have a freaking picnic, we will. And there's actually _nothing_ you can do about it."

"Oh yeah?" Bandana guy asked. "I think there might be."

"Some new blood?" Tough Girl asked, giving up her fight against Giant. He looked at us, intrigued. "They don't look like much. I think I'll pass. Have fun though."

"I'm not fighting any of you," I said firmly. "I don't fight for pleasure. _I_ am _civilized_."

"Mimi," Koushiro said in a whisper. "Maybe don't insult them."

"Maybe," I said. "But _I'm_ not the one running around half naked, beating on other people. We fought for peace, not fun!"

"You guys aren't going to fight?" Broken nose asked. His words were a little difficult to understand. The words were sort of blending together. "What about your digimon? They up to it?"

"Definitely not," I said, aghast.

"Sure," Biyomon said. "I'm sure I can do it."

"The digimon has spoken," Bandana called giddily. "Tuskmon, I think _you_ can do the honours." So Tuskmon was his. And he was trying to intimidate us. He obviously didn't know who he was messing with. I didn't understand why Sora and Koushiro were so into this. Koushiro stepped up next to Sora, looking at Bandana.

"Hmm," Sora said. "I dunno. I don't think we can win."

"Maybe if it's two on two?" Koushiro suggested, colouring his voice with "nervous" enthusiasm.

What were they playing at? They couldn't seriously want to fight them. We had a mission. Rei was _still_ waiting for us to go and replace her. I didn't want to leave her hanging just so Sora and Koushiro could knock these barbarians down a peg.

"Fine," Bandana said. "Tankmon! Yer in too." Broken Nose looked really excited. Tankmon was his then. Giant moved over to Hagurumon, seating himself so that he could watch the coming battle. Well, he didn't realize it _would_ be a battle. He thought it was a humiliation, meant to embarrass us enough into leaving. I mentally paired Tough Girl up with Candlemon—though I couldn't see why it mattered to me who was paired with who.

Sora and Koushiro looked to each other. They shared a secret smirk, and I hated it!

"Care t'make it three on three?" Bandana asked.

I hugged Palmon closer to me and glared at him. He held his hands up in mock defeat. I wasn't about to let him "humiliate" me. I didn't want to humiliate him either. Not like Sora and Koushiro. I sunk down to the ground, and settled Palmon on my lap. She leaned back onto me, resting her head on my shoulder. We watched as Biyomon and Tentomon flew towards the champion digimon.

"Ready?" Bandana asked. "Begin!"

The fighting started, and I closed my eyes. I whispered softly into Palmon's ear. She was watching. I knew she was. Her shoulders were tense, and I was getting frightened.

"They're okay," she insisted. But as much as I cared for that, I didn't like the fighting. I don't understand it. Why would anyone fight for the sake of fighting? It just upset me. It's not something I ever thought Sora or Koushiro were interested in either. Maybe they were just showing off. Maybe the fact that this team of fighters didn't recognize them from the movie bothered them. Maybe they wanted that recognition. They wanted people to stare at them in awe—or hatred. Maybe they thought being digidestined earned them at least a little attention. Maybe they _liked_ the idea of joining a fight club.

Or maybe they just really disliked the idea and were trying to put a stop to it.

I could understand joining the fight if it meant we'd be saving the world, or the underdog. But I would _never_ fight for the fun of it. There would always need to be a damn good reason for it.

"They just keep dodging," Palmon whispered. "They're not getting hit. But they're not hitting back either."

"Why won't they just give up?" I muttered pleadingly. "Why won't they let these guys have their ego stroked so we can get out of here?"

"Enough of this!" Tough Girl shouted. I liked the sound of that. I looked up. Tankmon and Tuskmon were trying with all their might to catch the two flying rookies. They kept missing. "This is boring. This is the least action I've ever seen in a fight. Either fight back, or take the hit. There's no dodging!"

"She's right," Beautiful Man drawled. "You were the ones that wanted the fight. If you can't accept defeat gracefully, you shouldn't have accepted the invitation."

"Fight back!" Short-and-Wide hollered. "Fight back or get the hell out of here!"

"Let us get back to the _real_ fun," Giant bellowed. "I've wasted enough of my time with watching you."

"The club has spoken," Bandana said with a smirk. "I guess we'll be seein' ya run off with yer tails between yer legs."

Sora and Koushiro gripped their digivices, and the "worry" and "fear" dropped away from their countenance, and they put on their game faces.

"Fine," they spoke at once. "Digivolve!"

"**Biyomon digivolve to... Birdramon!**"

"**Tentomon digivolve to... Kabuterimon!**"

"**Birdramon digivolve to... Garudamon!**"

"**Kabuterimon digivolve to... MegaKabuterimon!**"

"**Garudamon digivolve to... Phoenixmon!**"

"**MegaKabuterimon digivolve to... TyrantKabuterimon!**"

"**Phoenixmon jogress digivolve to...**"

"**TyrantKabuterimon jogress digivolve to...**"

"**Eaglemon!**"

Now that was just overkill.

"How did ya _do_ that?" Broken Nose demanded.

"I'm smart," Sora said. "So...yeah."

"And I've got this beautiful girlfriend whom I love," Koushiro said. And it was almost really sweet. Only, you know, he was bragging about his jogress form to people who fought for fun, so it kind of took the sweetness out of it. "It all started there."

The club members were all just staring at Eaglemon in awe. He towered over everyone. And he was actually kind of scary. I knew he wouldn't hurt anybody though. Not unless he absolutely needed to. He was too powerful to fight for fun. He knew his limits.

He'd _better_.

"We'll still beat ya," Bandana said with _far_ less confidence than before. He motioned for all seven of the digimon to attack at once. It had little effect. I forced myself to _not_ pay attention after that. I didn't like fighting. Neither did Palmon. We started up a game of pat-a-cake, when something caught my attention. I looked into the trees and what I saw chilled me to the bone.

"Everyone stop!" I screamed. "Someone's coming! They're wearing black, and they've got guns!"

Koushiro and Sora looked to me instantly, with one shout, Eaglemon reverted back to Biyomon and Tentomon. They headed into the woods with Sora, and I lugged Palmon into my arms, not trusting her to keep up with her short legs. Not when there were guns involved. Koushiro waited until I passed him with Palmon before he started following after me. We made it to cover easily enough.

"They're not following," Koushiro said. He was upset by this. These people loved fighting, so I figured they'd stay to do so. But I _did_ think they would send their digimon to safety at the very least. I set Palmon down and she gave me a dirty look. She didn't like my method of keeping her safe. And I had to admit, it _was_ pretty undignified.

"Why aren't they coming?" Biyomon asked. Sora hushed her. Biyomon nodded. They needed to be silent. I strained my ears. I could hear the guns. The people in black—head to toe, shirts, shoes, pants, ski masks, the whole works—were shooting. I turned to see. There were too many leaves in my way. I looked to Palmon, pleading with her to stay put with my eyes. Then I took off. I ran until I could see what was happening. And what it was? It wasn't good. They were shooting the digimon with these _things_. Little round devices that stuck to them. ToyAgumon was trying to pry one off of his nose, and Falcomon was trying to get one off of the Starmon he'd been fighting so intensely earlier.

"What the hell do ya want?" Bandana demanded, pounding on the nearest person in black—it was a man, judging by his grunt of pain.

"DWD!" they all shouted as one.

"Whatever the hell _that_ is," Tough Girl shouted sarcastically, beating on a person that _dared_ to shoot their gun near her Candlemon.

No one was near Hagurumon. Giant was fending off an attacker a little ways off, but he wasn't _close_. A man in black _was_. I didn't even think about it. I was no longer a silent observer. I knew there were tears streaming down my face. I was so scared. I ran at Hagurumon, diving at him, tackling him out of the way just _seconds_ before the strange device could hit him. The man didn't take kindly to that. He kicked me—_hard _—in the ribs. I grunted, his kick sending me rolling off of Hagurumon. He pointed his gun at the poor digimon again, shooting him with a device at close range. He turned to me and I saw his kick coming. I just couldn't do anything before his foot made contact with the side of my head. I heard him shouting "DWD!" again, before he was next to me on the ground. I looked up in confusion, but I was still seeing stars, everything was spinning and bright. I _thought_ it looked like Koushiro, shaking his fist—clearly hurting after punching the man. But that didn't make sense. I'd left Koushiro behind. And he didn't typically resort to violence. Well...not without Tentomon.

"Mimi," the guy who was obviously Koushiro, but I couldn't believe it to be said. "Mimi, _please_ be okay!"

"I'm okay," I lied. I tried sitting up, but I found myself face first in the dirt instead. I was too dizzy. I just wanted to sleep.

"Mimi, get up," he insisted. "We don't have time. We've got to go."

"Go on," I told him, waving him off. I would just take a nap. "I'll be fine."

"_Mimi_," he hissed. The next thing I knew, was that my arm was slung around his shoulder, and he was half-carrying, half-_dragging_ me behind him. I knew he wasn't all that strong, but it was a tad ridiculous. He dragged me into the trees, and Sora appeared at my side, grabbing my other arm, making for a much less painful journey.

"Palmon," I called out, realizing she was missing. "Palmon! PALMON!"

"Mimi, calm down," Sora hissed. "They're hiding. They're safe. All three of them. No one will find them. I barely could. But we can't go to them now. We'd be drawing attention to them unnecessarily. We need to get out of here. _Now_."

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Ahh! Breakdown and fly like a cannonball in the new installment where Sora and Hideto pick up where Mimi left off D:


	16. Breakdown

**Y/N: **This was an interesting chapter for me, because I finally got to delve into Hideto's past a little bit, while also cementing a friendship that was tentatively started earlier. I enjoyed learning about Hideto's past, and I really enjoy writing as Hideto in general. The words just flow onto the page with him. He makes things easy for me, which I really appreciate.

**U/N: **I distinctly remember cringing at the end of writing Sora's. I know it's not the best thing ever, and I'm sorry about that. But it's way too late to re-write it noooww... so enjoy it anyway, and just make your way through. I have faith you can do it :D And also review yo!

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 2: Challenge**

**Chapter 16: Breakdown**

_**Hideto Fujimoto:**_

The day felt wrong. The sun was shining, warming the earth and air. I'd already shed my jacket, tying it loosely around my waist so that my hands could be free. My long sleeve, black t-shirt allowed my skin to feel the gentle breeze, but it too was warm. Birds were singing, chirping out little songs to one another. Little children were out on the sidewalk with chalk, drawing pictures and playing hopscotch. Several windows and doors were open as their inhabitants let in the sweet fresh air. The last of the cherry blossoms and tulips cast their floral scent into the air. They were accompanied now, by the new blossoms. The wisteria and pink moss had spread like wildfire, and there was the odd rose blooming early, thanks to the warm sun.

Still. It felt wrong.

I was walking with a folder tucked under my arm, inside of which were several copies of my resume. My _real_ resume, not the fake one I'd given to Mimi—I still couldn't believe she'd fallen for that. I was hitting the pavement, trying to find new work. And it felt wrong. I should be heading to the restaurant, apologizing for being so late, begging not to be given dish duty for my mistake, but rolling my eyes when I was. I should be joking around with Izumi, while watching Yamato serve the customers, laughing each time an old fan squealed at the sight of him. I should be thanking anything and everything to have Takeru play host, because it left Mimi in the kitchens where she was happiest.

I _missed_ that.

It didn't help that I'd told Mimi what it was I was doing. I couldn't do it behind her back though. I needed to be upfront and honest to her. She'd had enough shady dealings with friends before. Not that Michan could ever really be considered a friend...but still. I told her. It was the right thing to do.

"_I hate to say this Mimi, really I do, and you can't even begin to imagine how much I hate it. But I need to, Mimi. I love working at the restaurant, I love how it feels like we're all a family. I love the dynamic in the kitchen...but I need the money Mimi. I need to pay rent...so I need to get a new job."_

_She nodded her head slowly. She'd been expecting it at some point. She understood. I knew she did. Knowing it didn't help prepare me for what happened next. Still nodding, her eyes filled with tears and all of a sudden she just couldn't handle it anymore. She threw her arms around me and collapsed against me. I held her close, ensuring she wouldn't fall to the floor._

"_I can't stand it! The idea of not working with you...you've been there from the start. We're family. You, Izumi and me, and I don't want to lose you!"_

"_You're not losing us," I insisted._

"_But I am! I'm losing you," she sobbed. "You're leaving, and Izumi said the same thing."_

"_I'm sure she'll be waiting for the day that you call and say the restaurant's up and running again," I told her. "I know that's what I'll be doing."_

"_No you won't," she cried. "Being a waiter isn't your dream. You'll go out there and find a job you like a hundred times more and then you won't need little old me!" She let out a giant wail._

"_Mimi," I said, unsure of how to proceed. "I love you. You're like the sister I always wanted to have, but couldn't because I had a different one—one I would have traded for you in an instant. I will always want to work with you. And I don't have a dream. I thought I did. But it turns out counselling involves years of really boring classes that don't interest me in the slightest. Your restaurant is the only thing I have. Career wise, because obviously I have Warg and Melga, and Kiyoko, Mari and Tapirmon, and Neo and Dracomon, and you and Izumi and all of the other digidestined and—"_

"_I get it," she said, hiccoughing out a laugh._

"_Just call me when my job opens up," I told her._

"_I will," she promised._

I didn't know if she would though. She seemed to be losing the will to keep her dream alive. She refused to talk to anybody about it. And if she didn't talk about it, then she'd just lock it all up inside and let it fester until it took all the joy out of the idea entirely. She needed to get right back up on her feet again and refuse to let the DWD activists keep her down. We all needed her restaurant. It was our meeting point. We all went there all the time. It was the one spot we could go that could keep us connected. With everyone being scared to bring our digimon outside, and some of us in different countries, we needed that meeting point more than ever. If we couldn't _see_ each other, how could we support one another?

By the looks of things, Mimi would have me helping her rebuild. I wasn't having much luck in my job hunt. I could've had plenty. It wasn't like there weren't jobs available. I just refused to even apply to any of these shops. I'd done my research. I knew who was hiring and who wasn't. But each and every place I went to, prepared to drop off a resume, I'd notice a simple sign in the window. The sign put me off enough that I wouldn't even enter. They even had this sign at the big one-stop-shop stores and at my favourite grocery store. The sign just said "No Digimon Allowed." That was it. Just that.

But it was enough to drive me over the edge.

They weren't vermin. They weren't animals. They had minds that were capable of speech and thought, and reason. I could understand if they wanted to reinforce the "No shoes, no shirt? No service" rule, because that was already in effect. I'd have just put a pair of galoshes and a sweatshirt on both Warg and Melga, and everything would've been fine. But to completely bar them from entering a store? No. That didn't sit right with me. They weren't dogs. I wasn't going to tie them to a post outside while I went in and did my shopping. They weren't menaces, not the dregs of society.

They were living, breathing _beings_.

They had feelings. They had dreams, and goals and ambition. They had everything a human had, and more. They were intelligent, they were obviously good linguists, since they all seemed to be able to pick up on Japanese and English quite quickly, and I knew there were Chinese, Russian and Indian digimon as well. I'd heard the stories. Digimon were all over the world. A part of every culture.

I just wished they were a bit higher up on the food chain in most people's minds.

And no matter how desperate a store was to hire me, I wouldn't—_couldn't_—work for an establishment that added to the injustice the DWD activists were polluting society with.

I sighed deeply and ran a hand through my hair, messing up my attempts to keep it looking professional. It didn't matter anyway. I wasn't going to put effort into everyday; they might as well see what I was really offering. I pulled the list of potential employers out of the folder, and ran through the names one last time. Three left. That didn't seem too promising. I checked the pet store first, but even _they_ didn't allow digimon into their store. I was tempted to slip into the store and let all of the animals inside free, just to cause some mischief, but decided it was too much effort. And I really didn't want to give the satisfaction of knowing they'd gotten to me.

I wondered how many other people were boycotting these stores with me. I didn't know about all of the digidestined—I wasn't actually all that close to the majority of them—but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, and assumed they were with me. Their families probably were too. Their friends—their _real_ friends, not the imposters like Michan, Tako and the Teenage Wolves.

The train station was next, so I headed over to it. I didn't know if I really _wanted_ to work with a train station. I'd have to be on the train day in and day out, and that would just be annoying. But I needed the money, and on the off chance that they weren't horrible people and actually _allowed_ digimon on their premises...I couldn't exactly say no.

It was a long trek to the station, but I wasn't about to spend money on a taxi when I didn't have a job. I wasn't going to be depending on Kiyoko and Mari to provide for me. Screw that. I'd been providing for myself since high school. I wasn't planning on breaking that streak anytime soon.

When I got to the station, I looked over the windows carefully. I saw a few flyers for Sora's fashion show, and winced at the sight of them. Someone had thoughtfully taken a black marker to them, and littered each one with doodles. Some said DWD, some said some pretty derogatory things about digimon, and those that cared about them. Some simply were crude drawings. There were other flyers around them, but I didn't see a single sign that said digimon weren't welcome. I decided it was a good omen and opened the door, cringing at the loud jingle the bells made when the door nudged them as I pushed it open. I hated those things. Who even thought of them? Who thought: oh, I know, I'll put bells on the ceiling to annoy people when they walk in! Okay. I knew that they were to signal the person on duty, to alert them to the presence of a customer, and weren't _actually_ created for the sole purpose of annoying me. But I still hated them.

"Hello," a cheerful man said. He was older, with a thick, grey moustache, and a little cap on his head covering what appeared to be a bald spot. He was shorter than me, and thin. He wore a blue, button-down shirt, and a white vest striped with red. He had khakis on too, and shiny black shoes. "How can I help you today?"

"I want to know your stance on digimon," I said bluntly. No point beating around the bush. The effect was immediate. His face got red, his eyebrows pulling together. I'd angered him already. This wasn't looking like a good sign.

"If I've told you people once, I've told you a thousand times. Digimon ride for free! I will not change my stance on the matter. Nothing you say matters," the old man growled. "If you ask again I will be forced to ask you to leave."

"Isn't this a _public_ train station?" I asked. Yep. Instead of assuring the man I wasn't a threat and actually had two digimon of my own, I thought it would be better to verify his claims. I mean, this wasn't a private train. It was connected to the tracks that ran all over Japan.

"This one's not," he said firmly. "My grandfather funded the project that built the railways, and as a show of good faith, he was left with a station named in his honour. It's mine now, and what I say goes. Don't think others haven't gone over my head trying to ban the digimon. I've already talked with the others in charge of the trains themselves. They agree with_ me_."

I got the feeling that he wasn't quite as confident about that. But he was telling the truth. That much was obvious. There must have been a higher percentage of people voting in favour of digimon, though how big the margin was I couldn't say.

I held my hands up in defense, and then turned my hands over, making them face me, so that the two digivices on my wrists were blatantly obvious. His eyes narrowed in on them, just as I'd hoped.

"You're not one of people that hate the digimon they were blessed with...are you?" the man asked warily.

"Nah," I said with a big grin—I had a tough time forcing it on my face, to be honest, and an even harder time getting it to look genuine. "Warg and Melga are awesome. We kinda helped save the world...I'm pretty sure that should make my stance on the DWD thing clear."

"Well good," the man said awkwardly. He'd had so much fire in his eyes, and I'd put it out, leaving him spluttering, trying to find some solid ground to stand on. "And the reason for your..."

"My questioning? Yeah, this was just the only place without a sign that declared allegiance to the DWD. I'm not going to apply to a place that supports the cause. I'd apologize if I felt bad about it, but I don't. I stand by my beliefs. And I needed to know that you would too," I said. I only realized about then that I shouldn't have told him quite so frankly that I was a digidestined. That probably wasn't the smartest course of action. But I couldn't take it back now. Not without being super suspicious anyway.

"You've got questionable methods, son," the man said shaking his head and laughing slightly. "But I like you. You say you've got a resume?"

"I do," I said, pulling the first one of the day out of the folder I'd been carrying. Maybe today wouldn't be a complete waste after all.

"You know it's just a janitorial position," the man asked cautiously.

"I'm aware," I said. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I knew. I didn't have to _like_ my job. Mimi's had spoiled that for me. I used to work any and all jobs available to me. I didn't like any of them. Not until Mimi's. I loved working at the restaurant. I made friends, became a part of a family. And now I was a potential janitor for a train station. How the mighty had fallen. At least the old man looked friendly enough. And he liked digimon.

"You're not the only candidate," he warned me. I nearly rolled my eyes. Of _course_ I wasn't. I kind of hoped Takeru wasn't one of the others though. I wanted this job. I didn't want to feel bad for getting it. "You _are_ the only candidate that bothered to assure me of your stances. I was worried I'd end up hiring one of those vandals, the ones that target the digimon. I don't want one of those."

That was reasonable. And it totally helped my chances. Takeru would've been upfront about it. Probably. Possibly. He did have a lot of people that were depending entirely on noodle-carts to live... he might actually compromise at this point... damn it! Now I felt conflicted again. And my phone was ringing too. In my coat pocket, so it was dangling beside my knees, thanks to my jacket's position. I bent down awkwardly to try and grab it before it stopped ringing.

"Thank you for your consideration," I said hastily to the man. His eyes just lit up with laughter, and he motioned for me to go answer my phone. I took it as a sign that it was okay to leave, and did so, answering my phone just as I was exiting the station. "This is Hideto."

"I certainly hope so, since that's the person I was calling."

"And this is...?"

"Miyako," she said flatly. "I thought you might recognize my voice. I shouldn't have assumed. We only talk all the time when I visit Mari after all." Ouch. She was bringing out the sarcasm.

"Is there something you need? I was in the middle of impressing my future employer." I was being hopeful. And cocky. It was something people expected of me. So I kept it up.

"I'm sorry," she said. "But I need your help. A lot." Her voice was sort of desperate, and I knew I'd cave. Damn it. Why did I have to be so secretly nice? "Please. _Please_!"

"Don't beg," I instructed. "It doesn't look good on you. Where are you?"

"At my parents' house," she said. Her voice was still nervous. Obviously she expected me to refuse now that I knew where I was going. And I was tempted to. I was _oh so tempted_. But I couldn't, because she just sounded so damn pitiful.

"Give me an address," I said with a sigh. Her voice perked up instantly, and she rattled off a location. I didn't think I should dawdle, so I took a taxi. I was almost guaranteed a job, and I was tired of walking. And Miyako needed me. It wasn't like it was a _complete_ waste of money. Okay, it was. But I needed to justify it!

Miyako was standing on the sidewalk, her long—and I do mean long, did she ever cut it?—lilac hair fluttered gentle in the breeze. She'd left it loose today, coupling it with only a dark blue headband that matched her dress. It had long sleeves, but otherwise I'd have thought she'd broken out her sundresses. It wasn't _that_ warm. But I supposed she could have been dressing up for her family. The sunlight glinted off of her glasses. I knew the exact moment she realized I was in the car. Her face lit up and a big smile spread its way across her mouth. I paid the taxi driver and left the car. She ran over and hugged me. Her own flats left footprints on the toes of my boots. I held back a sigh.

"My parents are upstairs," she cautioned. "And Ken couldn't make it, and they've been laying into me about that. But my sister arrived—Chiziru—and Dad's distracted by her boyfriend for now, and Masa—my nephew—has monopolized Mom's attention. Which is good. I don't think they noticed I left."

"You want me to stand in for Ken?" I asked incredulously. "I think they'll notice I'm not him. I'm taller, wear more black and am far better looking. And my hair—"

"You're not standing in for him," she said stubbornly. "I just can't face my brother's girlfriend alone. And I thought maybe, since Hideto is such a love guru, you could come and tell me that they're not right for each other, and in some subtle way you could break them up."

"Confident, aren't you," I commented, realizing she hadn't left any room for doubt. She was _sure_ they weren't right for each other. Well, we'd just have to see, wouldn't we? "They aren't here yet?"

"No," she confirmed. "And neither are Jou, Momoe and Emiko. So you won't be entirely among strangers." I wisely didn't tell her that Jou might be the one digidestined I interacted with the _least_. There was actually a list of candidates fighting for that title. Sora, Jou, Daisuke, Kurayami, Iori, and Miyako's very own husband, Ken. I just didn't talk to them. Any of them really. The only reason Taichi didn't join them is because of Rei. She dragged him along to things a lot.

"And you're sure?" I asked, just to clarify. I wouldn't be able to_ undo_ anything once I'd made it happen.

"I'm sure," she said. And I vowed to do my very best. She was kind of stressed about it, and I didn't want to add to that stress. She was pregnant and high strung. Not a good combination. I walked over to the door of the apartment complex, and held the door open for her. She was ranting, listing off all of the negative traits that her brother's girlfriend possessed, just in case it would help me with my task. Miyako had to lead the way after that, and we passed many doors on the way to the elevator. She paused mid-rant to inform me which floor Takeru's mother lived on. Like I cared, or would ever _use_ that information. She told me which apartment used to belong to Iori's family too, the one across from her own childhood home.

She opened the door and walked in, without waiting for me to school my features, without letting me prepare myself. Her mother looked up, probably excited about seeing her son and his girlfriend. She was disappointed when she realized it was just Miyako again. Her eyes narrowed in on me, confused.

"Who's this young man," she asked. Miyako ignored her, and grabbed my arm, dragging me over to where her sister was seated on the couch. Her hair was cropped really short, it was a pixie cut, and it sort of suited her. Her hair wasn't beautiful—not up to my standards—but it looked like Miyako got the good hair genes of the family. I'd seen Momoe, and I didn't expect much from her brother. Even if he had good hair, would he know how to preserve it? Probably not. Miyako had informed me he was a hippy.

"Chiziru, this is Hideto," Miyako said. "He's my friend."

"_Friend_? Or Friend," she asked, using her emphasis to get her point across. She too had glasses on her face. They were more angular than Miyako's round ones. Chiziru had chosen rectangles. I was just surprised they weren't cat's-eye glasses, after everything I'd heard about her. She was wearing short-shorts with knee high socks. The heeled boots that I'd seen by the door—where I'd ditched my own boots—must've belonged to her. She wore a sweater, black in colour, which hung off of one shoulder, leaving the bright orange tank top to take centre stage. It was a much bolder orange than her hair—but that was just an orange-blonde, so that didn't surprise me.

"Friend, Chiziru," Miyako confirmed with a glare. I almost laughed. She didn't look even remotely scary. I cast my eyes out over the rest of the guests. Masa was wearing a pair of black jogging pants and an orange t-shirt. The shirt was inside out, and my guess was that he'd dressed himself. It was adorable. But I couldn't understand the family's obsession with orange. Chiziru's boyfriend was talking with Miyako's father. He too was wearing orange! It was just his tie, as he was wearing a white button-up shirt and a grey jacket with it. It didn't stand out so drastically on him, but it was still there. And why was he wearing a grey suit? I mean, it was just a family dinner right? If he _had_ to wear a suit it should have been black or navy, or at the very least a _darker_ shade of grey. It completely washed him out the way it was, and his dark hair was more of a focal point than even the orange tie. It was standing up in all directions, though it looked like it had started the day at least somewhat organized. He and Masa were the only ones _without_ glasses. It was kind of freaking just how many people in Miyako's family needed them.

Her father was wearing a dark turquoise polo shirt, paired with some khakis. His dark brown hair was tinged with grey, and his little beard—not quite a goatee, but very close—held even more grey hairs. I would've shaved it off if I were him, but I guess he didn't want to part with it, even though it made him look super old. His glasses were thick rimmed, and a deep red, nearly a mahogany. His stern eyes landed on me and I quickly turned my attention to his wife. She was staring at me too, but her eyes were more curious than her husband's. Her hair must've once been beautiful. She had to be where Miyako got it. It still looked silky and shiny, but it had lost a lot of its colour. It had once been a pinky-red, and all that was left was a pink-tinged white. It was still pretty, just not the same. Red hair, while beautiful, turned grey—or white—notoriously quickly. It made her seem older than she was. Her face told me different though. I knew she could be a kind woman, but by the lines on her face, it was clear she let bitterness take the driver's seat. She was dressed simply. She wore a cream coloured shirt, with a pink cardigan, and she paired it off with jeans. Not stylish jeans. Nope. An old pair that was kind of frumpy. It was not a choice I would have made. But then all my clothes were one colour, so I really didn't have room to talk.

"Who is your friend, Miyako, dear?" her mother asked again, this time more impatiently. Miyako introduced me again, and we sat awkwardly—or maybe it was just me. I didn't fit in here. Her parents were strict looking, but they obviously loved her. And her sister was sort of crazy, but she had a boyfriend that clearly adored her, and a sweet little boy. I wasn't like any of them. All at once I was incredibly glad I didn't have to come to these things more than once. I felt bad for Ken. Really I did.

Jou knocked at the door. But before Mrs Inoue—I'd been told her name was Sayuri, but I was actually too scared to call her that, even in my head; she was _scary_—could go to it, Momoe just opened the door, laughing at her husband. She wasn't wearing jogging pants! I'd started to think that was the only thing she owned, since that was all she bothered to wear whenever I saw her. But she was wearing a trendy pair of jeans with a flattering, deep purple blouse. Her hair was pulled into a French braid, though it wasn't _too_ long. It was nice. Emiko's was not. It too was once in a French braid, but there were several loose pieces now. She didn't seem to care though. She was wearing white tights with grass stained knees, and a black and red dress with a poofy skirt. Almost like a tutu, but not quite. Jou was in a grey—dark grey, because he didn't want to get washed out—button-down shirt, and a pair of slacks. He must've just come from work, because he was still wearing his stethoscope around his neck.

"Hey," I said, lazily.

"Hideto?" Jou said confused.

"It's nice to see you, Hideto," Momoe said. "How are things going with you?"

We made small talk for awhile, talking about what was going on in the world, and all the stupid anti-digimon stuff going around. We were sort of excluding Mrs Inoue, but she wasn't putting any effort in herself. Even her husband was trying. He'd asked me about my own digimon, and was confused by the fact that _mine_ had names of their own, instead of using their species, and then he _complimented_ me for being so thoughtful. Miyako glared at me playfully. Her dad even told me to call him Tadaishi. It was starting to be a lot of fun.

But then Mrs Inoue's voice cut through the conversation. She was sitting in the window seat, just staring down at the sidewalk. "Just stop talking about those little monsters of yours, will you!" I wasn't surprised by the comment. She'd looked at me so sadly when she realized I had a digimon too, her eyes almost fell out when I said I had _two_. "Mantarou's coming up the walkway. I don't want you to talk about those _things_. I don't want to scare her away. She's the best thing that's ever happened to this family!"

"No," Chiziru said. "The order goes as followed: Chiziru, digimon, Momoe-Mantarou-Miyako. That's the order. I don't see her anywhere on it."

"Just be quiet," Mrs Inoue snapped and she stormed over to the door, ready to open it when she heard them coming. And she did exactly that. She opened the door and was suddenly the nicest person I'd ever seen. She was courteous, and pleasant.

I wasn't focusing on her though. I was analyzing her son, since he was the only one I could see. His hair was drowned in product, gel from the looks of things, trying to be tamed. It just looked awful. He was wearing a navy suit, with a white shirt and a pink tie. The tie was tied just a smidgen too tight to be comfortable, and it was clear on his face that he wasn't having any fun in it. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of oval shaped lenses.

But then Mantarou moved and I caught sight of a wholesome baby-doll dress, a soft pink in colour, with cream coloured trim on the neck and sleeves. It was almost perfectly coordinated with Mrs Inoue's attire. It couldn't possibly have been accidental. A cream coloured, modest heeled, shoe came into view, followed by another. I looked up, passing her shoulders, determined to judge her hair before her face. It was tied in an elegant, classy, but old fashioned up-do. She appeared to be going for a vintage look. I looked down ever so slightly and saw the glint of glasses. Because no Inoue couple would be complete without them. Okay, that was an exaggeration, because I'd already noted that Chiziru's boyfriend didn't wear any, and I knew full well that Ken didn't.

But it wasn't the glasses that really caught my attention. It was the face.

No.

No, no, no.

No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!

I'd spent too long avoiding everything from my past. It wasn't fair that she just pops up now. I couldn't look away though. I stared transfixed at her. Miyako elbowed me. "You got a crush?" she wanted to know. I shook my head. "Good, because you're here on a mission." Right. We were supposed to sabotage their relationship. I'd forgotten in the daze she'd put me in. Still, though, I couldn't look away. Her sharp, steely grey eyes met my own, and dismissed me, clear of all recognition.

She didn't know who I was.

I could slip out the door and she wouldn't be the wiser. My past _wouldn't_ catch up to me and I would be free to continue living in denial for as long as I wanted.

But I couldn't do it. The part of me that craved exactly that was overpowered by the hurt and confusion. How could she not know who I was? I was a memorable guy. Or at least I thought I was. I guess not, when someone as important as she was could just forget me, no questions asked. I literally hadn't changed. I still kept my face clean-shaven. I kept my hair the same way. I still wore only black. I was a little taller, but not much. I'd hit most of my growth spurts before I'd left. I could recognize_ her_. She hadn't changed either. It was absurd that she didn't know me.

"Hey man, you've gotta find your own girlfriend," Mantarou joked to me. Miyako laughed, forcefully, and Chiziru took pity and joined her.

"Eww," was all I could say to that. "I don't _like_ her. That's disgusting."

"Excuse me," she said, affronted. I couldn't stand being there much longer. I turned to Mantarou—Miyako had elbowed me again.

"She's not right for you. Don't do this to yourself," I told him. "I don't even know you, dude, but I know you deserve better."

Mantarou was too confused to say anything, but Tadaishi wasn't. He was angry. It was too bad. I kind of liked the guy. "You come into our home and make such accusations?"

"You don't know anything about me," she said, eyes shining with fake tears. "How can you _say_ something like that?" She looked like a freaking injured animal.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave," Tadaishi said. I guess he was probably Mr Inoue again. There was no way I _hadn't_ lost first-name privileges.

"Fine," I said. "Whatever. I've just got to say something. I do know you." She looked surprised. "You're Yorokobi. You're a Fujimoto. I know this, because _I'm_ one too. I'm happy to say it _wasn't_ good to see you, big sister."

Her face changed in an instant. Suddenly she was cordial. Her personality had taken a complete one-eighty. Everyone was looking confused at her. Probably wondering, as I was, why she hadn't recognized me immediately. Family was a big deal to the Inoue clan. I'd learned that much in the short time I'd been there. "Oh, I know you asked him to leave, Mr Inoue," she said in a pathetic voice that somehow won over Mantarou and his parents. I was happy to see the others weren't so easily swayed. "But couldn't he stay, pretty please? I haven't seen him since he graduated high school. I didn't even _recognize_ him. I would really appreciate a chance to catch up."

She was such a liar. She hadn't seen me since _she_ graduated high school. She was too busy with furthering her education to take the time to come and watch my commencement. And then I was gone. I didn't look back. I didn't want to look back. _Why_ _was she here?_

"Uh," I said, looking at her incredulously. "No! I'm not hanging around you. I _hate_ you. I hate everything you stand for. Why would I want to willingly spend _any_ time with you? I'm not into torture, thanks. But no thanks."

And then I left, stopping only to grab my boots. I didn't put them on. It would've wasted time, and ruined my dramatic exit. I couldn't be around her anymore. I collapsed on the curb, taking the time to put my boots on with shaking hands. It took longer than expected. Long enough for Miyako to catch up to me.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "I didn't know."

"Of course you didn't," I said. "Only Neo knows."

"I'm so, _so_ sorry," she repeated. I couldn't get a grip. My hands were shaking too badly, and I was afraid to look at her. She'd see a part of me that no one was meant to. Neo had. But _just_ him. Not even Mari and Kiyoko. I wouldn't let them. I didn't let Neo either. He was just there, the whole time.

"I spent so long pretending they didn't exist," I said, my voice void of my usual cockiness. It was shaking just as bad as my hands. "I don't like dragging up the past." Obviously she was pained by the tone of my voice, because she fell to her knees and was hugging me close, her chest to my back, her arms circling around my neck.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. My eyes were watering. I wasn't crying. Not yet. And I wouldn't let it get that far. "You know, since you helped me with my problems."

"No," I said firmly. She just hugged me tighter, and whispered well wishes in my ear. She continued to hold me for a minute, before finally letting me go. I sent her back up to her family, and I saw a glint in her eye. She wasn't going to give up on getting rid of Yorokobi. I'd just added more to the fire.

I decided to walk home for two reasons. One, I wanted to do some thinking, to try and school my features so that Melga and Warg and Kiyoko and Tapirmon wouldn't notice anything different about me. Two, I couldn't justify another taxi ride. I didn't _actually_ have a job. I couldn't waste the money just because I was emotionally wrecked. I slipped my jacket back on, zipping it up to my chin and started walking.

I'd left my family for a reason. Neo gave me the strength to do it. He figured out the problem. He realized why I was always so miserable all the time. They were suppressing me. They did everything in their power to take any accomplishment away from me. I wasn't good enough. I wasn't smart enough. I wasn't _nice_ enough. _Why can't you be more like Puraido? He doesn't waste time on dating. He's dedicated to his future. _ Puraido was a tool. He was smart, really smart, but he was a pushover. He couldn't fight. He wouldn't stand up for himself, let alone his little brother. He didn't need me anyway. I was the accident child. They wanted a boy and a girl and they got them. Puraido and Yorokobi, their pride and joy. And then I came along. I wasn't like them. They were all blonde, all wore glasses. All of them dressed prim and proper, and they did everything in their power to be perfect. I was the black sheep of the family. The scapegoat, the punching bag. If anything went wrong, it had to be Hideto's fault, because he just didn't fit in. Sports weren't good enough, they meant nothing if I couldn't pull in good grades, like Puraido, or weren't as popular as the manipulative Yorokobi. They were the dream team. A family that was perfect at whatever they did. I wasn't meant to be a part of it.

And Neo helped me leave.

Clearly they hadn't even _noticed_. Yorokobi couldn't recognize me. I doubted that Puraido would. And Mom and Dad? Forget about it. They probably threw a party when I left. I don't know why I thought they'd feel bad or realize their mistakes. For years I _hated_ them, but _still_ wanted them to come find me. But I'd given that up. I didn't need them. I'd made my own family with Alias III and the restaurant staff. It wasn't traditional, but it was enough for me. They all loved me, and cared about me. They didn't put me down and make me feel like I wasn't good enough. And I knew I wasn't. But they didn't mind that. They didn't _care_ that I wasn't up to standard. They just _let_ me be who I was, without questioning it.

I found happiness.

I didn't want them back in my life. I was happier without them.

But I wasn't happy anymore.

I was at our complex now, opening the door. I ignored our neighbour. He was talking to me, but I couldn't be bothered to listen. I just walked right on by.

I was upset about the changes. Before, when I'd left, I had Neo. And Neo brought me to Mari and Kiyoko—and to Sigma, but that was horrible and didn't really count—and things were_ finally_ good for me. But now Mari was leaving. Maybe not right away, but she had one foot out the door. It felt like at any second she could leave us forever, and it sucked. Because I really needed things to be good again.

I stuck my key into my door and gave up any hope of pulling myself together. I just hoped Kiyoko still wasn't home. I could deal with the digimon. They'd leave me be if I asked them to, since they didn't understand human concerns. But Kiyoko... He'd be hurt if I didn't share, since I knew so much about him already. I sighed, and opened the door.

"Took you long enough."

I dropped my key and crouched to the floor, looking for any sign of danger. All I saw was Mari, sitting in the armchair in the corner, with the small lamp on, on the table next to her. She had a notepad on her lap and was tapping her pen against it anxiously.

"What are doing here?" I asked.

"I need help," she said.

"What's going on?" I wanted to know. This would distract me. It would get rid of any memories Yorokobi might have stirred up.

"Alias III is going to break my boyfriend out of prison," she declared. She hesitated. "Only he's not my boyfriend, and he's not in _prison_."

"I'm in."

_**Sora Takenouchi:**_

"But where is she?" Mimi was asking with a hazy expression. She looked like she could fall over and pass out at any second, and I was kind of impressed that she'd lasted this long. Whoever it was that had hit her like that... That was just cold. I'd never seen anything like what had happened in general actually.

One moment I was busy showing up a bunch of arrogant jerks, and the next... we had been surrounded by shadowy figures emerging from the depths of the forest around us.

Ironically, that seemed like something that would, and _had_ happened to us. Literal shadows had emerged from the trees. I remembered it well because... well, it was hard to forget things like that. I remembered most of the details about our adventures. Some I was sure were tampered with due to adrenaline coursing through me during them and some had become slightly altered with time, but the general concepts I could remember.

I did not remember how I had died though. That was something that never happened to me, and yet happened to everyone else, and no matter how brief of time it had been, they were still cautious and worried about it happening again. Even just a few moments ago, Biyomon had been reluctant to leave my side, afraid of what might happen to me in her absence. She was worried that the shadows would get to me. But what she didn't realize, and what I didn't have the heart to explain to her, was that these were not shadows at all. They had been humans, just dressed in dark clothing. Enough dark clothing to conceal their identities.

It seemed that whoever was behind these irrational attacks was targeting the people of our group that would make us the angriest. First it had been Hikari, the most innocent of us all, the one we all had a tie to, and would protect with our lives. And now Mimi, the girl who hated violence. She was the only one of us that actually debated saving the world simply because she hated fighting so much. She came through in the end because she knew it was the right thing to do of course. But whoever it was that thought hurting her was a good idea was surely in for some major revenge whenever we got the chance.

Not that we would ever have any idea who it was exactly.

Koushiro was telling Mimi that just now, in a voice just loud enough to cover the sounds of the shouting that was still audible from through the thin scattered trees. I could still see them if I looked hard enough, but we were getting far enough away that soon we'd be free to relax and regroup, but as for now, Koushiro was sure that we should move as far and as fast as we could away from them.

And I wasn't about to second guess that order.

"I... I need to sit down." Mimi said softly, her left hand still tangled in her hair, gripping the side of her head. "I can't... see."

"I know," Koushiro said, trying to be patient. He was having a difficult time with all of this, as he was pulling Mimi along, trying to figure out what had just happened, and figure out what we should be doing all at the same time. Usually he would be good at multitasking, but when one of the things he was thinking of had an incomprehensible sum of variables, it made sense that he was a little put off.

I had offered to help carry Mimi, but she wouldn't release her head, and there was no way for me to help if she wouldn't let me, so instead I was keeping watch, to make sure no one was coming after us. So far, thankfully, they hadn't.

"Mimi!" Koushiro shouted suddenly over her incessant mumbling of slurred words, "Please, just stop talking." She looked hurt, and confused, but did as he asked. Koushiro seemed content as he thought, apparently panicked, about what he was thinking, and if he couldn't think of what to do, then I was panicking too.

But I couldn't. I'd have to keep a level head and focus on the obvious solution. We would run. And then we would hide. It seemed easy enough.

"There's a cave," I heard Koushiro mutter, though everything sounded like a shout now after straining my ears to hear for any followers, "We could go in the cave."

He had already turned himself toward the cave when I interjected, "But that's not where the digimon are," I said sharply. "We sent them up that hill." I pointed to the hill that was not too far ahead of us. "Besides, if they follow us they're going to look in the cave. We have to keep going."

"Sora," Koushiro said, annoyed, "Mimi can't go up a hill."

"We'll make it work." I said with more confidence than I felt. I knew that we could be followed easily, especially moving as slow as we were, but it was the only option we had at the moment. We had to keep going, or we'd be caught. We would find the digimon, find a portal, and get back home... "We can do it." He still looked unsure, so I moved forward and grabbed Mimi's arm, throwing it around my shoulder. She protested, as the air hit the bloody spot on her head. I winced looking at it, and forced my eyes away. "I'm sorry Mimi," I said firmly.

With the two of us dragging her the hill wasn't as hard as it could have been, no matter how obnoxiously high and steep it was. In fact it was so high that I was sure it wasn't a hill at all. A mountain perhaps. A teeny tiny mountain.

Finally, we had reached the top, and Mimi begged for a break so we set her down with her back against the largest tree we could find. She looked uncomfortable still, leaning on a tree half as wide as her back, but she was grateful for the rest.

Koushiro was speaking louder to himself now, running through different people who could have been in control of the attack, his words faster than normal.

I had taken a place as lookout, staring down the hill where we'd come, scanning the ground for any signs of people. It seemed we'd gotten away without them, and I was finally able to relax. We would get home safely.

Unless of course we went back. And I wanted to... sure, we'd gotten away safely, but only because those people who had been running a digimon fight club had been more violent toward the attackers, and thus had taken up most of their attention. And since we were still safe, and completely alone... did that mean that the others were still in trouble?

I turned back to tell Koushiro that I was going to go back to help in whatever way I could, but a flash of pink in the distance caught my attention. "Biyomon!" I shouted, stomping toward her, past Koushiro. She was still a fair distance away, but was flying toward me in a hurry. Tentomon and Palmon were rushing after her.

"Do you think they're running from something?" Mimi asked worried, "I can't run."

Biyomon was in my arms a couple seconds later, confirming that they had not been frightened by anything, but that Biyomon had in fact been too upset to wait in hiding any longer. "Sora!" She cried out, "I was scared you'd be dead and I can't go through that again, I'd miss you too much and I'm not going to just sit around and wait for you to come back to me when I can't be sure if you've been killed or something, and—"

"Biyomon." I said flatly, "I told you to stay hidden." How did she not follow the simplest of instructions. I was glad she was okay, and her actions had caused no harm it seemed, but how was I supposed to function if things got worse knowing that my own partner wouldn't even trust my judgement? She could have been seriously hurt. She could have been deleted, maybe. "You didn't listen to me."

"Well I'm sorry," She said quickly, "but if you understood how scared I was—" I did understand. I knew she was scared, and I understood how it affected her, because for years I'd been feeling the same way. Fearing that she might not make it out of the next fight, or maybe she wouldn't come back from a trip somewhere. But I trusted her to look after the business she needed to do.

"Biyomon," I said again, cutting off her rant, "I need you to promise you'll do what I say from now on."

"I can't do that if it means not knowing if you're okay." Biyomon argued relentlessly.

I decided that we'd have to discuss it later, because right now, Palmon was hugging Mimi, and Koushiro was trying to figure out if she was okay. I was going to help in whatever way I could.

Though, Koushiro was quick to tell me that I'd be of no assistance, and he busied himself with the wound on her head. "I need water, Palmon, can you find some?"

"She can't go out alone," Mimi said quickly, "I want her to be with me."

"It's okay," I said before Koushiro could respond. "I have some." I pulled a bottle of water from my backpack and handed it to him. He thanked me without words and tilted Mimi's head gently, pouring the contents from the bottle.

He was focusing solely on her head for a moment, gently rubbing the water around her head to clean the wound. She was crying silently, confused and scared, and it made my heart lurch painfully. There was not much I could do to make her feel better. She was too disoriented and in pain to understand, and all I could do was hold Biyomon's wing for my own selfish comfort.

"Is everyone okay?" Mimi asked, her eyes closed, "Is Tentomon here? I can't hear him."

"I am," Tentomon said in his metallic voice. He was sitting nearly as close to Mimi as Palmon was. They were a family. All four of them. I knew that of course, having lived with them for years before heading off to school with Biyomon. I missed them a lot, even now, sitting with them. I missed the moments we'd have just laying around watching tv, or going out spontaneously for dinner. Now the inside jokes they shared with each other were for them alone, and I was just as excluded as anyone else was. I knew that had to come eventually, but sometimes I felt it was a little premature. I was back now, and it hadn't been until this moment that I realized how much everyone had grown without me. Not apart from me. Just... without me.

It made sense to me.

"I'm glad," Mimi said, forcing a smile to her face before wincing as Koushiro examined what was wrong with her head, "That hurts," She said, instinctively pushing him away. "S-sorry!" She said, grabbing his arm. Her grip looked loose, but she was coming back to consciousness as was shown with her quick reflexes. "Koushiro, is it bad?"

"No," He said, though I couldn't tell if he was being entirely truthful or not. With anyone else he would have exhibited brutal honesty, but with Mimi it was different. He seemed to be more worried about her feelings than anyone else's. "It's not bad at all. It'll be fine." She smiled and seemed content.

"What happened down there?" Palmon finally had the nerve to ask. "Who did this?"

"I have no idea," Koushiro answered, "Whoever it was had very well maintained bone structure."

"What do you mean?" Palmon asked.

"I punched them." Koushiro said, lifting his hand up to show her the blood that had already dried on his knuckles. Apparently he'd hit them really, _really_ hard.

"Oh," Mimi said, she was looking at his hands, "I'm sorry about that." He opened his mouth, I was sure to tell her that it wasn't her fault, but she stopped him, apparently assuming the same as I had. "If I hadn't gone out there I wouldn't be hurt and you wouldn't have had to punch them." She was looking up to him now in a way that was so apologetic and... sad. I no longer felt welcome to intrude on their moment, so I looked away, trying to keep my mind busy with not listening to them.

Trying to not eavesdrop was something I was not entirely familiar with. And, as it turned out, something I was not very good at.

"Mimi," Koushiro said calmly, "It was not your fault. Don't even say such a thing. You were brave in choosing to save the digimon. I am proud of you."

"You think I made the right choice?" She asked, looking up to him.

"Of course." He smiled to her. Yeah. I knew he was smiling because I started watching them. That's how hard not eavesdropping was. "If you hadn't gone I would have. Well, maybe not, but I'm not as rash as you are. You're much more able to act with instinct."

"Thank you?" Mimi said, not sure whether or not it was a compliment. She wasn't putting much thought into it though. She was in pain still, and not because of the violence. She was in pain because of whatever it was she was thinking of. "Koushiro... are th-the others safe?"

She'd thrown my mind back to focus on the others. The people back in the clearing were in danger. Or they _were_. They were more than likely already dealt with. Whichever way the fight went I was sure it would have been over already. Either the people dressed in black had won and had done whatever it was they were planning to do with the digimon, or the fight club had proved to be a decent use of time and they're fighting paid off, and they'd won.

For some reason, the twisting inside my stomach would not go away, and I had a strong feeling that the people in black had won. They'd had the element of surprise after all. Plus when we'd left it looked like they outnumbered them, and they had weapons...

"I don't know," Koushiro admitted.

"I hope so," Palmon said, patting Mimi's arm. Biyomon was standing over by Tentomon, apparently not having the same issue as I was in feeling uncomfortable intruding on their moment together as a family, but then again, she never was able to tell what others might be thinking. Koushiro seemed to be done all he could do with Mimi's head, and was just scanning it for any serious damage at this point.

"Koushiro..." Mimi said, her tears finally affecting her voice, as it broke with the sound of his name. She swallowed thickly and tried to stay calm, but was unable to. "I'm really scared." The silence following her words was unlike any I'd ever experienced. Everything seemed to have paused to listen as if she was now giving the answer to the meaning of life in general. She'd never sounded more terrified in her life either, which was certainly saying something after all we'd been through. "This isn't l-like anything we've done before... I d-don't want this to happen. I want to leave. I want to go somewhere safe and let the world handle this on its own. I don't want to... fight... anymore."

That didn't need any explanation. It was Mimi. She had been so happy once we'd finally defeated Yggdrasil. It meant we were done hurting others to defend what we believed in. She'd been so comfortable, finally used to the thought of being at peace... and she was suddenly whiplashed back into the action. But this time it was something we were unfamiliar with. A kind of action we would have to quickly get used to if we wanted to gain the upper hand.

"I want to know that the digimon are safe." Mimi said boldly, "A-A-All of them. All digimon. They have such a peaceful way of living! Sure some of them are evil, but they die, and are reborn! They get a second chance to be a better person or to live a better life. Eventually they'll all be saints for goodness sake!" She was in hysterics now, but she was also angry, and I was sure everyone was equally in awe as I was. What would be the correct response to this outburst? "Etemon is _gone_!" She hissed, "He's gone, and he's not coming b-back. What if that happens to one of our friends? What if that happens to our partners? Lalamon is already gone, and that's the saddest thing ever. Right up there with Oikawa dying! What if more of us die? We can't add to the list of deaths anymore, it's already too long!" Her eyes flicked toward me, and I knew what she was thinking. "I don't want to watch anyone else get hurt!"

"Mimi," I said, moving forward to comfort her, "Mimi I understand—"

"No you don't," Mimi snapped, "You d-don't know what it's like to have _you_ be dead. I do. We all do. That changed _everything_—as if it wasn't already bad enough." I backed away. This was out of my hands. I couldn't do anything. She was right. I didn't know. I couldn't relate. I'd never died. It had never happened. "I have n-nightmares about everyone dying again." Mimi sobbed, "I can list them all right now if you wanted. Everyone who has died for our stupid cause. No, that's wrong, it's not stupid—but it's stupid how many of us have gone! T-there was Chuumon, and W-W-Wizardmon—Whamon a-a-a-and—"

"Mimi!" Koushiro shouted stopping her in her rant. She froze and looked to him with big glistening eyes. "I am sorry." It seemed for a moment that would be all he'd say. "There is not much I can do alone, but I promise you I will do everything in my power to keep everyone safe. I will speak with Taichi about it immediately upon our return."

"Speaking of which," Tentomon chimed in as Mimi looked to the ground disappointed. Apparently that wasn't good enough. "Perhaps we should be getting back. It will be getting dark soon, and it won't be safe for us to stay in the open much longer."

"You're right," Biyomon declared, "We have to get home."

"Mimi needs more time to rest." Koushiro shut their plan down. "We need to make sure she's safe." Mimi looked touched that he cared enough about her to wait, but she objected quickly.

"I can get home." She promised, "It's safer for everyone."

"We'll be fine," I told her, "Just don't push yourself." She looked annoyed that I'd sided with Koushiro, but it was for her own good. "I'll go look around." I decided, "Someone has to. We'll need a portal to get home. I have no idea where we are."

"I think there is one in that direction," Tentomon told me, pointing to the south.

"Thanks," I smiled, and set off. It took no more than three steps before Biyomon was by my side. "Biyomon." I said sharply, stopping in my tracks. "You can't come. Stay where it's safe."

"You think it's safe for you to go out alone though?" Biyomon retorted quickly, "I don't want you to get hurt Sora. I know you don't understand, but trust me, I love you and want to keep an eye on you."

"Fine," I said, giving in. "Just stay close."

It meant a lot to know how much she cared about me, but it was a little strange to see how she was always in such a protective mood. I was probably the more mature of the two of us, and provided for her while on Earth, it was just odd to go back to being a child whenever the danger arose. Especially now that the digimon seemed to be the target. I was perfectly safe, I was sure of it. But Biyomon, she was not. She was in more danger now than ever as it was now possible for digimon to not be reborn.

I just wanted her to be safe.

And for her to keep implying that I didn't understand what it was like to feel scared about the safety of my partner was insane. I was constantly scared for her.

I tried to clear my mind as we walked through the darkening woods, watching for both a portal and anyone dressed head to toe in black clothing. It would soon be impossible to see them. As if it wasn't already hard. Everything around was dark green and brown. The grass, the trees, the dirt. Everything.

"Biyomon," I said after we'd walked for a good five minutes. "I have a question."

"What kind of question?" Biyomon asked, taking my hand.

"The kind of question that I want you to answer honestly," I said. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do," Biyomon said, "Why would you ask such a silly thing. How could you love someone and not trust them? I love you, Sora, and so I'd have to trust you. All of your crazy decisions, I follow because I know they'll work out, and you've never proven me wrong before."

"Then why won't you stay hidden?" I asked. She looked annoyed that I'd come back to this topic.

"Because I want to protect you." She said.

"I want to protect _you_." I shot back. "We're in this together. We always have been, so why can't you just let me call the shots for a second. I know it must have been horrible to have lost me—that came across really arrogant, but that's not what I meant. I just mean, losing a partner would be horrible. There is a connection, and I know you feel it. Everyone with a partner has it. We're connected through our hearts, and having me die affected you greatly. I know it did. But you saved me, and I'm happy you did. The connection is still there though. It is still going strong. Now let _me_ save _you_... before I don't have that option anymore."

Biyomon stared at me wordlessly for a moment. Both of us had stopped walking and turned to one another. She suddenly hugged my legs and nodded, "Okay." She said simply. It had been that easy? And with a one word answer to boot. Those weren't common.

Soon after that we'd found the portal Tentomon had been speaking of. It was a large old school computer wedged in between two large boulders sitting at the edge of a cliff. Apparently it hadn't been a hill at all, but rather a Cliffside. I knew it had been too steep.

"This is an easy enough place to remember." I said brightly, "We should get the others."

"Sora wait," Biyomon said, pulling me forward. She had a claw up, telling me to be quiet, and she pointed down the cliff.

I leaned around the boulder to see a strange metal ship laying in the center of a series of tents. It was enormous, and sleek. The light from the setting sun reflected off the metal, giving us a better look at what we were seeing. It seemed that down below there was an train of ants walking one by one into the ship, up a set of stairs it seemed.

"What is that?" I asked, shocked.

"Who cares." Biyomon said flatly. "They're taking those fighting digimon inside. We have to save them."

"How can you see down there?" I asked, shocked.

"Sora," Biyomon said as if it were obvious, "I have eyes like an Eaglemon. Duh."

"Oh ha ha." I said sarcastically, grabbing her wing and setting off, running back towards Koushiro and the others. I had to get their help because if we were going to save these digimon it would take more than Biyomon and myself to do so.

I almost lost my way, but managed to find my way back using a particularly bendy tree that I remembered from our way through as a landmark. And when we found them finally, Mimi was on her feet declaring she was going to be okay to get back.

"You're going to have to go to the Temple," I announced, startling Mimi. "You have to tell Taichi what's happening. There's a camp just to the south, and we're going to get the digimon fight club back up and running."

"I don't like the sound of this..." Palmon said nervously, "What are you saying, Sora?"

"I'm saying that Birdramon will bring Mimi, Tentomon and Palmon to the Temple. I'm going to need Koushiro's help."

"No!" Mimi said sharply, "I'm not letting you two go without me."

"If Mimi's going, then I'm going." Palmon declared.

"No, that's not true." Mimi said, "You have to go, it's not safe."

"Same goes for you," I told Biyomon, who did not speak up, but did not look pleased with my plan.

"I will stay." Tentomon said flatly, "I will be of assistance I am sure. I can be eyes from the outside. I will keep my distance."

"No," Koushiro said boldly. "You go too."

"Shh!" Biyomon hissed suddenly. "Everyone get down!" We all obeyed, not sure why we were in hiding, but understanding that it could be something dangerous. "It's the people." She said, "They're back." She pointed behind us and we all turned, and sure enough there were a couple of figures dressed in black, searching for somebody else to hurt it seemed. We all hid to the best of our ability behind multiple trees, but I kept Biyomon close to me. I wasn't going to let her get hurt. "Sora, your plan might actually work." She said to me, "If I digivolve they're going to be paying attention to me. I'll go straight to the Temple though, I promise. Then you and Koushiro can get in and save the digimon."

"But we haven't planned anything, we can't do it now," I argued quietly.

"When have our plans ever worked though?" Biyomon asked exasperated. "_Trust_ me."

I sighed. She went there.

"I fear Biyomon may be correct." Tentomon said from a tree nearby. "That appears to be our only plan. Biyomon, you take Mimi and Palmon to the Temple and keep them safe."

"And you," Biyomon argued.

"No!" Tentomon said.

"There's no time to argue," Koushiro snapped, a little too loudly, "Just do it. Tentomon, you're with us, okay?"

He agreed just as someone I couldn't see called out to us. "Who's there?" It had to be one of the people in black. I looked to Biyomon and immediately gave her confirmation to go. She hugged me quickly, wishing me luck and then had digivolved, glowing and transforming into Birdramon with ease. Koushiro ushered Mimi on board with the help of Palmon and they were gone, without even a goodbye.

Tentomon, Koushiro and I stayed hidden and low, watching as the people nearby follow Birdramon.

"It's go time." I said under my breath.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Dun Dun duuunnn... Koushiro and Sora are on a mission to save the digimon, shocking, really. Kiyoko finds himself facing a lot of real life issues that every person can probably never relate to!


	17. Gathering Forces

**Y/N: **This chapter is made up of narrations from two of my favourite characters. I definitely find Kiyoko _easier_ to write, but Koushiro has been my favourite character since I first saw digimon as a child, and I still love him just as much as I did then. His also has action in it, which is a nice change of pace from all of the drama and character development that all my other characters seem to be going through.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 2: Challenge**

**Chapter 17: Gathering Forces**

_**Koushiro Izumi:**_

_It's go time_.

It wouldn't be nearly as easy as she was implying. We intended to go in without a plan of any variety, without so much as an iota of an idea. Yet we hoped for success. Somehow. I forced myself to look at things analytically. We'd always been able to procure positive results in the past. I just had to look at the situation and eliminate the variables that weren't currently in use. If we looked at the entire picture, rather than what we needed to, it made the whole situation seem far more difficult than it needed to. I didn't need to bog my thoughts down with the information Mari had gathered in New York, that was irrelevant here. As were the identities of the men and women in black. Their names were unimportant to the current mission. I needn't worry myself over it.

Our mission was simple really: get in, get the digimon, get out.

It was putting any plan into action that caused the trouble. We were far above the enemy camp. We needed a course of action that could get us _down_ to them without drawing any of their attention. We had no knowledge of the inner workings of said camp, and therefore had to theorize only about where they were keeping the digimon. We didn't know what system they had in place to _keep_ the digimon where they were. Perhaps they utilized cages, or chains, but that was unlikely, as it took more than that to hold a digital monster captive. Even Apocolymon had used large test tubes filled with liquid that supported suspended animation. We had no way of knowing for certain which method these mysterious people would be using.

After finding the digimon and freeing them from whichever method was used, we had to escape with them, _also_ unnoticed, before leading the digimon back to the Temple where we could hopefully reunite them with their human partners.

That was all assuming that we would be able to make it down the cliff side at all.

"Ready?" Sora asked. From the tone of her voice, she seemed thrilled by this mission. Excited to free the digimon perhaps, or maybe the excitement stemmed from the fact that we were actually able to _do_ something for the first time since all of this started. I knew that I found pleasure in that fact, being able to _help_ rather than simply theorize. While I was good at theorizing, it never accomplished anything. And my plans were typically unhelpful once the first thing went wrong.

"Not in the slightest," I told her.

"May I suggest a moment of planning?" Tentomon asked.

"We don't have time," Sora insisted.

"We need a contingency plan at the very least," I informed her.

"Meaning an escape route," Sora said thinking it over. "You're right. I vote that we run like crazy if things get bad."

"I was thinking something a little more refined," I said pained by the simplicity of her plan. It wouldn't help everyone. Just the fast runners. I was not one. Neither, I was sure, was Tankmon, Hagurumon, Candlemon or ToyAgumon—the latter having a habit of falling to pieces whenever stressed, _literally_.

"What do _you_ suggest then," she hissed, looking around with nervous energy, searching to see if the men in black had given up the chase and headed back.

"Perhaps I could be of service," Tentomon suggested. "I will alert you of any danger, and should you find yourself unable to escape quickly, I can serve as a distraction."

"I don't like that plan," Sora and I said simultaneously.

"It's the best plan you're going to have," he said firmly. "Your time is limited, and you should begin your journey forthwith. Now go!"

We didn't argue with him. It would've proven fruitless. It appeared as though the digimon were continuing to do their very best to protect us from danger, despite the danger to themselves. At some point, they would have to realize that they couldn't continue in that way. We would have to be the ones stepping forward and providing the protection.

Sora and I mostly _slid_ down the cliff face. It was incredibly steep, but was still a slight incline. In fact, it wasn't even technically a cliff, just a hill that was disproportioned. It was difficult to attain any traction on our journey. The soil had turned to gravel and sand. I had fallen several times on our way down, and while Sora demonstrated her superior sense of balance, she too ended up on her backside more than once. We were incredibly lucky we weren't noticed. There had been no chance to hide behind obstacles and make a gradual advancement as I'd originally intended. There was little to no control over our descent. Too soon we were at the base of the hill, and crouched in a bush. I peered through the small spaces between the branches at the base. There was a silver ship in the centre. I wasn't sure ship was the right word. It wasn't a boat. It also wasn't of the alien variety. It did however look as though it could be moved at a moment's notice. There were tents pitched all around it. Dark green, military grade tents. They were simple, but placed in such a way that there could be no unobserved approach. The area was silent though, and Sora nodded to me, before crawling out of our cover.

She slowly made her way to the first tent, stopping beside it, listening. She put her hands together, and placed them beside her ear, tilting her head over, to signal that the person inside was sleeping. Interesting. They had enough personnel to have at the very least two shifts. Day and night workers. That did not bode well with me. I watched Sora nearly _dance_ her way over to the ship, standing with her back towards it, next to the entrance steps. She waved me over, and my journey began. I was not nearly as graceful as Sora was. I stumbled a lot, and struggled with making noiseless movements. It took me longer than it took her to reach my destination, and Sora was growing impatient. Before I'd even reached the stairs, she'd walked up them, casting searching glances over her shoulders the entire way.

"Sora, slow down," I instructed.

"No," she told me. "You speed up!"

"I just don't want to get caught," I hissed.

"If you move faster, we'll finish quicker and there'll be less of a chance to _be_ caught," she countered. I saw her point. I did. But I couldn't move quicker without drawing attention to us both. I was worried about Tentomon back on the hill, while I knew her main focus was getting these digimon out so that she could reunite with Biyomon at the Temple. I wished to free these digimon too. I wasn't heartless. My focus was simply split, with Tentomon receiving more than his fair share. But it was justifiable! Digimon were being deleted at every turn. The numbers kept rising, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. We needed information, and for the first time since I had entered the Digital World, the answers weren't coming easily to me. If the subject matter weren't nearly as serious, I might've delighted at the challenges presented before me. But this was disastrous. Every moment I spent _not_ searching for the answers was a moment lost. The only reason I was here at all was because Taichi demanded I be. I was "working myself ragged" and "needed time to recuperate" because I wasn't "doing any good to the digimon if I wasn't taking care of myself." He out of everyone understood the time crunch. We were getting new guests at the Temple frequently these days.

"Guests" being the _polite_ term for them.

They didn't want to be there. They simply no longer had a choice. Their partners had taken that choice away from them when they bound them and left them on the Temple's stoop. I wished we had enough time to care for them more thoroughly. Perhaps, if events weren't so dire, we could each take one home with us, and expand our families as Jun had with the Gekomon that had been abandoned. But I didn't have time for it, and I knew Mimi was not in the correct frame of mind to care for such an emotionally damaged being, seeing as she herself was struggling.

And now she was _physically_ injured as well. I was worried about her ribs, she winced when she moved, leading me believe there was at least bruising, however, I wasn't a doctor and couldn't say for certain. Her head troubled me more. It was bleeding quite profusely. I knew head injuries bled more than most others, and oft time looked far worse than they were in reality. But it was hard to be optimistic when blood is gushing out of your girlfriend's head! I wanted to hit that man again. My knuckles were still red and aching, but I thought I could get at least one more punch in before skin split open. It was a useless wish, though, as I wouldn't be able to identify him, even if I came across him again. Damn their uniform black clothing!

"Come on," Sora ordered me, grabbing my arm and pulling me up the stairs behind her. "I just want to finish this. Can we do that? Please?"

"Fine," I said, giving in. She was right. The sooner we accomplished our mission, the sooner I could be with Mimi. The sooner Tentomon would be safe. The sooner the digimon would be freed.

We walked through their front door. It was open, no locks in place. These people were either confident that their sleeping reserve team would easily halt any intruders, or they were cocky enough to believe no one would even try. I didn't mind either way. It made our job far easier.

The door was large, but not overly so. If they had taken the digimon captive, they would not have been able to bring Tankmon nor Tuskmon inside. Though they _could_ have an alternative entrance. The ceiling—upon entering—was far lower than I had anticipated. The structure was far larger than this hallway implied, giving me reason to suspect this was not the only level we would need to search.

They weren't taking any chances. Once we'd entered the door, we encountered a wall. The hallway stretched to the left and right, but they were the only option. We chose to follow the path that the left would take us on. I felt as though we were being corralled like cattle. There were no options. Simple walls lined the hallway, wooden panelling halfway up, topped with a slate grey wallpaper. A sleek design, if a little bland. The walls were also straight, with no opportunities to hide. If we were caught, we were doomed. We reached the first corner and flattened our backs against the wall. I peered around the corner, having wound up in front of Sora at some point. I saw no one, _nothing_. But I heard grunts and angry bursts. There were three doors that I could see along the corridor, and another space, though I suspected this was another hallway.

I pulled on Sora's sleeve, motioning that we could continue, and she snuck around the corner ahead of me, flattening her back against the wall again once she'd rounded it. I glanced behind us, thankful that there weren't any followers. I followed her lead and we made it to the first entrance. A doorway on the right hand side of the corridor. We lowered ourselves to the floor. A person expects someone at full height when they are wary of being spied upon. They didn't look down. Not at first, and a quick glance was all we'd need.

Sora's head was below mine, flat against the floor, though mine was only inches higher than hers. What we'd come across was a large, open room. There were treadmills lining the far wall, and two punching bags nearer to us. The wall opposite us also had a doorway in its middle, an exact copy of the doorway we were spying from. There was a large matt covering the area between the treadmills and punching bags. There were several people spread out on the matt, two performing exemplary sit-ups, and another three doing flawless push-ups. I had to admit I was slightly envious of their form. These people did not wear masks, and I was surprised to note how many females were among their ranks. I hadn't estimated so many when we were being attacked. Three of the five people on the matt were women. There was another woman and two men running on the treadmills—which were _thankfully_ facing the opposite wall—and one final man attacking the punching bag to our immediate right. His back too was facing us. No one seemed to be looking our direction. We sighed in relief, getting to our feet and counting to three. When we hit the third number, we launched ourselves to the opposite side of the doorway, just in time to hear someone walk through the opposite doorway.

"Excellent work today," this person said. It was male, he had a slight accent to his speech. He was gruff. I turned to face the wall and slowly inched my head towards the doorway, shutting my left eye. I wanted to focus entirely on what I saw with my right. Once I had a view, I stopped moving my head, and cast a look at the man. Once I'd done so, I flatted myself against the wall once more. I closed _both_ my eyes, recalling the image I'd just attained, focussing on the man.

Tall. Not incredibly so, but above average. Strong. The muscles he was containing within his shirt were struggling to be contained by the cheap, t-shirt fabric. He was confident, exuding self-worth. Military style to his hair. Clean-shaven face. Not overly attractive, but not entirely void of good looks. Average. Pleats in his pants. He cared greatly for the effect he had on people. He wanted to present a polished image. There was a gun in a holster that didn't match the gun that shot the digimon. This was a regular gun. That was more frightening than I cared to admit. Mid to late thirties. Square jaw. Bold—but not bushy—eyebrows, adding to his severe face. He looked strict, yet pleased.

I'd never seen him in my life.

"You've added to our total number of test subjects. Our next grade weapon should be through the testing phase sooner due to your efforts. I'm pleased," the man said. His voice didn't _sound_ pleased. He sounded angry, _scary_. Ice crawled down my spine as I listened to him praise the men and women that attacked innocent digimon.

Sora elbowed me, wanting to take advantage of their distraction. We continued onward, finding that the hallway did in fact split off. There were three rooms on this level. I could see the hallway splitting off again, creating the third room. The sounds of rushing water met my ears. I could hear it splashing against the floor. Showers. They had a training room and showers. A tad anticlimactic. Also problematic. We now needed to find the digimon on another level. Sora pointed towards the floor, motioning to the door behind us. It was logical. Basements were typically used for nefarious purposes.

I wanted to go up a level though.

I knew the digimon wouldn't be there, but their plans? Their schematics? Those _might_ be. And those were important, _especially_ now that we knew they were developing a new weapon. I had already identified the strange devices shot at the digimon as the tracking disks Jenna had informed Mari about. Tracking devices were difficult enough to deal with. We weren't prepared for anything worse yet. I _needed_ the information.

Unfortunately, the decision was made _for_ me, when a man walked out of the showers, once again dressed all in black, with a towel around his neck. Sora grabbed me and pulled me back into the stairwell that led to the basement. We walked as quickly—but quietly—as possible down the stairs, holding our breaths, waiting to see which direction the man would choose. He walked straight passed the stairwell though, heading towards their gym and our only escape route. We breathed out in relief, before turning to face our new destination.

It was horrible.

Even from a scientific perspective.

There were lab tables along the left wall. Opposite to us was Tankmon. There were wheel locks on his treads, and there was a glowing, blue beacon on the floor behind him, causing the locks to glow in the same light. He was struggling against their power, but couldn't free himself. There were similar beacons projecting their power onto the two cages in the room as well. Tuskmon had his own cage in the corner immediately to our right, while the rest of that wall was dedicated to a longer, shorter cage, with seven—no_, eight_—digimon trapped inside. Starmon was chained to the wall next to the cage. There were two small digimon on the lab table, and a lab technician was standing over each one. The digimon closest to us on the table was a Chicchimon. A small, yellow bird digimon, similar to that of a chick. He had long, orange plumage extending from the top of his head, with feathery eyebrows to match. He had tiny little wings, and wasn't able to fight back against the person holding him down. The second digimon was a Syakomon. He'd closed his shell tightly, and the lab technician was at a loss as to how to open it. There was one other person in the basement, and he was prodding at Tuskmon with a cattle prod, shocking the digimon for his own twisted amusement. Sora pointed to our immediate left. I followed her line of vision and spotted a bathroom. She ran out at it, leaving me no choice but to follow or be seen. She kept the door open slightly, so that we could see out while we developed a plan. I let her watch through the door as I tried to determine the best course of action. She started pacing when nothing was happening.

Tankmon and Tuskmon were both far too large to escape through the door we'd come in, therefore there was an alternative exit. Good. We didn't know where it was, and any offensive attack would simply provoke the people upstairs—all of which were _stronger_ than us—to come and remove the problem, aka _us_. Bad.

I commanded myself to think, only to be interrupted by the tiny Chicchimon's screams. I rushed to the door in time to see the nearest lab technician struggling to hold the small chick digimon down. He'd done something to him. I didn't know what, but he was screaming out, crying, _desperate_ to escape, but it was no use. Whatever they'd done had already taken effect. His data was slowly disappearing, he cried out in complete agony, Tuskmon tried to get over to the tiny, In-training digimon, as did Tankmon, but Tuskmon just got a stronger voltage from the cattle prod for his effort. Tears streamed down Sora's face, and while I couldn't see it, I was sure they were present on my own as well, as we listened to the horrible sounds of that tiny digimon disappearing. His data didn't burst into the air all at once. He was being deleted. I was sure of it.

_But what had they done?_

That was what we needed to know. How were they doing it? And could we _stop_ it?

I glanced around the bathroom—not to distract myself, I _needed_ to hear it, but to find anything that could prove useful too us. There was a plunger. That wouldn't be of much use, but if we swung it at the right time...

I grabbed it, and pushed my way out the door, Sora gasping behind me. The man with Tuskmon was too busy revelling in his sadistic pleasures to take any notice of me. The technicians were likewise distracted, both watching with smiles as Chicchimon was disappearing. It was painful to look at. I heard them talking to one another as I got closer.

"It's beautiful," the further one—a man said.

"It's not fast enough," the closer one, this one a woman, said with distain. "Our instructions were to make it instantaneous."

"But I _do_ enjoy the screams, ever so much," the man said with a twisted smile. The woman laughed her agreement. And I swung the plunger at the back of her head. She slammed into the table with excessive force, but I didn't hesitate before swinging again. I kicked the nearest chair—a swivelled chair on wheels—in Sora's direction, and she took it, rolling it alongside her as she ran at the man with the cattle prod. He'd noticed the technicians being attacked. Her head slammed quite loudly into the metal table, echoing across the room. It would've been unbelievable that he _hadn't_ heard it. Instead of running at us to stop us, he was running towards a button on the wall. An emergency alarm. Sora jumped onto the chair, using it as a makeshift skateboard, jumping off of it, tackling him around the torso. He fell onto the ground and Sora wrestled the cattle prod from him, throwing it across the room. He rolled over, thinking he could over power her, but Sora was on a mission and he wasn't about to beat her. She wiggled out of his grasp and took the chair, slamming it into him. Twice. He lay on the ground unresponsive. Sora stared at him in horror, dropping to her knees to check his pulse. He was alive, which caused me great relief, though the analytical part of my brain was disappointed.

"Sora," I shouted. "Break the beacons."

"That was my first thought too," she assured me, rushing over to pick up the cattle prod. She headed for the first beacon, Tuskmon's and started to use the cattle prod on it, short-circuiting the thing. I was so proud of her ingenuity.

I turned to Chicchimon. He was mostly gone. His screams continued though, for another few seconds, until his mouth was gone. His eyes were still there though, crying out, begging me to help him. I looked around the desk, looking for anything, _anything_ at all that could help me. But I couldn't even locate whatever it was they'd used against him. Syakomon was still in his shell, proving to be no use to me at all. The other digimon were too far away. They couldn't have seen anything. I didn't give up yet. I looked through the papers on the desk, scanning them for anything that seemed useful. Sora was at my side quickly, having dispersed of the beacons. She did the only thing she _could_ for the small baby. She gathered what was left of him in her arms and cried softly for him, whispering sweet things, and apologizing over and over. I couldn't work anymore. I couldn't see. When had I become so emotional? Why couldn't I turn it off? I'd always had that option in the past. The last of his plumage faded out of existence and Sora fell to her knees.

"He was a baby," she said. "Just a baby. How could they do this to a baby?"

"They're monsters," I whispered to her. "Bigger monsters than any of our past enemies ever were. And they were _supposed_ to be monsters."

"Please," came a small voice. Falcomon had burst the cage door open a moment after Sora had dismantled the beacon, and I turned to see another chick digimon that had been held within it. This was a Pinamon. He was sleeker than Chicchimon, and a warm auburn colour, with black wings and sharp talons. Another in-training. "Please can you help us?"

"We'll do everything we possibly can," Sora promised. "But we need you to tell us how to get out. How did they get you _in_ here?"

She'd noticed that too. I was _so_ proud of her. She just seemed to _understand_ things in a way that the majority of the others just _didn't_.

All of the digimon started talking at once. Hagurumon's voice blended entirely into Candlemon's and ToyAgumon's. Falcomon's was loud enough to overpower both Pinamon and the other in-training digimon, Wanyamon—he was a small blue and white cat's head with a striped tail, and an 'M' embossed on his forehead in a deep blue colour. A Crabmon was behind him, speaking just as loudly. The final caged digimon was smaller than the rest. A tiny Punimon was crying to himself. Sora scooped him into her arms, and nearly started crying again. But she pushed her way through it.

"Quiet," Sora called as loudly as she dared. She glanced over to the stairwell and was relieved to see no one had come running at the commotion. "One at a time."

The lights flickered in and out of existence. For a moment I wondered about power failure but realized it had to be Tentomon's way of warning us trouble was coming. The rest of the people from the woods must be returning.

"This is bad, _really_ bad," Sora said, again instinctively knowing what was going on. I was _so_ glad it was her that was here with me. It saved a lot of energy in explaining things to people. "Right, so you, Falcomon, tell us where to go."

"They opened the door from within when we arrived," he said, entirely unhelpfully.

"They pressed the green button," Wanyamon shouted excitedly. "Beside Starmon."

_Starmon_. Damn it. Tuskmon had freed himself, but Starmon's four limps were shackled to the walls. Tuskmon was helping Tankmon get freed of the wheel locks, which I'd also let slip my mind. Sora counted the digimon, pausing to look, heartbroken, at the place that was once occupied by Chicchimon. I headed over to Syakomon hauling him into my arms. He started shouting, begging me to let him go. I didn't. We didn't have time. Sora slapped me, when she saw I was distracted by the papers yet again. I needed to know what they did! What weapon they were developing. _Anything_ that could help us in our fight against them. I didn't even waste time to glare at her. Tuskmon and Tankmon were now working on getting Starmon off the wall.

That was when we heard the footsteps. The lights were flickering faster now. Sora hugged Punimon closer to her. The rookie and in-training digimon huddled together, anxiously. Syakomon's screams became more persistent. Finally Starmon was free and we were running for the green button—though Sora was dragging me against my will. I stared back forlornly at the papers. This could be our only chance, and she took it from me.

She slammed her hand against the button and a large section of the wall started moving, _slowly_, away from the rest, descending as a drawbridge does, creating a ramp that would allow these digimon to make it to safety.

The footsteps were faster now, as the alarm blared. I turned, confused, to see the man that had wielded the cattle prod, grinning victoriously at us. He'd pressed the alarm. The footsteps were hurried now, roaring down the stairs. I caught a glimpse of the man, _their leader_, coming into view before Starmon pulled me down the ramp that was now fully extended. We raced into the open air, but the people were all awake now, the tents empty. People were standing everywhere, surrounding us.

"Meteor Shower!" shouted Starmon, causing the humans to duck for cover as large rocks were summoned into the sky, crashing down to the ground with excessive force.

"Tentomon!" I shouted, looking at the small digimon. There was no way they could keep up. Wanyamon had to bounce around in order to move, Punimon was safe with Sora, but Crabmon scuttled—and not quickly. They weren't going to escape. But Tentomon could save them. I held up my digivice, hearing Starmon let out another barrage of meteors. Tentomon flew at me, digivolving along the way, understanding the way Sora always did.

"**Tentomon digivolve to... Kabuterimon!**"

"**Kabuterimon digivolve to... MegaKabuterimon!**"

I heard gasps of astonishment from the people in black. One idiot wanted MegaKabuterimon to be the next test subject. I glared at him, and vowed that if things went wrong, I was taking him down with me. MegaKabuterimon lowered his hands, allowing Crabmon, Pinamon, Wanyamon, ToyAgumon, Candlemon and Hagurumon to climb to safety. Falcomon refused to join them, wanting to help the fight. Starmon was our main offense, and Tankmon and Tuskmon were too big. But Syakomon wasn't, so I threw him on board, and I pushed Sora on too. She had a digimon in her hands. And I would not—_could not_—leave her to potentially die again. She was angry, but I shouted for MegaKabuterimon to take them to Mimi. He wanted to refuse, I could see it. But he also knew that I couldn't go with them. Not with four digimon remaining behind. I instructed Falcomon and Tankmon to attack as well. Tuskmon seemed put out that I didn't ask him as well, but I knew what attacks they each had, I'd studied the topic in depth with Tatum for years. I knew that as powerful as he was, he would not be able to fight this fight without getting too close to the enemy. We didn't know how they had deleted Chicchimon, and I wasn't going to risk another digimon.

"Ring Laser," Starmon shouted, changing up his battle strategy. A laser burst out of his hands and circled around the enemy. He then jumped onto Tankmon's shoulders. Tankmon let out a cry of "Machine Gun Arms!" and was shooting continuously at the people.

"Tuskmon, Tankmon, up the cliff," I shouted over the gun shots. Falcomon hopped into the air, letting out a "Shadow Screen!" causing the air to fill with smoke. It was the perfect strategy. Tuskmon had no difficulties with the sandy terrain, and Tankmon trucked up the hill as easily as if it were a flat surface, continuing his barrage of bullets the entire way. Starmon called forth more meteors to keep the enemy on their toes in the smoke. I heard several shouts for retreat and tried to calm my racing heart.

I wasn't having as much luck as the digimon were in my attempts to climb after them. Falcomon took pity on me and wrapped his talons around my arm, mostly _dragging_ me up the hill as he flew along.

"We made it," I said in wonder when we finally reached the top. But we weren't safe yet. We wouldn't be until we made it to the Temple. Until Taichi knew everything that had happened, and sent the Knights out to destroy their base.

Tankmon set the pace for our journey to the Temple, and it was a quick one. I was nearly exhausted by the time the Temple came into view. The fight club came rushing out to welcome the last of their digimon, and Tentomon came out to greet me. I hugged him close, so glad that our plan succeeded and that he was still okay.

"You're okay!" Michael cheered when we entered the market place. I looked at him in confusion. He told me how Willis was in danger and that he and Tatum had been instructed by Mari too keep both themselves and Jenna safe here in the Digital World. I was worried about Willis. It was troubling news. And I was worried even further, when the first thing I saw when I looked away from Michael was the sight of Tatum and Taichi struggling to untie _another_ digimon that had been dropped off. A Gizamon. The orange and yellow, furry amphibian wasn't crying like most others had in the past. He just looked _angry_. I looked at Taichi.

"We have to go back, Taichi," I told him. "We have to destroy their base, buy ourselves more time."

"You just want to hack into their computers, get information," Sora countered.

"I do want that, yes," I said.

"Don't go," Mimi pleaded. I hesitated. I _needed_ to go, but Mimi's head was wrapped in gauze and bandages, Jou had arrived at some point before I had, and was checking over her ribs. Could I leave her when she was so hurt?

When digimon were being deleted, I had no choice. I cast an apologetic glance her way, and Taichi summoned his Knights. I accompanied them, praying that Mimi would understand, and we set off. I led them to the location we'd just escaped from, excited about finally having the answers we needed to move forward.

But when we arrived, the ship and tents had all gone.

There was nothing there.

_**Kiyoko Izumi:**_

The man was drawing my attention. It wasn't his words so much as the man himself. He was tall, and confident. His blonde hair was placed immaculately, but he still looked easy going. He wore glasses that glinted in the afternoon sun, and when the sunlight hit his blonde hair, he was nearly glowing. He was captivating. He had a strong chin, and thin lips that he licked constantly, as they dried out from his words. He wore a navy suit, buttons undone, making him look professional, yet relaxed. His tie was loosened ever so slightly, and but his dress shirt remained tucked into his navy pants held by a dark brown belt. I couldn't see his shoes, but I was sure they were shined. He was standing on a bench, raised high about the crowd gathered around him. There were easily thirty people here, maybe more. His voice was coursing powerfully above any noise they were making, his arms outstretched to the skies, a bright smile on his face.

Takeru was beside me, and he was the opposite of this man. He'd crammed a hat onto his head, covering his hair, casting a shadow down onto his face. He was angry, his brows furrowed, his teeth clenched. His hands were at fists by his side. He wore a vest over his long sleeve t-shirt, rather than a jacket, to keep him warm. He wore a simple pair of jeans and some beaten up sneakers. He didn't look professional. He didn't command attention either. He was dressed in such a way that you'd overlook him entirely. Not helpful to conducting a job search, which we were doing. He didn't have any other clean clothes though. They weren't doing laundry as often, letting it build up before they got it all done at once, during the cheaper hours.

He glanced down at me and seemed surprised that I wasn't just as angry as him. I didn't know what caused his anger though. I'd been too busy staring at the man in awe to actually _listen_ to him. I vowed to do that—silently, I didn't want to compare my own voice to this man's commanding tone—and closed my eyes, to reduce the effect he made.

"—to let them continue to take over our lives? No! We cannot! We must rise above them. They think they can come to our world our _homes_ and make it their own. We cannot let them. Earth belongs to humans; it belongs to animals, and plants, not digimon. Digimon are a vermin that we cannot afford to have. Do you think we can give them our jobs when so many humans can't find work? No. We must start with our own. Digimon are taking from us things we cannot afford to give. They eat more than any child, yet will depend on you for your entire life, never going and making their own way. They need special medical care that we just don't have the money to invest in, not while there are diseases effecting humans that we cannot heal. We need to put the humans first! Humans go hungry, homeless, jobless while humans take them in. If you crave company, offer your home to a human with nowhere else to go, or an animal from a shelter. If you wish to play caretaker, there are orphans you could foster or adopt. We must spend our time and money for bettering the human race, not for taking care of these digital trespassers! Do you not agree?"

"YES!"

I was nearly knocked to the ground by the excitement that the crowd felt for his words. I couldn't look at him. Not again. Not now that I knew what he was saying. I couldn't allow myself to get drawn into his voice. To fall for his tricks. He must know the effect he had on people. Why else would he stand on a bench in the middle of the park for all to see? He was using his charisma to sway people into joining his cause. He was an activist. The DWD were confident enough now for spontaneous rallies?

That wasn't good.

I kept my eyes clenched tightly, and continued to listen for another minute, as he started speaking about the poor, _starving_ people in the world that were getting _worse_—though he didn't explain how digimon corresponded with this fact—that there were poor people that could benefit from the money we were all throwing away on these digital leeches. He said several worse things about them that no one protested, because they were all as enchanted by him as I had been.

Takeru grabbed my hand and started pulling me away from the man, away from the crowd. I didn't know how far we went, I just know that it took quite a bit of time, and I bumped into more than a few people. Finally he dropped my hand, and I just stood there, unsure of what to do. I couldn't hear the man anymore, but was it safe to open my eyes?

"I can't believe the _nerve_ of that man," Takeru growled. "And did you see that guy? The one next to us, I mean? He had a digivice on his belt. He had a _digivice_! That means he has a digimon, he knows how wonderful they are and he _still_ listened to that stupid man. It just makes me so mad!"

I cracked open my right eye and looked around. I decided it was safe enough to open both eyes, and looked everywhere _except_ at Takeru. I felt ashamed. I hadn't heard the man's words, but I would've followed him anywhere, just by looking at him. He made me want to be better. To do whatever it took to get his approval. I shivered. I couldn't be trusted near that man. He was too much like Sigma. I was the perfect prey.

"I should probably warn Taichi right now," Takeru muttered. "He's bound to find another digimon at the Temple any day now. That guy doesn't _deserve_ a digimon." I flinched and looked at my feet.

"I don't know," I said softly. "The guy was probably just caught up in the charisma."

"That doesn't excuse anything. His digimon deserves better of him. I wonder if we could follow him home and steal his digimon away? Probably not. He'd see us."

"Maybe he won't do anything," I countered, embarrassed. "Maybe he was just caught up in the moment, and when it sinks in he won't listen anymore."

Takeru was silent for awhile, clenching and unclenching his fists. He looked back the direction we must've come from and then his eyes lit up and he looked to me, embarrassed. "That's what happened to you, huh?"

I nodded.

"And you're obviously not doing what he says," Takeru said. "So I guess you're right. He _could_ be caught up. Do you really think he's going to though?"

"I didn't really see him," I said apologetically. I didn't really want to talk about it anymore. There wasn't really anything we could do about it. We didn't know the guy, or what digimon he might've had. For all we knew, he could have _already_ dumped his partner in the Digital World and just kept his digivice as a reminder of the cause he was fighting for.

"Well I don't want to listen to him anymore," Takeru said firmly. "How about we keep looking?"

"Alright," I agreed.

We had spent all morning looking, searching for _anything_ that could help us figure out what was going on. We needed to know who the bad guys were. We'd seen one now. We didn't know anything about him. I was too easily drawn in, and Takeru's temper was just too quick to wait around and gather more about him. We would still mention seeing him though. Maybe someone else had seen him too. Maybe someone knew who he was.

But information wasn't the only thing we were looking for. We were also looking for a female that answered to the name Amai. Reddish-brown hair, dark brown eyes, somewhat shorter than Daisuke, about the height of his sister, maybe—which didn't help me at all, because I didn't know her well enough to know how tall that was; I might've seen her once or twice in my life total—and that she was a pale introvert. She also had a fish, which wouldn't help us at all, because no one advertized the fact that they had a fish. And people looked at you funny when you asked them if they did. I know. We tried that when we found a really pale, woman—thirty something—with reddish brown hair. We were dismissed pretty quickly too. We didn't even ask when we spotted a kid of about twelve that fit the description. We thought it might make us creepers. Okay, so Takeru said that. I was going to ask her. I was glad he stopped me. Kinda. She might've been the girl after all! Now we'd never know.

I'd also mentioned that Hideto had found several job listings, and that he'd headed out to find one. I was sure Takeru could use his list once he found one. But Takeru politely refused. He was determined to find a job by himself. But I told him I wouldn't let Hideto throw it out, just in case he changed his mind. It was imperative that Takeru find a job after all. I supposed that I could ask if he wanted to be my assistant, to be nice. But I didn't need one. And Taichi was really the only customer I had. He paid me more than necessary, keeping me as a part of his staff, in case he ever needed a building quickly. I didn't want Takeru to think I pitied him though, by giving him a job that involved no work whatsoever. He would refuse to accept payment for doing nothing. No matter how much he needed it. He would want to _earn_ it.

"Are you paying attention?" he asked. My face flushed, and I shook my head. He laughed. "I wanted to know how Tapirmon's dealing with being cooped up."

"He's not being cooped up," I told him.

"Really? You're letting him roam around alone?" he asked in surprise.

"Yes," I said. "He's got a job in the Digital World. I can't walk him there and back. That's illogical. He goes alone. He prefers it that way anyway. He likes time to himself."

"Maybe Patamon should get a job then. He's really grumpy about being left inside," Takeru said with a sigh. "I just don't want him to feel like he _has_ to get a job. I mean Labramon had one until recently, and right now we're pretty much depending on Veemon. I don't want him to think he has to support me. He's my friend, I don't keep him around so I can be lazy. I keep him around because I love him and want to take care of him, like he's taken care of me."

"Tapirmon takes care of me," I said. And it was true. Without him, I don't know where I'd have ended up. He helped me and stayed dedicated to me even when I let Sigma in. Even when I let Sigma use and abuse him. Takeru was right before. I didn't deserve him. I didn't deserve his kindness. His love, his friendship. But I was selfish, and I needed it. He was my best friend. I claimed that Mari was my best _human_ friend, but I didn't know how true it was. Especially now that she was pulling herself towards New York. We didn't talk about the deep things. We didn't tell each other our secrets. I told them to Tapirmon. I told Tapirmon _everything_. Because I knew he would understand. He wouldn't judge me. I knew that Mari would accept things, but I also knew that she would be comparing anything I told her with things in her own past, trying to find something of equal or lesser value to share with me. I knew that, because I reacted the same way. It was the main reason we didn't share the big stuff. I didn't want to have to find something to compare with. I didn't want to feel like I _had_ to tell her. I wanted to wait until I _wanted_ to.

And I knew someday I _would_ want to. I just didn't want to yet. Until that day, Tapirmon would be the only one I felt comfortable sharing with. Even with Hideto it felt forced. Mostly because he never shared anything about himself. We were dating now, but I didn't know much more about him than I did before. I knew next to nothing about his life before I met him. It was like he didn't _have_ a past. I knew it was ridiculous. Everyone has a past. Even if they don't like talking about it, they'll let _something_ slip. Hideto didn't. Only that he'd never had a second date until me. Anything else I'd picked up by careful observation.

"Does it ever seem like the digimon think it's their job to take care of us?" Takeru asked me. I shook my thoughts away and tried to focus entirely on him. "They don't seem happy at all that the tables are turned now."

"Tapirmon doesn't seem to mind too much," I said, feeling like everything I said was going contradict him today. "But I think it's partly because he knows I need to do it. He's lived with the outcome. He knows what it'll be like if something happens to him. It was really hard, for a really long time. Mari wouldn't speak to anyone, and we all missed having Lalamon around. We still do. It just a little easier now, I guess. But he _knows_ what it's like."

"I've lost Patamon twice now," Takeru said. "You'd think he'd learn."

"He probably won't. Because it's never been permanent. He wasn't there with Mari. He doesn't understand," I said. "He thinks that as long as he protects _you_, then everything will be okay. He doesn't realize that you'd be just as devastated if something happened to him, as he'd be if something happened to you."

"I guess," Takeru said with a sigh. "I want him to understand though. I just don't want anyone else to die just to drive that point into him. You know?"

"I do," I said softly.

We walked along in silence for awhile. Mostly because I couldn't come up with a topic to break that silence, and I was feeling really awkward. Takeru seemed to revel in the silence, reverting into his mind and figuring things out. I couldn't stop wondering what I looked like to an outsider. Was he judging my inability to communicate properly? Did he find me an awkward misfit? I didn't know if he considered me a friend or a burden. I didn't want to ask though. I didn't want him to feel pressured into saying something he didn't mean just to spare my feelings. He was thoughtful enough to do that, even if he didn't mean it. I didn't know if we _were_ friends. Any of the digidestined really. I wasn't very open with them. I didn't talk to them, unless they spoke first. Koushiro was my cousin, so that didn't count. Sora was my friend though. Taichi employed me. Did that count? I suppose I was friendly with Mimi...

Takeru flopped onto a bench, and tilted his head up to the sky, feeling the sun warm his face. I sat down too, on the other end of the bench, just so I wouldn't make him uncomfortable with my closeness. Just in case we weren't actually friends. I didn't want to force it.

"This is exhausting, you know?" he said suddenly.

"Walking? We've only been out for an hour..." I said, confused.

"No," he said with a short, humourless laugh. "Everything else. We're never going to get a break. And it would be one thing if we were facing off against a big, powerful digimon. We can do that. It's straightforward. There isn't a lot of mystery involved. Most of the time. But this? We don't even know who the bad guy is. Is it just one person? Did one person start this, and it just got out of control? Or was a group of people letting the hate and fear fester until it grew into a force to be reckoned with?"

"I don't know," I said. "But it just takes one to convince hundreds. We saw a bit of that already, with the guy in the park. There were a bunch of people hanging off his every word. If one person convinced the _right_ people, it could explode into the big problem we're facing now. It wouldn't even take all that long."

"I don't like it," he said. "I don't want to write about this. I like writing about our adventures, but this...this isn't fun, or funny. There aren't colourful bad guys of all shapes and sizes. We're facing off against people. And we can't do that. It's not the same thing. We can't just go and fight a bunch of people. Not when we don't know if they're the problem or if they're just pawns. It's not like fighting digimon. The digimon get reborn as eggs. Humans don't do that."

"But we don't have to _kill_ them to fight them," I said weakly.

"I'd hope so," he said. "But history speaks for itself. People fight back. No matter how justified you are in your protests, we fight back. It's happened dozens of times in the past. Just open a history book. You'll find examples from all countries, from all time periods."

"I know," I said. "I'm just scared. I can't fight that fight. I'm not strong enough. But I want to _help _the digimon. How can I fight for them, if I'm too weak to stand up for them?"

"We'll find a way. We don't _always_ need to fight the big fight. Maybe we can start several smaller ones. Different offenses and catch them off guard," Takeru said excitedly. "They won't see us coming, because we won't be obvious about it."

"And you think that will work?" I asked skeptically.

"Who knows," he said, his excitement leaving him in a rush. "It _could_ just make things worse. And it's not like there are enough of us to fight anyway."

"There are a lot of us," I countered. "Nineteen digidestined, and a bunch of siblings and friends and parents. It's not just a handful."

"But it's not just Japan," he said miserably. "There are only five chosen children that I know of in France, but they're facing the same problems as we are. Three of our nineteen digidestined are in America right now, fighting the same fight in another country, with six chosen that we know at their side. We don't _know_ all of the chosen of the world. Just the few that helped us when we were spread out around the world to destroy the control spires and the few that we've learned about since. Like our families."

"Mina has told me of several in India," I said. "She hasn't told me about any problems yet though."

"Mina?" he questioned.

"She's an Indian Chosen that Koushiro set me up to talk with," I said proudly. "She's really nice. We talk a lot actually. She's helped me connect with two other Indian Chosen. And we've been toying with the idea of connecting with some of the others."

"That's good," he said. He seemed to be plotting something. I let him. I figured we were done talking for now. And when he _did_ start talking again it was about a different topic. I guessed he just needed to let his idea stew for a bit. I was sure if I really thought about it, I could come up with something helpful too. But I didn't want to think about it right then. I didn't want to zone out and miss what he was saying again. It was rude, and I'd already done it once. "Do you know anything about Iori?"

"Not really," I admitted.

"I didn't think you would," he said with a sigh. "I thought I did though. I guess not. He really surprised me. Yamato too. I thought they'd be happy. I am. I don't know. I don't want to bore you with my family drama."

"It's okay," I said. "I can't exactly return the favour."

"Right," he said. "Because your parents are—"

"Dead," I confirmed. "Because of Sigma. They weren't _good_ people. But they were—"

"Your parents," he said understanding completely. "I get that. Now I feel stupid, complaining about how my brother and new step-brother are angry that we're related. I guess I'd rather the drama than _nothing_."

I didn't say it, but I wanted the same thing. I'd rather have parents that hated me, that could _learn_ to love me again than to have no parents. But all the wishing in the world wouldn't change the fact that Sigma took them away from me.

"I'm sorry," Takeru said. "Why don't you pick the next topic? I don't want you to think I only care about myself. I don't want to monopolize the conversation."

"Oh," I said. I was racking my brains, trying to come up with a lighter topic, but it turned out that I didn't need to. The man interrupted me.

"Hello there," he said. I refused to look at him. I couldn't. I wouldn't let him win me over. "My name is Shigoto, and I couldn't help but notice you were at my impromptu rally. Thank you for that. But I was wondering what it was that made you leave early. Everyone else seemed really into it."

"I'm not _into_ oppression," Takeru said firmly. "I'm into equal rights."

"Your friend hasn't said anything," Shigoto said. I could hear it in his voice that his smile had become strained, that his lips were curling. "Perhaps he has different views."

I shook my head. I was behind Takeru one hundred percent. "I know what it feels like to be suppressed, to have no control over anything and to have the _bad guy_ making my every decision. I'm not going to force that onto anyone." Shigoto looked to me, one eyebrow raised in a way that was way too familiar. "I also know what it feels like to have people hate you for being 'abnormal', and to cast you aside just because you don't fit into their perfect world."

"Bad thing happen to people that protest against the majority, just look at the march from Selma to Montgomery," Shigoto warned. "You do know what happened, don't you?"

"Yes," I said. People got hurt, killed for standing up for their beliefs, but they were in the right and they tried again, and a third and final time. I looked to Shigoto, finally ridding myself of the fear he instilled in me, and I stared directly into the grey eyes behind his rectangular glasses. "They won."

He narrowed his eyes at me and gave up his pretenses. His forced smile drooped into a grimace, and he turned on his heel, and stormed off in a huff. Evidently people didn't often stand up to him. I was surprised I was able to do it at all to be honest.

"I'm proud of you," Takeru said. "I knew you had it in you!"

That made one of us.

We decided to just head home after that. We had a name now. And we couldn't find Amai. We chose to go to the Alias III home, because it was closer, and we wanted a warm drink. We only stopped once along the way, when Takeru spotted a sign in a store window.

"Look, a help wanted sign," Takeru said. He looked at the store for only twelve seconds before dismissing it entirely. "Not that one. Maybe the next one." I looked at him confused, before turning to inspect the windows. I spotted the problem. No digimon were allowed. I wouldn't want to work there either.

We talked about a lot of things Takeru was interested in on the way to my apartment. We talked about his book, how it was well-received, but how it wouldn't be published. He talked about how he'd like to interview me for the book about his fifth adventure. I tentatively agreed to help, even though I wasn't entirely certain of what it would entail. He was thrilled, so I figured I must've done _something_ right.

"This is it?" he asked when I veered left from the sidewalk towards a rundown building. I nodded. It wasn't the best place that was for sure. But it was home. The only home I really had. I led him through the dim hallway. More than half of the lights were burnt out, and the carpet was half ripped up. There was once wallpaper on the walls. Now all that was left was the few pieces that remained stuck to the wall when the superintendent wanted to rip it down. He realized it would be harder than he thought and gave up.

"We don't have people over very often," I warned Takeru. I didn't want him to get his hopes up. We made it as nice as we could, but it was pretty much a dump. We couldn't change that with a fresh coat of paint and a few rugs. I stopped at our door, but noticed a piece of yellow paper stuck to it. I ripped it off and read it out loud. "Please turn in your keys. You need to find alternate living arrangements...? What?"

"He's kicking you out?" Takeru asked, taking the paper from my hands. I turned around and stormed down the hallway, leaving Takeru to follow after me. I opened the door of the superintendent's office without knocking. He looked up scared at the loud sound it made as it slammed against the wall. I glared down at him—something I was only able to do because he was sitting down. He was fat and sweaty, and he hadn't cleaned his clothes in like a month, and he hadn't changed them either. He smelled really bad.

"C-c-can I h-help you?" he asked.

"What is this about?" I asked, taking the paper from Takeru's hands and showing it to him. "We've been loyal tenants for _nine years_. Hideto's been here even longer."

"Something's come up," he tried. I narrowed my eyes further, and he spluttered. "I just don't like you guys."

"That's never been a problem before," I hissed.

"I never knew they weren't _pets_ before," he muttered.

"This is about the digimon?" I demanded.

"I didn't say that," he said, trying to protest. But his fear made it obvious. I was mad, and he could tell. I glared at him, good and long. I turned away only when I was sure he was going to wet his pants.

"You're never going to find anyone else to rent it," I warned him. "This place sucks, and you know it. No one else is going to put up with you. You're going to have to actually do your job." And then I stormed out of the office as dramatically as I'd arrived.

"I'm sorry," Takeru said, following after me again.

"It's not your fault," I told him. "The only reason we even stayed here is because the rent is cheap and he never asked questions."

"I think I'd better head home. You guys are going to have some serious talking to do, and I don't think I should intrude on that," he said. "I'll take a rain check though. You're not getting out of it. You're going to make me a hot chocolate."

"Okay," I said. I figured then that it was pretty much a guarantee that he thought of us as friends. I smiled softly for just as second, before the stupid superintendent's big, fat, ugly face burst my bubble by popping back up in my mind. "I promise."

He left, and I walked back to my apartment, though I didn't know how much longer it would be ours. I opened the door and kicked my shoes angrily at the wall. Dropping my coat on the floor. It didn't matter anymore. We were going to have to pack things up anyway.

"What's gotten into you?" Hideto asked from his place in the kitchen, where he was leaning over the counter. Mari was at his side—even though I thought she was still in America—jotting a few notes down on a piece of paper.

"We've been kicked out," I spat out in anger, throwing the now crumpled piece of paper at him. "What are you guys doing?"

"We're turning evil," Mari said with a sly grin. "And we need your help."

I didn't know what they were talking about. And I didn't care anymore.

"Okay."

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Matt learns what life is like when everyone knows all of your faults, and encounters someone from his past. Meanwhile, Neo uncovers some Hidden Truths, without knowing what any of them might mean.


	18. Hidden Truth

**U/N: **While both of the female characters within this story are, well, not main or anything, they're both still really fun to write with. I'm still working on one and she's hard to give the personality in my head, but it's there. Also, when the digidestined fuse their partners, they do just fuse to regular mega digimon that are, in theory, no more special than the others, but within this story, they're just a jogressed form. Someone asked, so I thought I'd clear it up. At one point we thought we could maybe just create their fusions so it would be like a team of knights like Omnimon, but then the Royal Knights popped up and it's like "Ehhhh" anyway :P Please read, please review, have a good day :D

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 2: Challenge**

**Chapter 18: Hidden Truth**

_**Neo Saiba:**_

I didn't know how good an idea it actually was to be here without permission. I didn't want to be stepping over any lines in friendship or anything like that, but it just seemed like the best idea at the time. It was a rash decision, but I was hoping, as long as nothing went wrong, no one would ever be the wiser.

The sun was beating down on the flowers surrounding us, and reflecting off of them in a multitude of colours that made the air all around us look like a rainbow of sorts. It was almost irritating to look at it was so bright and colourful. It kind of reminded me of the death of Yggdrasil honestly. When all the crests had lit up and we all marched around like some gay rights parade with our rainbow care bear power saving the day. The sky was clear and bright, and the breeze was gentle and peaceful, as it always was in the Garden. Somehow this place was impervious to the subtleties of nature. The flowers grew endlessly, straight through the winter, and not a single one ever died. It was bizarre to say the least.

The only theory I had to explain it away came from the end of the pathway where the large, smooth boulder sat with a final message from Lalamon to Mari. The flowers bloomed because of their love. Or more accurately, because of the love Lalamon felt for Mari, not entirely vice versa. The flowers were not real in that sense. Well, just as real as the digimon themselves were, but still, ultimately they were digital. They could not die because they did not live. Though I was fully aware that just like digimon, they could be hurt, and so I had to keep an eye on Dracomon to ensure he didn't damage any of them.

I wasn't sure exactly why none of the others had thought of this yet, but I wasn't about to bring it up. Dracomon adored playing outside, and I didn't think having too many digimon play around these delicate flowers was wise. Especially not the digital companions of the Digidestined. I could tolerate them on a good day, but in no way were they well mannered. Not that Dracomon was much better off in that department. But then again, I was drafted to war with the Digidestined, so I too fit into their category label.

And I wasn't afraid to admit that I was bitter about it.

I didn't want to have nearly twenty friends. I didn't want to have to remember all of their birthdays, or send them all Christmas cards or, well, be nice to them all. I knew I could easily revert back to my 'yelling place' as Rei had dubbed it, but it wasn't entirely for the worse. I wasn't a kind person inherently, but I wasn't entirely bad either, I was honest, and that could often be taken negatively.

For instance,

"_Hey Neo!" Mimi called excitedly, "Do you want to go to the party at my house? You left in such a hurry the other day I didn't get a chance to ask you!"_

"_No," I said simply._

"_No?"_

"_No I don't want to go to your house." I told her. "I don't even remember where it is, and I'm sure I'll sit there bored the entire night while all of you dance around like you have no care in the world and like you're all still children. Well Mimi, I'm not a child, and I do have a care in the world."_

"_Bully." She pouted._

Or the time when I had been dating Sora...

"_Neo, do these pants make my butt look big?" She had asked._

"_Yes, they do." _

That didn't end well either. I didn't see the problem. Honesty was a wonderful policy in which you would never be unsure of how to take me as a person. I would always tell you exactly as I thought, and I would always be entirely at ease knowing I had not done something bad, like lie to the people I care about.

And I did care about a lot of people, even if I didn't necessarily consider them all to be friends. Not that I didn't have any friends to speak of. Hideto, Kiyoko and Mari were my friends. Dracomon was my friend too in a way. A way that meant he acted much more like a younger brother who was unable to mature.

"Neo! I'm running so fast!" Dracomon shouted as he shot past me. I nodded, but didn't look away from the tall violet flower that was in front of me. There was only one of the kind and it was the most beautiful in my opinion. "You're not looking!" I groaned and looked toward Dracomon and caught sight of him running back and forth down the path.

"Very nice," I nodded supportively, pushing my clenched fists further into the pockets of my jacket.

"What's wro-wrong?" Dracomon asked, stopping near me on his trip down the stone path. He was panting heavily. "You seem upset?"

"I'm alright," I told him, "Are you done playing?" He looked upset that it was time to go already, but agreed with a pout. It was when he was rushing off to find the stick he had picked up on his walk through the woods that I heard the voice.

It wasn't anything coherent, or loud. It was just a faint kind of whisper, floating through the trees around us. Dracomon had heard it too, and had stopped moving entirely, and begun growling the direction it had come. I pressed my finger to my lips and moved toward him quietly. I knew no one could see this place unless they knew it existed, but I had never been informed as to how sound would travel between the woods, and the Garden. Could someone outside hear us if we could hear them?

I placed my hand on top of Dracomon's head to silence him and he obeyed, ceasing his growling immediately upon my touch. I paced myself slowly as I strode down the path and toward the barrier. Someone was out in the trees, and if it was someone that knew of this place we could leave easily, but if it were someone unknown to us we could be here for quite some time, and that was unacceptable as I had to attend work shortly.

I scanned the trees, my eyes narrowing in to search for any sign of movement, and my ears straining to hear any more voices. But it was silent. There was no movement, and no sound. It was as if everything had paused itself for our convenience. Then in a loud burst, a couple of birds shot from a tree nearby loudly, flapping their wings excitedly and fluttering into the sky.

"There's more!" A male voice followed quickly. He sounded like he could get annoying very quickly with his loud, obnoxious voice. "When we find Father, I'll be having a word with him about how he treats us. You know, I can't stand how he expects me to do so much for him. Here I am, walking through the woods for him. And last week he actually asked _me_ to make him a coffee—as if we didn't have perfectly good servants to do it for us."

I felt my eye twitch in annoyance already. I hadn't even caught sight of the speaker yet, and I'd have to wait until they pass before I could leave, and if he spoke anymore I thought I might actually go insane. There was something about the texture of his voice that shredded through my patience.

And then I finally saw him. His hair looked like it may have been made of plastic, and was propped up in some way that I assumed was meant to be fashionable. He was wearing a well tailored suit, and had his arms folded across his chest to accentuate the stubborn expression on his face. He resembled a toddler very much in the way he stormed through the trees. I was unsure who he was speaking with until he turned and shouted _very_ loudly, "EV! ARE YOU COMING OR NOT?"

And then a familiar woman stepped up after him. She was wearing combat boots, and had her long dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail. She was, as usual, wearing all black. This time it was dark jeans and a stiff and uncomfortable looking black tank top. Somehow girls were always required to wear clothes that looked like it would be impossible to move around in, and yet somehow they seemed to enjoy doing so. Evelen brushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ears, and groaned. She seemed to be having as much fun as the other boy, who I assumed to be her brother, though she was not verbally explaining how little fun she was having.

"You have a stick in your hair." Her brother said sharply. "It's disgusting. Father will be unimpressed."

"To be honest Kansui, I didn't put it there on purpose." She snapped, ripping the twig from her head. Her eyes looked up to him and she rolled her eyes as he looked down on her with disgust. "What now?"

"If you're going to be like that, then why don't you just leave?" Kansui suggested, his voice shifting suddenly into that of a pompous twat. His chest inflated and he placed his hands gently on his hips as if to be wise and thoughtful. "Father won't want to see you this way. You're in one of your moods, you should just go home. You know how he gets with you."

Evelen shrugged, "You just want me to go home because whenever I'm there he pays more attention to me."

"Well I never!" Kansui gasped stupidly.

"Whatever," Evelen said, "I'll go back then."

"Don't say I've never done anything for you then." Kansui said, "You owe me." He turned and walked off, proud of himself, leaving a dumbfounded Evelen in his wake. She seemed more annoyed than confused, and I figured this type of behaviour was not too unusual for her brother.

"Do you think he knows he's dumb?" Dracomon asked me in a whisper. I looked down to him and said nothing. I doubted that man knew he had any flaws at all. I knew his type. I waited a moment, while Evelen tried to get her bearings for her brother to disappear. When he was finally out of sight I stepped out of the barrier and headed toward Evelen, with Dracomon fearlessly trotting along behind me.

Evelen was running her hands through the long mass of hair she had tied on the back of her head, and she sighed. "Kansui, wait!" She shouted, spinning around, "I'm—Neo?"

I smiled at her, and nodded politely, "Hello," I said cordially.

"Hey," She said, her left eyebrow raised slightly when she caught sight of Dracomon, "Who is this?"

I looked back to Dracomon and was about to introduce him, but he did so himself. "I'm Dracomon. I don't know who you are, but I guess you know Neo? That's cool. He's a cool guy, huh? Your brother isn't a cool guy though."

"No, he's not." Evelen laughed, "He sure thinks he is though, doesn't he?" Then, looking up to me she sighed, "Do you know the way out?"

I nodded, "Of course." I told her. "Come on, I'll show you."

"You're lost huh?" Dracomon asked excitedly as I set off toward the exit of the woods, "I get lost sometimes too. Mostly in the Digital World since I'm not allowed to walk around outside here alone and Neo always knows where to go. He can find his way home no matter where he is. He's like a home-finder."

Evelen was thoughtful, her finger on her chin, "That's a good quality to have," She said, looking to me with her deep eyes, "I'm terrible with directions and I can never find my way home."

"Allow me to help you," I said politely. Dracomon ran off ahead to play the game where he guessed the way and was always wrong. He was always wrong because I ensured that. It was funny to watch him struggle, so I always picked a direction that was different from the one he picked even if it was a longer path. "What is your father doing in the woods?"

"You were listening, huh?" Evelen asked, "Well it's none of your business Mr Saiba. I could ask you the same question, and I can see in your eyes you don't want to answer it." That was true. I couldn't lie to her, and I could also not tell the truth. "So we'll stick to our usual deal. You don't ask me, and I won't ask you." She winked to me and was relieved that she could see the paved parking lot just through the trees. "You're good at this."

"I'm familiar with the location." I told her.

"Come here often?" Evelen asked, "I didn't take you for an outdoorsmen." As she said it I had pulled a bottle of hand sanitizer from the bag I had thrown over my shoulder and she smirked, "That's more like the Neo I know." I offered her some, but she seemed content. "So where are you headed?" She asked, looking at the time on her phone. "We could get some coffee or something."

"I can't," I told her simply. "I have to work soon. Besides, Dracomon isn't allowed in public places."

"Why, does he have no table manners?" Evelen asked.

"Well no," I admitted.

"It's 'cause you humans are all out to get me!" Dracomon exclaimed in shock.

"Oh well," Evelen shrugged. "That's ridiculous. People are a species full of hate. They always need something to lash out at and something to blame. They're unhappy, so they're blaming digimon, they'll get over it eventually."

"But it's dangerous." Dracomon said, "My friend Betamon was almost kidnapped! And my friend Lalamon was killed a few years back... but not by a human. She died from a monster robot. We were just at her burial site." I told Dracomon to shut up with a fierce expression that Evelen did not see, and he obliged immediately.

"I just think it's wrong to let someone else live your life for you." Evelen said to Dracomon. "If you're going to walk around letting other people's hate for you run your life you'll never get anywhere."

Dracomon was skipping around now, excited that Evelen seemed to be on his side. "So you like digimon?" He asked her.

"Sure," Evelen said, "I like them like I like people. There are good ones and there are bad ones. Last week a man robbed our bar and had my manager at gunpoint. I wasn't there that day, thank God, I don't want to deal with that mess. My point is that people are crappy, and digimon are crappy. Because we all have darkness inside us, and that darkness never dies and never fades. So we're all ultimately the bad guy. So I don't see why we can't all just relax and be on the same team."

"Of evil?" Dracomon asked.

"Well, in a sense..." She said, evidentially frustrated that Dracomon didn't seem to understand.

"We'd better get going." I blurted before they could speak anymore. I knew how tiresome and frustrating it could be to get through to Dracomon, and I needed to make sure that didn't happen. Evelen was one of the only people I knew outside the Digidestined that wasn't irritating beyond belief. I couldn't have her be chased away by Dracomon. "I trust you can find your way home from here?"

"Let's hope," She said, "See you later, Neo." And she was gone, walking away with a cute strut. I'd never seen her outside the bar, and somehow she was even more beautiful in the light of day. It didn't matter that she had covered a pimple on her temple with concealer, or that her eyeliner wasn't perfect. She was a very beautiful woman in all of her imperfections.

"So, off to work?" Dracomon asked.

"After you," I motioned for him to head off in front of me.

_**Yamato Ishida:**_

"I'm not scared," Gabumon was telling me. "Really I'm not."

It really sucked.

He wanted fresh air, and right now the only way he could get that was by cracking open a window and sticking his head outside like a dog. Well he was a dog. Well no, not really. He just liked dogs so much that he wore dog fur. Not really true, but it made sense at least.

Gabumon was sitting on the couch I'd been meaning to throw out, but I really hated furniture shopping and so I'd yet to buy a replacement. It was falling to pieces, and was so, so old. The only new thing in the house was the chair that Taichi had picked out for me to replace the smelly old brown one he'd taken with him. And that was years ago, so basically my apartment was full of old furniture that needed replacing, and pretty much nothing else. The kitchen had food in it, so that was good, but the shelves were empty because I wasn't the kind of person who collected trinkets or whatever. Taichi was to a degree so when we'd lived together at least the place looked kind of interesting. Katsue lived with me once too, for about a month. Then she broke up with me because she rightly assumed I had still been in love with Sora. Then I'd actually put up an ad for a roommate, to which Takeru responded to instantly. I didn't let him live here because I didn't want to live with my brother to be honest. Plus he already had a home. Then when I actually did find a roommate, it only lasted a month or two because he turned out to be the same Kiyoshi that dated and cheated on Sora, and that was just awkward. So it didn't really work out.

Thinking about it all... I'd been caught up on Sora for a long time. But as the song went, "Waiting for you takes no time at all." Which was of course not true. I'd been waiting on Sora for... probably fifteen years.

Which seemed _crazy_. But we started dating back in 2002... briefly. It didn't work out because the group wasn't really ready for it and it became this big thing, and we were kids, we didn't really know anything about ourselves. Then she dated Taichi because I told him it was a good idea. Then he started hating me because I didn't let her die, and then Sora and I kind of ended up together thinking Taichi had broken up with her, but he hadn't... but then they did break up, and we were together and Taichi was our friend again. Then Sora and I broke up three years later because of Fanglongmon, and then she dated Kiyoshi who cheated on her, then she dated Neo who was evil, so she broke up with him, but I was dating Katsue, and then she re-dated Neo who then proposed and told her she couldn't be friends with Taichi or myself, and she chose us over him. Then she was single and I was confused and lost, and Katsue dumped me realizing this. At this point, if we were a cheesy romantic life time movie, we'd be together. But first Sora needed to really find who she was as a person. And I'd been doing that too. Musically, I'd changed, in personality I'd matured. I just became a different person waiting for her, and even now, both of us had grown and were still perfect for each other. So why weren't we together?

That was because of the hate flooding through the worlds. Sora represented love, and of course I represented friendship. Two very warm and generous traits that everyone encountered at some point within their lives. So it was really hard to remain true to ourselves and be together while hate was threatening to boil over.

Or at least that was what I was telling myself. Maybe she didn't want to be together. Though I hadn't actually asked her...

But focusing on my love life was not what was important right then, and even though it was hard to ignore it, since I'd been _alone_ for three years, I had to pay attention to the true problems at hand. Which was why Gabumon was not allowed outside today. Or any other day.

"Can I please just go to the Digital World then?" Gabumon asked. "I promise I'll be careful."

"You can't go alone," I told him. "It's not safe."

"Then you come with me?"

"I can't," I said, "I have to go to the group meeting. It's more important now than it's been in a long while. After I get back we can go to the Digital World, and maybe you can spend the night with Agumon. It's safer in the Digital World I think. Not enough so to be alone. Not after what happened to Mimi. But you can play outside all you want then. Right now, promise me you'll stay inside."

"I promise." Gabumon said, looking defeated. "I just wish I had something to _do_ here."

"You can watch tv," I said, "Or like, bake. I don't know. Just entertain yourself. I'm sorry Gabumon, but I have to go. I'll be back soon though, I promise." He looked annoyed so I tried to ignore his expressions. It wasn't my fault that it was dangerous out there and I'd do everything I could to fight for his freedom _again_, but until then he'd have to be bored.

Better bored than dead.

Though I still wasn't entirely sure what the dangers _were_. I'd heard that the digimon could now be deleted entirely, which was horrifying in and of itself, but also there were a group of people who had attacked Sora's fashion show—they were now imprisoned of course, so it could not have been them who attacked Mimi in the Digital World. Not that they'd have any way to get to the Digital World.

That's when it hit me as odd. I guess I'd been going to the Digital World so long myself that it had become a second nature to me. But others were not like that. The people who had attacked Mimi had to have access to the world, and thus, a digivice.

Maybe the people who had been sending their digimon back had been the attackers in that case.

But taking into account what Mari had witnessed in America was what put everything over the top. DWD... Down with Digimon. It all seemed really strange to me. Strange and random. It was like spontaneous acts of hate and violence were sprouting up in every place that mattered to us, but none of them seemed connected.

So not only were we not fighting a solid being, we were also not facing any one particular group of people either. We could not attack them and fight them in a pressed dramatic time limit, and we could not use the immense strength of our digimon to defeat them. They were not our normal foe. We could also not even speak with whomever it was we were fighting because it could have been _anybody_... and from what it seemed, it was possible it was a large percentage of the population.

But the human race was selfish. They had to make their own decisions or it wasn't a good one, so we couldn't speak to them as a whole, and we couldn't speak to them all individually because we had no idea who they were.

This was why I wasn't the strategist of our team.

Because I had no idea what the crap we were supposed to do.

"Can I at least bring a friend over sometime?" Gabumon asked in a depressed sort of way.

"Yeah sure." I said, trying to smile to boost his mood.

"Just kidding," Gabumon said, "I have no friends."

"Gabumon!" I said, rushing over to him. "You do have friends! I'm your friend."

"A friend is a person that keeps people locked up inside to prevent their happiness from blossoming?" Gabumon asked, "That doesn't sound very friendly."

"It's for your own good!" I rolled my eyes.

"I know," Gabumon practically whined, which was odd as I'd never seen him like this. "I'm just so bored. I don't know what to do. Can you make me a sandwich?"

I nodded, a little depressed and headed into the kitchen. Gabumon was so upset about what was going on, and I couldn't blame him in the slightest. He was trapped, and unable to help. Once we figured out what was going on we'd be able to fix everything and he'd be free to roam around outside... but until then we would all have to be extra careful.

"Thanks," Gabumon said contentedly smiling at his new sandwich. He started eating it and I readied myself to leave.

"I'll be back in a couple hours," I told Gabumon. I didn't know for sure but the meetings were usually about an hour long. That always gave us plenty of time to talk about whatever. Sometimes they'd be up to five hours long, but I really hoped this wasn't going to be one of those times.

"Okay," Gabumon said, his mouth full of food. "Can we watch a movie later then?"

"Of course," I told him, "We can watch whatever you want." I wasn't going to put a limit on anything at the moment because he was already so upset, but I really hoped he didn't pick his favourite movie. I'd seen it about a billion times. It wasn't even a good movie.

"Great," Gabumon smiled, "I think I know just the one to watch." He smiled to himself and I practically groaned. Maybe a longer meeting wouldn't be so bad? It would certainly be better than spending all night watching a feel good movie about a man and his horse. Because seriously. There were only so many times that kind of movie can be enjoyed. "Have fun getting fresh air." Gabumon said a little bitterly.

"I will," I said, just as bitter. "And I'll get something to eat too, okay?"

"Sounds good," He said, happy again.

And then we said goodbye, and I was out the door. It seemed weird to be going outside now that I wasn't in my band anymore. Which shouldn't make sense, but somehow it did. I was still dressed like I always would have. A leather jacket, a button down shirt, and some tight pants. I was still a rock star. Still the guy who had founded his own band, the Teenage Wolves, and brought it to fame with his over the top cheesy love songs that people were getting sick of. It sucked because my next album was going to be awesome and it was going to be based off of rock music from the eighties, and I had all these ideas.

But now I'd never get to do them, because I'd been kicked out of my own band. Which, put into perspective, felt a lot like the time Takeru needed to speak with Hikari when they were visiting and asked me to leave my own house, but a hundred times worse. More like a million times worse. It was _my_ band. How could I get kicked out of my own band?

The elevator dinged when it reached the ground floor and I stepped out into the lobby which, as usual was empty. I lived in probably the worse apartment building in all of Japan. It was old, rundown, and most of the apartments were not fit to live in. Including the one Jou and Momoe used to rent out. It was no longer allowed to be entered. But because of that, my rent was cut in half, which was pretty cool. And since Gabumon wouldn't sleep anywhere aside from the living room couch I had an entire room for clothes and stuff. Taichi's old room.

The lobby though, had quite a few broken tiles on the floor. It had once been nice, really nice actually. It was when we moved in, probably like six years ago or something. I wasn't the type of person to keep track of things like that, but it was similar to six years anyway. Maybe five. Either way, it didn't take long for the place to die. The wallpaper was peeling, the bell at the front desk was broken—no one worked at the front desk anymore because either they realized it was an apartment building and not a hotel, or they ran out of money.

It looked warm outside, I noticed, looking through the windows. There seemed to be a breeze, but the flowers and trees and birds all gave every indication that Spring was here and on its way to Summer. And since it was now the first of May, that meant Ken's birthday was tomorrow.

I had kind of forgotten about it honestly, I could finally sign my albums and give them to him like I knew he'd secretly been wanting anyway. I'd been so caught up in everything that was happening that I kind of let the real world fade away like I always seemed to when something was going on. But he was turning twenty four.

God we were all old. It was strange to think I was _here_. In the time of life I used to look at as ancient. I was twenty seven myself. Three years and I'd be thirty. Thirty wasn't as old as I thought it was going to be either. I used to think thirty was when you had to be settled down and married. But I wasn't—and maybe would never be that way. But if thirty wasn't old, did that mean that fifty wasn't old either? Did that mean I was going to be old and dying one day and suddenly realize my life was gone?

That was a pretty scary thought.

I'd have to make the most of the time I had left.

As I came into focus to pay attention to the world around me I saw that the streets were particularly crowded today. It seemed that getting around wouldn't be as easy as I'd like. Everyone was going about their daily business it seemed, but even though many of them were in groups, none of them seemed to be speaking. It was as though I missed some kind of event that required everyone to be silent for a full day. Well if that was the case I'd already failed, because I had already spoken with Gabumon. The weird thing about the people is that most of them appeared to be tourists, holding cameras and whatnot.

"Excuse me," I timid voice said. I turned and saw a girl who also had a camera in her hand, and a pen and pad of paper in the other. "Hello," she said.

"Hey," I said awkwardly, "Can I help you?"

"I was just wondering if you could answer a couple questions for me..." Timid girl said. She was pretty adorable looking with her pigtails and giant glasses. She seemed like she was a reporter or something, but not one of the annoying ones, so I could answer questions for her. I wouldn't mind that.

"Yeah sure," I said with a comforting smile, because it seemed like she needed it. She looked like having just asking if she was _allowed_ to ask questions could have made her fall apart. Thankfully she didn't.

"W-well... "She started, "You are no l-longer in your band, r-right?" I nodded stiffly, that was true. "Rumour h-has it that you left on your own a-accord."

"I did," I told her, "I quit." Kind of... but I didn't need to go into the little details.

"But y-your band says that you were f-fired." She said.

"First," I said, "They're not my band. Second, I didn't get fired. I quit because I found out that all three of them were bad people. I quit in order to find my new goals."

She wrote that down as slow as she possibly could, I swear, and then looked back up, "What _are_ these n-new goals?" She asked, straightening her glasses.

"I honestly don't know yet," I told her, "But I'll figure them out I'm sure." I then faked a look at an invisible watch and faked surprise, "Oh, hey, I really need to get going."

"Wait, just a few more questions," She said.

"One more," I reasoned, "I'm really late."

"Okay," She said, and began flipping through her pad of paper, looking for the best question. She read a few over and finally looked like she'd picked one, but then shook her head and muttered something under her breath. After what seemed like forever she smiled. "I think I have one."

"Oh good," I said sarcastically.

"There are rumours that the reason you named the band the Teenage Wolves was because of your digital companion." She said, her nerves and stutter seemingly disappeared. "These rumours seem accurate due to photos of you and a wolf like creature spurting up all over the internet. Is it true that you support the cause of the digimon?"

"Of course," I said flatly. "Yes, I do. I'm not some stupid bigot who can't accept people for who they are. I don't care who you are, if you're a good person, I think you're cool. Now, I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I do think everyone else should try living by these rules as well. The world would be a better place if everyone could just get their heads out of their world of make belief and accept the fact that not everyone who isn't exactly like you is evil. What makes us different is the best thing about each of us, but what is really fascinating is that inside, we're all the same. Well kind of. The digimon don't have organs and stuff—but metaphorically... inside, we're all the same."

She was writing this down, much quicker than she had before as if her entire personality had altered in a moment. She'd been faking being shy just to get me to pity her, maybe. But if she was faking something that meant I couldn't trust her at all, and suddenly I felt a little out of place. "Okay," She said, "Now—"

"I really have to go." I was going to trust my instincts and leave. I didn't trust her.

"Just wait," She tried.

"No, really." I said, turning around, "I'm sorry, but I'm leaving."

"IT'S YAMATO ISHIDA!" The not so timid girl shouted louder than any yelling I'd ever heard, though that may have been in contrast to the silence surrounding us. "HE'S DOING INTERVIEWS!"

All the tourists around us held up their cameras and began flashing pictures of me and I groaned, storming through the crowd ignoring the shouts of those around me.

"Yamato!" "What have you been up to?" "How have you been taking your epic fall from stardom?" "Rumours state you had to leave the band because you have to be a good father to your daughter" "I heard somewhere you were moving to Canada to befriend a moose!"

They were all honestly insane, and I didn't feel bad for saying it. I wasn't going to answer a single one of their questions because I didn't want to give any of them the satisfaction. Plus, I was pretty sure that moose thing was a stereotype. _And_ since when did I have a _daughter_? Whatever, the rumours were terrible and cruel, and none of them were true.

My storming through the crowd technique stopped working when hands were thrown into the mix, grabbing at any part of me they could reach. Someone with a ridiculously strong grip had grabbed my upper arm and I turned around to hit him off of me, but someone else's hand had already smacked into his. I didn't have time to see who it was though because I was pulling myself through the crowd. I ripped my leg away from some short person who could have been a child, I didn't know or care at this point, and started running. I wasn't much of an athletic person—in fact, usually I'd avoid walking places all together, and I certainly wished that I'd taken my motorcycle this time as well. It wasn't worth it apparently.

I shot around the corner into the downtown area, where there were _normal_ people shopping. They were speaking with one another, moving around, and not holding cameras. That was what was important. I risked a glance over my shoulder and saw that at least fifteen people were chasing after me, and I pushed myself to run faster.

I slipped behind a group of people, and into an alleyway that ran behind the stores of the street. I emerged about four buildings down with none of the reporters to be seen and entered the nearest shop I could find.

The door bell rang signalling that I'd gone inside. It seemed to be some sort of game shop. There were video games lining the right wall and board games lining the left. At the end of the building there was a man with a really bushy beard drinking some kind of carbonated beverage.

I pretended to be shopping, looking from the corner of my eye out the window.

I flung myself against the wall when the girl who lied about being shy ran past followed by a series of other reporters. I waited a few moments before risking a glance, and shouted in surprise when someone was staring back at me through the glass.

"Dude," The man with the beard said, "No need to be afraid, that's a girl. They're cool."

He wasn't funny but was evidentially trying to be, so I smiled politely to him as the familiar face of the girl in the window entered the shop. "Hey Rock Star," She said with her thin lips curled into their usual wicked grin, like she was always plotting something evil. Her eyes were framed by her square shaped glasses and her brown hair was tied back in a short and messy ponytail, as it usually was.

"Katsue?" I asked, "What are you doing here?" I hadn't seen her in a while. I didn't know exactly how long, but at the moment I couldn't remember seeing her alone since that awkward night we broke up and I'd helped her pack her things from my apartment. I'd obviously seen her during the fight against Yggdrasil's drones, and we all met up with her for some interviews about the digimon for her documentary. Well, everyone except for Ken, he was busy that day or something.

Katsue looked more sophisticated though, now that she'd gotten a promotion due to her award winning documentary. "I heard Yamato Ishida was in town and I wanted a chance to meet him," She joked, looking around the store. "You don't seem as interesting as everyone makes you out to be."

"Yeah well," I rolled my eyes, "I think we both know the truth there. I'm not a very fascinating guy."

"Oh good, we're on the same page," She said, turning to face me, her hands on her hips. "You're welcome by the way."

"Why would I be thanking you exactly?" I asked incredulously.

"There are a hundred reasons why you should be thanking me," She said, raising her eyebrows in a threatening way. "Most prominently I killed an unstoppable robot from killing you three years ago. So, you're welcome for that. I made your life more interesting while we were dating. You're welcome. I wrote the article about you that made people rethink your music and leave your hate group. You are welcome for that too, though it now seems entirely unimportant as you're not in the band anymore."

"Are you here to rub in the fact that you're happy and I'm not?" I asked, "because that's not something I'm going to stand around and let you do."

"No," Katsue said, her expression faltering for only a moment. "I'm here for you to thank me."

"Again, I'm not seeing why I would be—"

"I just punched a man in the face for you, for one," Katsue said, annoyed, "And I also sent all those reporters down the street away from you."

That didn't seem like Katsue. She wouldn't do something unless there was something in it for her. "And why did you do that?" I asked, fishing for my answer.

"So I could talk to you alone," She said flatly.

And there it was. The selfish act I had been expecting. "Katsue," I said, "I don't have time for your games, I have to go to my friends and discuss our plan of action. Or in case you haven't noticed, the world hates digimon."

"Oh I've noticed," Katsue said, "I wrote an entire article about it—"

So she'd written an article about the hate crimes. She was practically desperate for praise and success. "You are so ambitious and not in the good way," I told her flatly. Usually I'd let things slide, but if she was part of the reason this news was spreading around and becoming such a well received fact, then she was part of the reason Gabumon couldn't go outside anymore without fearing his own safety. "You're always chasing accomplishment after accomplishment, never caring who you hurt in the process. That stupid movie you made may have given you everything you've ever wanted Katsue, but it hurt a lot of people. Because of what was said in that movie we're all known as digimon supporters and our lives are all falling apart."

"But you _are_ digimon supporters." Katsue said loudly, "Why is it wrong that people know that? I thought you liked to stand up for what you believed in."

"I _do_ I argued, "You don't understand what the movie has done. The entire world is now against us and our friends. Since you're one of the lucky ones that aren't associated with us Digidestined, let me catch you up to speed. My brother was fired, I was kicked out of my band, Sora's fashion show was attacked, and Hikari had a pretty serious head injury. Then Mimi's restaurant was burned down, and Palmon got hurt in the fire, Mimi was hurt later in the Digital World when the digimon haters physically attacked her and the only one there to protect her was _Koushiro_, of all people, somehow our new enemy has managed to find a way to delete the digimon, and people all around the world are sending their partners back to the Digital World claiming they don't want useless beings to be in their lives."

"You have to know I didn't intend for all of that to happen," Katsue argued.

"I know you didn't mean for it to, but do you even care?" I shouted, trying to ignore the man behind us slurping his drink through a straw as he watched our argument unfold. "Do you _care_ what's gone on? This is because of your movie."

"I know!" She shouted.

"Don't you feel anything anymore?"

And then she was crying, and I felt like a pretty big jerk. Tears were silently and steadily pouring from her eyes and her fists were balled up. "Is this me _feeling_ enough for you?" She asked angrily. I tried to comfort her, but she smacked my hand away, "Don't touch me." She warned. She was silent for a moment and then she started up, "That's what I came to talk to you about. I don't want some stupid interview about your stupid band! I don't care about your job right now, okay? I'm sorry if that makes me selfish, but it's the truth! I care about Monimon! He's in danger too, you know. Just because I'm not a Digidestined doesn't mean I'm not in danger too! I've had to lie and hide myself away from the world to avoid being found out too. I'm just as scared as you are—and if you don't think I _know_ that it's my fault those things are happening to all of you, then you're mistaken Yamato. Every time something happens I'm reminded that it's my fault. So stop screaming at me and making me out to be the bad guy. I'm on your side!"

It was kind of like a slap in the face to look at it from her perspective. She always did have that tough exterior. Even when she'd broken up with me, there had been only one tear. She was a selfish girl, but who was I to put thoughts into her head and pretend I knew what she was thinking.

"So what are you saying?" I asked slowly.

"I want to help."She declared. "Whatever way I can."

I thought for a moment and then nodded, "Then come with me." I told her. "You're going to need to know what's going on if you want to be a part of the solution."

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Confrontations get heavy as we delve into the next folds of the plot. While Jou and the others have some serious planning to take part in, Takeru and Hikari try to take initiative and look for A Place To Hide, but what about Rei? Will anyone ever remember to relieve her of duty?


	19. A Place To Hide

**Y/N: **I was only Rei in this chapter, and since she's a side character, it was just a quick narration..

**U/N: **I don't exactly remember writing this chapter, I just know Takeru's is... well, it's something. I'm currently editing it, and hopefully I'll like it by the end.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 2: Challenge**

**Chapter 19: A Place To Hide  
**

_**Jou Kido:**_

"I just don't understand why you're still working there if you hate it so much," I said, a little agitated.

"I don't hate it," Momoe said through gritted teeth, "I don't know how many times I can explain this to you." As a human being, I had faults. One of those faults was that I became very difficult to speak with whenever I became too stressed. Momoe was a very patient person, and she'd lasted longer than she usually would have. But now she seemed just as stressed as I was, and when Momoe became stressed she lost all ability to remain calm.

Over the past couple weeks I had been thrown into a world I'd never seen before—and that was saying something because I had seen quite a few things in my time. I was shown digimon whom I was instructed to care for even though everyone knew my specialties were in physical remedies. I'd gone to school for things such as pediatrics, obstetrics, gynaecology, epidemiology and several different branches of animal care. I could whip up a remedy, or deliver a baby, or judge whether that rash on your back was fatal or just kind of gross. I certainly knew a lot about allergies as well.

The point was... I could do a lot of things. But I wasn't a therapist.

I could not make these digimon feel any better about themselves, no matter how much I wanted to. Looking into their eyes was like looking into the eyes of a child who has lost their mother. You want to say something to them, and hug them forever, but there's really nothing you can do about it. You know they have to get better on their own. I knew, anyway.

But somehow it was worse than that. When my mother died, it was horrible... she was gone, and never coming back. But with these digimon, it was like they'd been betrayed. Their partners were not dead... and they could very well run into them again and be reminded of the pain someone had maliciously caused to them.

Pain comes naturally through life, but it's not the same when someone purposefully makes you feel it. There is an immense difference between natural and unnatural pain.

It was the difference between falling and scraping your knee, and having someone push you down.

But it wasn't just that of course.

I was in charge of keeping the digimon safe, and even though Taichi had promised to find me a second doctor to help take some of the work load, he'd yet to find someone he deemed appropriate, and so the duty still fell directly onto me. Then, with the discovery of the dying digimon it never once crossed my mind that it wasn't my fault. I was in charge of keeping them all alive and safe and well, and now they were dying and disappearing forever, and although we didn't know why that was, it could easily have had something to do with the fact that I couldn't get to them in time.

Plus, apparently Willis was in danger somewhere, and none of us were going to go get him, which was confusing, and I didn't know why, but I was hoping to find out today at our meeting.

Also Monmon was missing. It wasn't too big a deal yet, he left all the time, but even Emiko knew something was wrong. She liked to pretend she was oblivious most of the time, but with all the panicked whispers and with her shortened leash she caught on pretty quickly. She started keeping Monmon close to her at all costs, and I had a feeling that was why he was gone. He wasn't a very lovable monkey, and he just needed some space. But Emiko was scared and wanted him back.

She missed him so much she started wearing a monkey costume everywhere she went.

Though I still didn't really understand why she was doing that either.

Then there was Gomamon who had very little sleep lately, keeping my schedule in order, which was nice of him and all, but he left no time for even a bathroom break throughout the day and I was sick of holding in my pee for twelve hours straight. I knew that wasn't healthy. I was a doctor.

Bearmon had been taking more naps lately to get over his headaches which had become more frequent with Emiko wailing all the time about Monmon, and that left Momoe to take care of her more often, so she kept missing work and she was becoming more and more irritable, and so I'd always ask her, "why don't you quit your job?"

And she'd say "I like my job."

And then we'd get into little arguments about it because I didn't understand how she could hate her job and love it at the same time. Especially now with Miyako having quit, now Momoe was left alone at work all the time. They worked with digimon and that was all I knew. Maybe they were on the side of the bad guys but Momoe couldn't tell me anything because of legalities.

Maybe she'd been leaving me clues or something. I'd have to pay closer attention.

As it was at the moment, we were both silent. I didn't want her to be any more upset with me than she already was so I wisely kept my mouth shut. We were walking toward the place where Mimi's restaurant had once stood. Though it was still standing it was no longer referred to as 'Mimi's restaurant'. Mimi liked to call it 'The Place Where Dreams Go to Die'. And every time she'd say it, I knew it was only a pity party, but even I couldn't stop this one. Mimi had every right to feel upset about this. It was the second time in a three year time period that her dream had been diminished.

Luckily the idiots who set fire to the building decided on the tactic that they had. It was a restaurant so Mimi had obviously put insurance on it for fire damage. Maybe that was the point. Maybe Michan and Tako really didn't want to cause serious permanent damage to Mimi's life but rather wanted simply to send a message.

"That's horrible..." Momoe's distant voice drew me from my thoughts. She hadn't seen the restaurant until now but had reacted the same way everyone else seemed to. The building was standing, the structure was strong, and thankfully salvageable. The entire inside would need to be replaced and it was not as bad as it could have been... but the charred insides could be seen through the wide windows, and the big sign that said 'CLOSED INDEFINITELY' set the mood fairly well.

As we came nearer I saw Mimi through the windows, sitting at the bar counter sipping water from a plastic cup, it seemed she'd finally decided to take the bandages off her head. I reached for the door, and pulled it open for Momoe, it made a horrible squelching sound as the metal frame scratched against something. Momoe stepped inside, and I followed her.

Momoe looked unsure if she should hang her coat on the hooks or not, as they were hardly attached any longer. She decided to not, and continued on her way. I thought she made the right choice and followed her down the short entry hallway before stepping out into the open.

The chairs that were too far gone had been thrown into a pile with some crumpled remains of what looked to be tables. The walls were burnt and some had big gaping holes in them from where the fire had gotten too hot. There were three tables set in a line in the middle of the room, one of them had a black, gross looking corner that, instead of coming to a point had a very mangled and burnt edge. At the counter next to Mimi sat Hikari, quietly looking down into a cup of her own. Takeru, Daisuke and Iori were on the big open floor, sweeping and moving things out of the way, just as silent as the girls were, and Natsuni and Koushiro were working together, moving the tables from the upper level. All seven of them were entirely silent, and I felt like I'd walked into a funeral uninvited.

Mimi looked up to me and half smiled. "Where's Emiko?" She asked.

"Home with Bearmon," Momoe said with too much brightness to her voice. She was trying to cheer everyone up, and I knew it. "We figured it was better than dragging her around. She's going through some stuff right now." Then she reached into the black bag she'd brought with her and pulled out a large plastic container. "I brought cookies."

Daisuke had dropped the chair he was holding and hurried toward the counter and sat next to Hikari. Hikari was tracing something with her finger, drawing in the dust. Daisuke raised his eyebrows and smirked so she elbowed him. When I looked to it I noticed it was the crest of hope. Momoe smiled and set them down in front of him as Iori, Koushiro and Natsuni all finished what they were doing and came to sit with the rest of us.

"I think there's a lot of promise here," Daisuke said to Mimi, "You could turn this into a good thing."

"Of course there's promise," Mimi said, setting her cup down with a little too much force. "It was great before, and it's the same space. I don't want to change anything. I want it to be back to the way it was."

No one said anything else until Kurayami emerged from the washroom, carrying Haruki in her arms. She looked disgusted and I did not want to know why. I knew that look far too well. She set him down in a carrier that was sitting at the edge of the counter, and fell into the seat next to Mimi blatantly ignoring Hikari. "Hey!" She said to Momoe and I, "How are you guys?"

But we had no chance to respond over the horrible sound of the door being opened. We all turned to see Sora walking into the room, busying herself with her backpack which she held in front of her as she dug inside. She took a glance up and froze as we were all staring at her. "What?" She asked.

"Just hoping you've come to liven things up." Takeru said from his place on the floor where he was sweeping the dirt, dust and ash. I figured Mimi had offered to pay him for his help and so he wasn't going to sit down on the job and let her down. But I had no proof of that, it just seemed to make sense.

"Well I haven't got anything exciting to say, really," Sora admitted, "Someone towed my car last night because I parked it in front of a hydrant, which was my own fault really. But it was probably for the better—I kept getting tickets." Sora was _not_ a good driver. "I couldn't find my other shoe today and I actually considered wearing mismatched heels—they weren't even the same height! I'm in such a funk lately that the only ideas for a dress I could come up with looked like a bag of potatoes. And two nights ago Mimi was attacked, which of course reminded me of when we were _all_ attacked at my fashion show." She took a break and stood there, then sighed, "I'm just not in the mood for a party is all. Nothing good has happened and I'm kind of depressed about it." She decided as she returned to her bag where she pulled out a sleek red laptop.

She set the laptop on the counter and opened it, holding up her digivice and triggering the portal which caused the room to light up brightly. When the light faded Taichi was standing with Tatum and Michael on either side of him. Michael had Betamon held in his arms and was stroking his head for comfort.

"You're still bringing him everywhere?" Iori asked calmly as Daisuke slyly took the cookie from Iori's hand to eat.

Michael nodded, "Yeah, I have a plan."

"Are you sure the plan is worth it?" Iori asked, taking a bite of thin air, realizing his cookie was gone. "It's not very safe outside. I know you don't want to tell us what the plan is, but I just want you to make sure you know what you're doing."

"I never do," Michael admitted, "But I feel like this is the right thing to do."

"You _feel_ like it is?" I asked. Of course I was on Iori's side. Not just because I knew him well, or because he was very smart and generally caring. But because he had a point. It was _not_ very safe outside, and if Michael was going to keep bringing Betamon everywhere I wanted to be sure he really did know what was going on.

Michael's face was turning red and he cleared his throat, "Well, I'll admit the plan kind of changed a while back—but this one is even better! Just... I'll keep Betamon safe. I promise." Betamon seemed confident enough, so everyone let it go.

Taichi was already sitting down at the tables that had been laid out for us all, and Koushiro was quick to sit next to him, each of them pulling out folders that they laid out in front of them. Neither said a word, but began reading over their work and glancing over at what the other had brought.

"Takeru, you can take a break." Mimi said as Hikari, Iori and Natsuni sat near the charred part of the table. It seemed like once Taichi sat down it was indication that we were about to start the meeting. He was always in control it seemed. Iori motioned for Momoe and I to come with them and so we did. I sat next to Natsuni with Hikari directly across from me, while Momoe and Takeru sat down together across from one another. Iori leaned forward to conceal the charred parts of the table from Mimi as she lazily took a seat between Takeru and Koushiro. She must have known it was not a perfect table, but I thought she was probably embarrassed that she could not even provide us a place to meet comfortably any longer. I knew she'd always been proud to host the meetings.

Sora sat next to Momoe as the door opened once more. Miyako and Ken came in, holding hands. Miyako was wearing tall blue gloves and some kind of t-shirt dress like thing. Ken was wearing grey—as per usual. They sat down next to Sora and across from Daisuke, Kurayami and Haruki. Michael sat next to Ken a second later with Tatum taking her place next to him.

There were only two spaces left, and six Digidestined—though Willis didn't seem to count at the moment, but there was still not enough room for all of us, and looking around it didn't seem there were many more chairs that would hold the weight of a human. There was one it seemed, where Takeru had rested the broom he had been using.

There was a silence that was only disturbed by the flipping of pages by Koushiro and Taichi. A minute later Miyako interrupted by clearing her throat and asking, "Is anyone else coming?"

Koushiro looked up from his work, but just barely and then shrugged, "I haven't any idea." And then he was back to his work.

The silence settled in again. None of us were in the mood to be friendly to one another. It was just as Sora had said. Nothing happy had really happened to any of us lately, but it wasn't as if we hadn't been trying. We just weren't up to chatting about our weeks the way we normally would have. It was a very different atmosphere as it was, but if someone brought up another hate crime... well, let's just say it was different than the stories we'd normally talk about. "Okay." Taichi finally spoke up, "I'm just going to go for it. Yamato isn't here, but he sometimes misses them, and Neo's not here either."

"Allias III is missing too." Hikari said.

"Well, let's hope they don't show up." I said, instantly regretting it. Everyone looked to me as if I'd just said something horribly offensive. "Not in a rude way... just..." I looked to Mimi, "There aren't enough seats." She tried to pretend it was okay and did that depressing half smile she kept plastering on her face. I guess she thought it would trick people into thinking she was okay, but really it was just a reminder as to how _not_ okay she was.

"Well the Allias III are going to rescue Willis I think." Michael said. "I have no proof... but I don't think Mari would let him stay in danger."

"Well good." Hikari smiled.

Just as Taichi was about to speak the door was pulled open once again making the familiar sound of metal on metal, and Neo revealed himself. He was holding a thermos filled with something that was causing bursts of steam to cloud in front of him as he made his way to sit with Kurayami in one of the two empty seats.

Neo crossed his legs when he sat down, but said nothing, instead just sipped his drink silently.

Taichi paused, waiting for others to join and when it seemed no one else would, he let his shoulders droop noticeably. "Okay," He said awkwardly. "I think Koushiro and I will go first."

And by that he meant Koushiro would go first _alone_ it seemed. "As many of you are no doubt already aware, I have discovered the location of the missing digimon. Or, more accurately, their lack of location. There are twenty-seven confirmed deletions and more to be uncovered." There was a complete silence following his words. No one wanted to interrupt that, and no one knew what to say about it either. There was no indication from anyone that this was new news either, and so Koushiro moved on. "So far we have no information as to _how_ entire files have been removed from the system, but we have located the exact place Etemon had been during his time of execution." Using such a harsh word caused nearly everyone to stir uncomfortably in their seats, and someone even whimpered, though I didn't know if it was Hikari or Mimi who were sitting close to one another. "Just outside Myotismon's old home, and we have Rei currently keeping an eye out for anything to happen."

"Still?" Sora asked, "No one took her place?"

"Well you were supposed to," Taichi said, a little bitterly. "You, Koushiro and Mimi were supposed to—"

"But then someone attacked us," Sora defended herself.

"I know," Taichi said stiffly, "I'm not blaming you. Besides, Rei is fine I'm sure. It's only been a few days. She wanted to go..." He seemed to be trying to convince himself that she'd be fine staying there more than anything else, but no one could blame him for not knowing for sure. He was very busy, and very stressed. And everyone was relying on him. It all fell on Taichi to make sure everyone was safe. To make sure everything in both worlds was going smoothly, and now that they weren't it was all up to him to fix that problem. It was wearing on him too. He needed a break that was for sure.

Natsuni raised her hand nervously, and Koushiro looked to her confused. "Hi, just me here." She said awkwardly, "I was just wondering what exactly happened to you guys? Sora said you were attacked? I'm confused."

"Aren't we all?" Mimi said coldly. It wasn't directed to Natsuni though, it was just her mood slipping into the tone of her voice.

"I honestly cannot be sure." Koushiro admitted. "We came across a sort of club in the Digital World run by some Japanese Chosen, for-lack-of-a-better-word, Children. They had created a sort of 'Fight Club' in which they would compete with their digimon to see who was the strongest."

"And then you and Sora joined in," Mimi said quietly.

"Ah, yes." Koushiro admitted, his face turning a little red, "Indeed we did." He cleared his throat and tried to pretend it hadn't happened. Mimi though looked like she wanted to lay down somewhere warm and never get back up. She was avoiding eye contact with everyone which I noticed because I was trying to catch her eye. It was hard seeing everyone so sad all the time, but especially so with Mimi. Everything she'd worked for was gone. Sora could always make new clothes, Yamato could start a new band—but twice now Mimi's entire restaurant was destroyed... "The club, while entirely inhumane, is not illegal, and therefore not to be questioned. What interests me is the interruption. The people who dressed in dark clothing who harmed Mimi and placed those tracking devices onto the digimon."

"They're probably the same people who hate digimon here on Earth," Daisuke said, his head resting in his crossed arms on the table, so he was talking to the floor.

"Seemingly so, yes." Koushiro agreed oddly, "But that does not explain how they entered the Digital World. Any access is channeled through the door at the Temple. All travellers are logged automatically by the code they naturally carry with them. No one unusual had entered the Digital World though. How could they have been there without having come from Earth?"

"Maybe they came from a different world." Ken suggested.

"I thought of that," Koushiro said, "There are few options for them to have taken. Heaven and the Tunnel of Time do not exist as separate worlds. Witchenly and the Dark Ocean both have not been accessed in years. The Land of the Fairies is guarded by the Winter Fairy, and the Land of Dreams is protected by Summer. I've spoken to Iori and he assures me neither would allow something like this to happen."

"Well why would Spring let it happen?" Daisuke asked, "She rules the Digital World."

"She's crazy." Taichi said simply.

"You said that Witchenly hasn't been accessed," Ken said, "But what if the attackers came _from_ Witchenly? What if they weren't human?"

"They were." Koushiro assured him.

"How can you be so sure?" Ken asked.

"Are you implying that I cannot distinguish my own species?" Koushiro asked, annoyed.

"Guys," I warned, cutting into their argument. "There's no time to argue."

"Yeah," Sora said, "Aren't you guys friends now? I thought that locking you up in the Digital World and having Biyomon almost die made your feud end."

"It did!" Ken said, "We _are_ friends." He paused and looked to Koushiro who nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, we're friends. We're just agitated is all. I've been picking up a lot of jobs at work that no one else will touch." No one made any indication that they were going to ask him to continue, so he did it himself. "We aren't legally obligated to help the digimon. Any time someone has something to do with digimon, I take the case. I can't trust anyone anymore, and so it's all up to me."

"I didn't know you were allowed on the field," Iori said.

"Ever since Moretsuna took over everyone is forced onto the field whether they know what they're doing or not." Ken explained. "It took a bit of getting used to, but I think I've got it now."

"He sounds nice." Kurayami said sarcastically.

"He's not." Ken said, blatantly ignoring her sarcasm. "He is _not_ a good guy. At all. I don't know anything about him either. He keeps everything close to his chest. But there _is_ a rumour going around that something is coming up. I don't know how true it is, but he's apparently got something planned for us tomorrow. Yay..." he sounded annoyed, "Happy birthday to me..."

"Oh you're going to have a crappy birthday?" Mimi asked, "Join the club."

"Mimi," I said sternly enough to finally get her to look me in the eyes. "I know it sucks, but throwing a pity party about it all isn't going to make anything better. You're stronger than this. You can turn it around just like you always do."

"What if I don't want to?" She asked, her eyes welling up with tears. "What if it's too much work and I don't want to try anymore? What if I just give up?" No one said _anything_, and as it seemed they were all holding their breath. And then Mimi pushed her chair back making a horrible scraping noise and she stood, heading around the table and into the kitchen. Momoe followed her quickly and everyone waited in silence.

When a sob was heard from Mimi Iori decided he was going to speak to block out the sound to give them some privacy. "I spoke to my aunt."

"Yes," Daisuke said, "Your aunt who happens to be a fairy queen and not really an aunt."

Iori raised both eyebrows but otherwise ignored him. "I asked her if she could erase the memory of the digimon like she did before."

"I forgot she could do that." Hikari said, a smile spreading across her face, "Though it's not ideal, it could solve our problems."

Iori nodded, "I thought so too. She can't though."

Hikari's face fell. "Of course not." I already knew why she couldn't. Iori had spoken to me about it yesterday at our private weekly meeting, but no one else seemed to have any desire to know _why_ she could not help. Just the fact that she couldn't was enough.

"Would have been great though..." Takeru said softly. "Wipe the mind of the enemy. That way we wouldn't have to kill anyone."

"Who said anything about _killing_?" Hikari asked appalled.

"I-I-I w-well..." Takeru spluttered, "I just meant... we have just killed all our other enemies blindly. When they were wrong we killed them."

"That's not _why_ we did so!" Hikari said sharply.

"I know!" Takeru said defensively, "I know! I didn't mean... I don't want anyone to think I'm crazy or heartless or anything. But it's true. Whenever someone was a threat to the innocent we'd stop them with violence when nothing else worked. That's sort of how this situation feels to me. We're in the same situation except..." He paused as Mimi and Momoe returned from the kitchen both with red eyes. "Except this time the enemy is human."

"Of course they're human." Koushiro said sharply, looking up from his papers having not paid close attention.

"We all agree they're probably human," Ken assured him. Koushiro looked content, and then leaned toward Mimi as she sat down to whisper something to her. Momoe had slipped her hand into mine suddenly and I squeezed it to let her know I was here for her, whatever she needed.

"We know what you mean, Takeru." Miyako said to Takeru, "But maybe we haven't tried hard enough in the past. I know we haven't tried hard enough now. And it weirdly puts everything into perspective. We haven't got the justification to run around killing humans who don't like digimon—but that sort of _is_ what we've done in the past. Anyone who didn't stand by our belief was..." She was choked off by emotion but we all knew where she was going. "W-which... is similar to what the enemies are doing now. They're getting rid of the digimon because they don't fit what their goal is."

"What we did was different." Sora assured her.

"Was it?" Miyako asked. "Aren't we just as bad? We killed..." She searched her memory for a good example, "Kenkyomon—" Neo looked confused, "The digimon of humility," She explained. "We killed him and Meiyomon's other siblings just because they were against us. But they were run by the Sovereign. Do you know who else was run by the Sovereign? Kurayami. Kind of. Should we have killed her?"

"Miyako!" Ken hissed, shocked.

"You know I love her," Miyako said, she turned to Kurayami, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have used you as an example." Kurayami seemed to understand though. "The point is, we're desensitized to digimon. We kill them just because they can come back. It's easier than talking sense into them or _trying_ for something. We've become so unbearably strong because we've never stopped fighting long enough to ask _why_ we were doing so." Mimi threw her hands up to cover her face and it looked for a moment like she was about to begin sobbing again, but instead she ran her hands through her hair irritably. "I understand Myotismon, and Apocalymon and Fanglongmon, Dragomon, the Deadly Sin digimon, or Arkadimon and Yggdrasil or even... well, Sigma. They were _evil_ beyond compare... but I'm pretty sure we killed Ladydevimon twice—"

"Three times..." Hikari said, her own eyes as watery as Mimi's were.

"Three times!" Miyako exclaimed, "And as it turned out, all she needed was a good talking to before she turned into Mimi's mom's partner." It was hard to admit, but she had a good solid point. "Sure, digimon death isn't as painful as a human death."

"I object," Betamon said sharply from Michael's arms.

"I mean that you can come back." She paused, "Usually..." And then we all had that same face we would have whenever we were all walking with our partners and Mari was walking alone. That horrible, tight expression in which we all tried to ignore the sadness that was impossible to miss. "But just because they come back doesn't mean that it's okay to just _kill_ them! And we're not going to go around killing humans either, are we." It wasn't a question. "When you think about it... we barely tried at all in the past. And we haven't tried hard enough now either."

"Miyako is right." Takeru agreed, standing up absent mindedly. "The people against digimon are walking around, rallying their friends together. They're banding together to create a team of people that will be strong enough to take on even the digimon. If all people work together there's a lot they can accomplish."

"Well what are _we_ supposed to do?" Taichi asked snappishly. He seemed concerned and worried even more whenever he opened his mouth.

"Nothing." Takeru said, which seemed to create an entirely new rant inside Miyako's head, but he didn't let her get to it. "At least not alone." He smiled confidently and sent a wave of optimism down the table as everyone looked up to him. "You heard the legend the same time I did. You all know that our fight is over. Why are we pretending that we're in this alone when we aren't? We are no longer in control of the fight. Peace will come whenever Trust gets his or her act in gear, but we don't have to sit around and take what's coming to us." He spoke with so much valour and optimism, and with the way he was grinning and using hand confident hand motions it seemed there was nothing Takeru _alone_ couldn't do. "Kiyoko gave me the idea when he was talking about Mina. She's a Chosen from India. I remembered Catherine—who by the way is dealing with stuff similar to ours over there. There's stuff in America too—we're not doing this alone. We need to rally together the same way the enemy is with us."

Taichi was grinning now, "We can start our own DWD."

"Down With Douche-Bags?" Michael asked.

"Uhh, no." Taichi shook his head. "What about UWD? Up With Digimon?"

"We'll work on it." Takeru decided, clapping his hands together. "But we're not alone. Look around. We've got Tatum and Momoe and Natsuni here already. We have so many people who would join our cause."

"Our families." Taichi agreed. "That's..." he paused for a minute, counting everyone. "Like a lot of people. Rei." He added.

"While I'm sure she'd help, I do believe she falls under the category of family." Neo said quickly.

"Yeah, sure." Taichi nodded only half listening.

"Noriko, I'm sure." Hikari said, "As well as the rest of the Dark Spore Children."

"And Deshi, Enlai and Lian—the Hoi Brothers," Koushiro added. "While they're not in Japan, we need not limit our searches to just this country if the issue is rising in others as well."

"True." Michael agreed, "So there's Sam and Maria."

"And Lou and Steve." Tatum added.

"Catherine." Takeru said. "Jaques, Juliette, Marguerite and Andre... from France obviously."

"And Dingo," I said, "Alexander, Adaline, Ethan, Grace and Bernard from Australia."

"So there's Dien and Yue from China and Vietnam." Hikari said.

"Rosa," Ken said, his face turning red.

"Yuri," Sora said.

"Anna," Miyako added.

"And Laura," They said together. "And the Chosen Children in Siberia." Sora finished.

"And that's just the ones we remember." Taichi said brightly. "There are probably thousands more."

"Well don't forget little ol' me." We all looked up to see Yamato standing with his hands in the pocket of his jacket. Standing next to him was a familiar face, the woman who had spoken. It was Katsue. She smiled awkwardly and Yamato pulled out the chair next to Tatum and sat down taking the last of the empty seats. I couldn't help but notice Sora purposely staring at a speck on the table in front of her. I was just surprised I hadn't heard her come in through the annoying front door. "Now I know what you're all thinking," Katsue said, raising her hands, "What's that horrible girl doing here? She's the reason everyone hates digimon. Well she's here to apologize. I had no idea it was going to end up like this."

"We know it was an accident." Hikari said, standing up. "Katsue, you're welcome to join us. I don't think anyone would stand in your way. We need as much help as we can." It looked like Sora wanted to object, but she didn't say anything. "We forgive you."

"There's really nothing to forgive you for," Iori said kindly, "You didn't mean to. We all took part in that film. It's as much our fault as it is yours."

"Your friends are nicer than you are, Rock Star." Katsue said, messing up Yamato's hair. He smiled, annoyed.

Takeru jumped to his feet, and knocked the broom off of the last stable chair in the building. He placed it at the end of the table where Katsue sat down uncomfortably between Yamato and Neo. "Hello," Neo said cordially.

"Hey Gran," Katsue said without looking toward him. Neo rolled his eyes but said nothing else.

"I have a question," Tatum said, "The DWD people, whose name really is awful and uncreative, have a base of operations. We're still not sure where that is exactly, it's kept secret from even those who are amongst their ranks. Jenna has yet to find its location."

"You're wondering where we should set up, aren't you?" I asked. She hummed her response and everyone started thinking.

"We need a safe house," Taichi said, "That's true Tatum. That's actually here on my list." He held up a sheet of paper, and pointed to a spot on the lengthy list. "I was thinking it might be best to move our digimon, and our parents digimon into a safe house somewhere in the Digital World."

"You think that wise?" Koushiro asked. "Gathering all of the targets together? We may as well gift wrap the digimon and send them to the enemy."

"Well that would be impossible since we don't know who the enemy is." Daisuke pointed out helpfully.

"My point is," Koushiro said, "Just because you call it a safe house and want it to be safe, does not make it safe."

"So says _you_." Neo said in his pompous way. His eyebrows were raised, and he was looking to his drink. "There is a safe place." He said simply as if he was annoyed that we were all thinking it through. He seemed to have kept that expression since he had walked to through the door, as if being here was inconveniencing him. "It's not the most exquisite place, and it will need some work done to it, but it is safe."

"Where?" many people asked together. But I didn't need his answer. Realization washed over me like a high tide on fast forward.

"The Coliseum, of course." Neo said before sipping his drink. "The building is invisible to those who do not know of its existence I'm sure you recall. It is protected by many different barriers. Sigma built them for me years ago. It was where I kept my jogressed digimon."

"Why did you jogress digimon again?" Michael asked, but Neo ignored him.

"It was also where I had Daemon captured." Neo pointed out, his eyes narrowing in on me. "Until someone let him out causing mayhem for the next few months. I had him captured for a reason you know."

"Well you were evil," I defended myself, "I didn't know." Neo shrugged his shoulders smugly.

"So you're going to move people there?" Katsue asked, "Can Monimon go? I want him to be safe."

"Of course he can." Taichi said excitedly. For the first time in what seemed to be forever he was happy. "We can put everyone there. We'll all be safe. It's the perfect safe house!"

"Providing no one else knows about it." Koushiro said, leaning forward and looking down toward Neo as if he didn't trust his judgement.

"Just all of you," Neo said, "Well and Hideto, Kiyoko and Mari. And some digimon who I'd captured there. And me."

"Seems good to me." Taichi exclaimed, "Rei's going to be so happy that she can spend time with people. I can put her in charge! She'll love having a job where she can actually see others! It'll be great! Meeting adjourned!"

"Just like that?" Sora asked. Taichi nodded and jumped to his feet. He was out the door pretty quickly, as were many of the others. Kurayami, Haruki and Daisuke followed him closely, eager to get home I was sure. I thought Daisuke might want to go back to his noodle cart, but remembered that it had been destroyed. Mimi stood next and walked straight into the kitchen followed by Miyako after she kissed Ken goodbye, and he was out the door, likely heading back to work. It was hard to find time to meet while we all had the time off. In fact we mostly had to work our schedules together so it was possible. Ken was one of the few that didn't have that opportunity, and now that he had a new mean boss he wasn't going to ask for the day off.

"We should get going too," Tatum said, getting to her feet.

"One second..." Michael said, pulling out his phone and snapping a picture of himself giving the peace sign with Betamon held up, hugging him tightly. He took a look at the picture and made a disgusted face. "Yeesh... filtering that." He began editing the picture and when he was done he smiled to himself. "Upload that to instagram... and voila!"

"Add a caption!" Betamon said with a giggle.

"Of course," Michael laughed as he began typing on his phone. "Chillin with my homie... hashtag... digimon are here to stay."

"Really?" Tatum asked, almost annoyed, "You're saying that?"

"While I agree that your word choice was rather poor," Koushiro said, "I'm more worried about why you think it to be a good idea to document this moment on the internet. Won't that cause trouble with Betamon?"

"It's part of the plan!" Michael laughed, "Chill!" He jumped to his feet, holding Betamon still. "Well, we're on our way now." He waved to us and headed to the door. Tatum and Koushiro exchanged worried glances and then she spun on her heel and chased after him.

"Is there a washroom?" Katsue asked politely. When no one seemed likely to answer both Hikari and I pointed to the corner of the room. "Thanks." Katsue said, getting to her feet.

"'Is there a washroom?'" Sora mocked, "Of course there is." She was annoyed.

"Wow, don't stop there," Yamato said, equally annoyed, "We don't want Katsue to think you like her."

"Can we trust her?" Sora said, jumping into her point without warning. "I mean, of course we can..." She was clearly conflicted. "I just think we should be careful about who we tell our plans to. Anyone could turn on us at any second. I agree with Takeru... we're not alone... but we still can't trust everyone."

"We can trust Katsue." Yamato said, "Trust me."

Sora looked _very_ conflicted, and decided to not respond at all. Instead, Takeru did. "Of course we can trust her. All bad guys are boys."

"Uh, I disagree," Neo said, "Mari? Kurayami?"

"Well okay," Takeru nodded, "But for the most part. I mean every Great Evil was a boy—so was Yggdrasil and Arkadimon. Most of the Deadly Sins were boys too."

"Aside from Lilithmon." Iori nodded.

"Let's not talk about Lilithmon..." Hikari said, her face turning red.

"It's just a fact," Iori laughed. "But Katsue isn't evil. I trust Yamato."

"Thank you!" Yamato grinned.

"I thought you didn't like each other." Hikari said confused.

Takeru shook his head and took her hand, "No, they don't like each other in terms of being brothers. They're still friends. It's complicated."

"Seems it." Hikari admitted.

Momoe startled me by whispering into my ear. "We should get going." She said, "I don't want Bearmon to be alone with Emiko too long. Gomamon doesn't like babysitting and if he has to help we'll never hear the end of it." I laughed and nodded.

"Okay." I said, and with that we were leaving. It was weird to leave the fun of my friends to go home to my daughter. Even after six years it was hard to accept the fact that I'd grown up. Maybe we'd had a daughter too soon, but I was glad we did... even if she had broken my reading lamp and ate all the cookies while Bearmon was taking a long poop as we found out when we got home. She was still my perfect little angel... and I was going to protect her.

If my home wasn't safe anymore... the Coliseum sure would be. And we now had that as a place of refuge and safety. Things could start turning around now that we'd absorbed some of Takeru's optimism.

"Jou, thirteen digimon are waiting for you in the Southern Beach." Gomamon said, coming from the 'Snack Room'. "They're ill, or so they say. I think they're just in need of another check up. You know those water digimon. Always the hypochondriac type. But there are thirty four digimon near infinity mountain that really _are_ in pain." I had barely sat down and here he was, giving me more to do. But I really was thankful, he was always so— "Well?" Gomamon said impatiently, "Let's get a move on!"

"Okay..." I groaned, getting to my feet.

_**Takeru Takaishi:**_

Patamon was sitting on my head, annoyed and refusing to speak with me as I walked along the river. We'd just had an argument back at the house about whether or not he should be allowed to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted to.

"_You can't go outside." I had said flatly. "It's not open for discussion. I know you don't understand, but it's for your own good."_

"_Takeru, I know you're trying to care and help me," Patamon pleaded, "But it's silly to keep me locked up just to keep me safe! You can die at any second of every day but I don't keep you locked up! And when we were in the Digital World there were actual digimon _actually_ hunting you. I still let you walk around because I knew I could protect you, and because it wasn't my choice. I have a mind of my own and I can do what I want. It's not up to you."_

And he had some really decent points in there, but I wasn't about to just pretend I was suddenly okay with him going around out there. The difference was that he was naive and trusting. Anyone could hurt him at any time if he went out alone. I did agree that we could maybe go out together as long as he agreed to stay close, but he was upset about that too. Apparently it was the principal of the matter that was important.

So I told him he was free to be alone as long as he wanted, as long as he was doing so in the Coliseum.

He agreed. With a weird little smile on his face like he thought he was going to be able to sneak out or something, but as soon as more people showed up I would be telling them to keep an eye on him, so he couldn't leave. It wasn't like I wanted to keep him locked up forever because I hated the idea of him being free. I just wanted him to keep safe, and it was different because it was him. I cared more about his safety than I did for my own. Maybe that wasn't healthy, but it was just how it was.

I'd had to ask Taichi first though. I didn't know if we were able to move anyone into the Coliseum yet. We'd just talked about it earlier that same day, and even though Neo had come up with the brilliant idea, we didn't know if it was an idea we'd actually be using or not.

So I called him.

"_Hello?" Taichi asked. "Takeru? What's wrong?"_

"_Nothing's wrong," I said, "I was just wondering when we were going to move people into the Coliseum, we never really talked about it at the meeting."_

"_Yeah I left in a hurry," Taichi said, "Sorry. Well I was thinking now."_

"_Now?" I asked, "As in, today?"_

"_Yeah." He said, "As soon as possible anyway. We're obviously going to have to go around and talk to everyone individually and get them to pack their stuff and come. So that could take months..."_

"_Who do you mean by everyone?" I asked._

"_Sorry, Babamon just fell asleep on Benjamin again—I have to go!" _

It was a very short conversation that really hadn't given me any information. I still wasn't sure when we were supposed to be going, so I figured I'd just go and hope for the best.

Unfortunately, I did not know where the Coliseum was. At all, actually. I knew our previous adventures and endeavors fairly well though, having talked to everyone about them countless times to get the dates and events right for my books, so I knew who _did_ know.

Iori, Jou, Mimi and Koushiro had all been there to save the digimon Neo had captured, and Michael had been here to save Betamon. It had been where he was kept for years without even Neo knowing. I knew he had no idea because I'd asked him. I'd talked to all four of the Allias III group about their evil plans and their pasts, but none of them told me a whole lot.

Allias III seemed to be a horrible name for them now that they were all going by their real names, they weren't evil, and there were four of them, but they'd never asked us to stop calling them that so I guess we wouldn't...?

The point was, I called Iori and asked him where the exact location of the Coliseum was because Taichi wouldn't pick up his phone any longer, apparently he was too busy. I didn't mind him ignoring me, but I just wanted to help him somehow. He was in so much trouble all the time with everything that was going on, and I'd just made a speech earlier that day about how we didn't need to do things alone anymore. Taichi and Hikari seemed to be raised in a way that made them think they were alone in life—not that I was putting down their parents or anything like that. It was just that both of them refused to ask for help even if the other person was practically begging to help.

In fact, just last night Hikari had been trying to reach a bowl she kept on a high shelf, and since I was a bit taller than her, I offered to help, but she was all _"No, it's okay, I've got it."_ Which was fine! I wasn't saying she was some damsel in distress and that I had to do everything for her, but when it was at least twice as easy for me to do it, I may as well help out, right? And she never wanted help with things that were upsetting her either. She'd always want to spend time with me to get her mind off of things, but she never really _told_ me about them. She wanted to deal with things on her own before filling me in.

And Taichi was the same. Even now, he may be the ambassador of the Digital World, and also the leader of the council and pretty much the guy who everyone in the whole world looked to for guidance, but he wasn't _really_ the king or anything. We could all help him, but he wouldn't let anyone aside from Koushiro and Neo have any say. Maybe he was just trying to keep us all in the dark to protect us... but it wasn't working because I certainly didn't feel safe.

Not with everything else going on.

Starting with my lack of employment. We were going to be removed from our house if we didn't pay rent soon. We were supposed to pay yesterday—the last of the month, but we didn't have enough yet, so we kind of just didn't... pay. We'd have enough as soon as Veemon got home tonight—hopefully. And then we could pay the rent. But even so—how were we supposed to buy food? I knew half of my friends were rich at this point, but I didn't want to ask for help from them...

I guess I could understand where Taichi and Hikari were coming from.

No need to bother anyone—but they had to know that helping them wouldn't be a bother at all. I would help either of them endlessly.

Even just now, Hikari had just tripped on a rock that was protruding from the ground. I rushed to her side to help her up to her feet, but she just pulled herself to her feet and _then_ took my hand.

It could get annoying, but I couldn't love _everything_ about her, that was just unrealistic. Besides, it was something easily dealt with, unless it got worse. That could be potentially problematic. But it never had, and it wasn't a serious issue. Essentially she wanted to feel like she wasn't a sick little girl anymore, and to do so she wanted to do things by herself. That was my assumption anyway.

Hikari smiled suddenly and ran off ahead to where a Toucanmon seemed to be dancing in the shallow part of the river we were following. The Toucanmon was happy to have an audience and Hikari started cheering him on excitedly.

The sun beat down and shone on the water, reflecting the bright warm glow back up to us. The sky was filled with beautiful and enormous white clouds, and there was a gentle breeze creating ripples in the water as we all watched the dancing digimon.

Gatomon was trying not to enjoy herself, but a smile was working its way across her face just watching the digimon enjoy himself. Even Patamon fluttered from my head and decided to have some fun instead of sitting in anger. It was nice to see everyone happy for a change. Particularly Hikari who was grinning from ear to ear laughing in that beautiful way she always did.

"That was amazing," Hikari said brightly when the Toucanmon took his final bow.

"Why thank you," He said proudly before flying off.

"I love the Digital World," Hikari said nearly breathless. "Everone around here is just full of energy. They're all so optimistic, and they _know_ everything will turn out alright like it always does. Optimism is a very important thing."

"I agree," I smiled.

"I mean it!" She insisted, "Did you see the Floramon over in the trees?" She pointed off into the distant trees that stood tall and twisted with branches and leaves only on the highest points. They were actually pretty ugly trees, but somehow together they gave the illusion of Wonderland, or something equally cool. "She seemed to be collecting some berries or something—but she stopped and watched the dancing and even started dancing herself."

"I didn't notice," I said.

"I did," Hikari grinned, before spinning around and flopping down into the soft green grass. She spread her arms out and sighed, closing her eyes as she bathed in the light of the sun. "Things might actually start turning around." I sat down with her and smiled at her. She was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen, and it was moments where she was completely at ease and smiling that I was reminded of that—as if I didn't already know that.

I leaned back into the grass and let the cool grass brush against my bare legs and hands. "You think so?" I asked.

"Things always turn around for the better." Patamon said kindly, surprising me by landing on my stomach. "You just have to stand up for what you believe in long enough and trust that others will see the light. Eventually everything gets better."

"But if everyone followed that advice," Gatomon said, "Then nothing would change. We would all be too stubborn to think differently and we would never evolve."

"Well _we_ would." Patamon said, "We evolve all the time. But I get what you mean." Gatomon didn't respond and the conversation died as we all relaxed in the light of the sun.

I looked up and toward Hikari and sighed. She looked upset again. I didn't bother asking why, because every time she'd been upset since she texted me to watch the movie after she spent time with Kurayami she would just shut me out. She would get really sad and guarded and refuse to tell me anything, and then she'd start talking about how Willis never used to ask her when she was upset, then I would say I was a better boyfriend than Willis because I cared about her, and she'd say something like "that's not fair" and then I'd get upset that she was defending Willis and we'd both be annoyed with each other. It happened every now and then actually. We weren't a perfect couple like everyone wanted us to be, and it was actually really stressful. Every time someone talked about us they would get this really annoying smile on their face like they'd always known we were perfect, and that meant we could never break up-not that I ever wanted to! It was just hard because we had to keep up this front that everyone wanted from us, even if it weren't true. We were happy together, sure, but perfect? No. Perfection was an impossibility. But we silently agreed to keep our arguments to ourselves. We always ended on a positive note, and I figured that was the important part. We could face an obstacle and grow from it.

Well, in any case, she definitely was less guarded than she once was, I guess it was just going to take time for her to open up completely. She had, after all, had a particularly rough childhood. I would have to be patient... so I laid back into the grass and tried to pretend everything was okay.

After a couple minutes Hikari grabbed my hand and startled me into opening my eyes. I looked to her where she was propped up by her elbows, looking to me, with one hand reached across her body to where it was holding my own. She smiled at me.

"We should get going." She sighed. "I guess." I agreed silently and pulled myself awkwardly to my feet and Hikari released my hand to help herself up. "Where does this river lead anyway?" She asked, putting her hand up to block out the sun. "It's not going the right direction to go to the ocean."

"Well it _doesn't_ go to the ocean," Gatomon said, leaping up to Hikari's shoulder to answer the question. I had no idea where it went, and both Patamon and Gatomon, despite no longer living in the Digital World, still knew quite a lot about the place. "It goes to the Looking Glass."

Hikari seemed to forget momentarily what that was. "It's the place I met you," Patamon said, "When you were little. There is one Looking Glass in every world, and they connect the worlds."

"That's right," Hikari nodded, remembering, "That's convenient." She said thoughtfully, "I wonder where they came from. If there was a Looking Glass when the world was created, Gennai would have been able to get his mother back, and wouldn't have had to live his life without her..."

"You think they're new?" Gatomon asked.

"Well, new to Earth," Hikari nodded, "They could have been made billions of years ago for the Digital World. Your time used to go faster, remember?"

"True..." Gatomon agreed. I didn't know the answer, but it was interesting to think about. We all thought so it seemed as none of us talked on our way to the Coliseum. I didn't even know who to ask about it, but Koushiro seemed to be a good start. I wanted to know about the Looking Glass... what if it could be useful? Or what if it would be a good plot device for my books? I didn't always know the logic behind how the enemies did everything, and I could probably use it to explain how people like Daemon managed to get between the worlds.

And we were standing in front of the Coliseum when I came to realize what was threatening to slap us in the face. I needed to tell someone. But first, we should deal with the Coliseum by setting it up for everyone we wanted to bring here. Digimon all deserved to be safe, and it seemed time to ensure that it would happen.

The building in front of us was enormous. I thought Taichi's house was comically large, or even the Temple, but somehow the Coliseum looked larger than both combined. Not that Taichi's house was really _that_ large. The walls here were grimy and dark, shrouded mostly by the shadows of the trees. There were tall thick pillars keeping the building sound and safe, curving near the top where it began to shape itself like a dome, though it looked like the top was open. There was a large arching doorway off to the side, and Hikari had already set off toward it. I followed her absent mindedly, trying to imagine how many digimon we would actually be able to fit inside. It all depended on how big the digimon we chose to save were—as if it were our _choice_. We would let any digimon in if they wanted in. That was only fair.

We wouldn't be able to fit _all_ digimon, but we would be able to rescue a lot more than I had initially thought. As long as the digimon thought they were in danger. I knew a handful who didn't think they were in as much danger as we humans thought.

Labramon and Veemon were just a couple of them. It wasn't up to me to tell them where to go, but I'd suggested to them to come with us to the Coliseum. Both refused the offer, but Veemon seemed more likely to be persuaded if it came to that. Hikari said Armadillomon was strongly considering joining us, but he wanted to talk to Iori about it before making any rash decisions. Goblimon however said he would only go if Natsuni did. He would never leave her side.

Hikari gasped as she pushed on the large heavy door and it caught my attention. I stepped forward and helped her push it open. The door was enormous and metal, and heavy as all hell. When we'd finally got it open, we all stood on the threshold, afraid to step inside. It was dark and damp, and mysterious and honestly horrifying. We knew for a fact that there was a place in one of the further tunnels that would drop you down to a secret cage where Sigma—or someone—had kept Betamon. We knew Daemon had spent a great deal of time inside the bars in the prison sector, and that many digimon had been treated horribly insde.

"Hard to believe this place is invisible." Hikari said, her soft voice sounded like a booming echo in the silence of the opening chamber. The walls were high, and dark and the ceiling was littered with cobwebs effectively creating an eerie environment. "It's huge."

I nodded, and decided to brave it and take the first step inside. My foot fell onto the concrete floor and instantly I felt a shiver shoot through my body. I swallowed thickly and closed my eyes before continuing into the building. I wasn't so sure about leaving Patamon here alone... and even if Gatomon chose to stay with him I wasn't sure how safe it really was.

Hikari stepped inside with Gatomon and Patamon just behind her. She looked up to the ceiling and twisted her mouth. "Hm..." She hummed.

"Needs a coat of paint or something, right?"

I had barely heard the words over the scream coming from all four of us. We all spun around until we located the sound of the echoing laughter. Taichi was doubled over laughing at us while Yamato tried his hardest to not do the same. Even Agumon and Gabumon were laughing.

Hikari sighed with relief, and shook her head, both amused and annoyed, "Funny," She said stiffly, but she too fell into laughter.

"I think it needs windows." Gatomon said, skipping the pleasantries. "And to be cleaned. And I mean, where are we going to stay? In the cells?"

"Well, yes." Taichi said, motioning for us to follow him. He set off down the hallway without checking to see if we'd come with him or not. But we did. I felt infinitely more safe now that Taichi and Yamato were here. I wasn't sure why. It wasn't as if they were any stronger than we were at this point. All of us could fuse our digimon together to a form above mega. Though Agumon and Gabumon _could_ evolve themselves into ZeedGarurumon and VictoryGreymon because of Arkadimon's Dot Matrix attack.

"What are you guys doing here?" Gatomon asked.

"Taichi didn't want you guys to come here if it wasn't safe," Agumon explained. "We're checking the place out to make sure there aren't any surprises."

"We want our families to be safe." Gabumon nodded in agreement.

"By family, you mean Wizardmon and Meiyomon?" I asked him.

Gabumon shook his head, "No, I mean Natsuko and Hiroaki." He risked a look to Yamato and then added, "And Fumiko." Yamato looked away, annoyed. "We think it might be easier for the digimon to make the move if their partners come with them." I doubted Mom _or_ Dad would want to move into a dingy old building, especially not together, but I kept my mouth shut.

Taichi had led us into a tight hallway lined with barred cages with large locks on the doors. The ceiling here was high as well but it didn't help make me feel any less claustrophobic. "So here is where people would stay." Taichi said awkwardly. "We might take the bars away and add curtains or something, I don't know. But there are a _lot_ of cages. I don't want to think about what they were used for, but I was thinking if we cleaned the place up and made it more like home... well, it might turn out alright."

"What about water, and food?" Hikari asked.

"Well there's that river just outside." Yamato explained. "It could be risky to constantly walk back and forth to the invisible building. Eventually someone could catch on, but right now that's all we have. Food though..."

"We could start a food drive," Hikari suggested optimistically. "I mean, if we're bringing our families there has to be food in everyone's house they can bring. Things that won't go bad."

"I think you're right," Taichi agreed with a smile. "And since you seem so pleased with the idea, why don't you stay here and keep safe, and run the show?"

"No," Hikari said flatly, walking past Taichi, "Rei wanted to, didn't she?" Taichi looked annoyed that Hikari wouldn't be out of harm's way, but there wasn't much he could do. She still had a job, and a life outside of the Digital World. She couldn't just disappear. "I know you want me to be safe, but I'm a big girl Taichi. I'll be fine, I promise."

"I know you will be." He said with a sad sort of smile, "I just worry about you is all."

I caught Yamato's eye and knew he was thinking the same about me. He was less vocal about his feelings, and that wasn't always a bad thing. This way I knew he cared about me, but didn't have to argue about why I shouldn't have had to be locked up in some building in the Digital World.

"I think I _will_ stay." Patamon decided, looking around. "I'll help clean up."

"Me too." Gatomon smiled.

"What about you, Gabumon?" Yamato suggested, "You said you wanted to be around others for a change. I'll miss you at home, but this could be more fun than sitting around with me all day." Gabumon seemed to be thinking it over, but finally he smiled and nodded. "You can keep an eye on Monimon, whenever he gets here."

"So Katsue, huh?" Hikari asked.

Yamato looked up and laughed, "No," He shook his head insistently, "No, not like that. Not at all."

"If you say so." Hikari grinned, skipping off down the tunnel. "I'm really glad we've found a place that we can keep everyone safe."

Something about this seemed like a bad idea though.

_**Rei Saiba:**_

I stretched my arms up, causing my hands to brush against the roof of the tent I was sitting in. Letting out a big sigh, I grabbed my knitting bag and dragged it outside with me. The sun nearly blinded me after sitting in the dark tent. The sides were made of a really deep, green material, and I'd thrown a tarp over the top of it, decorating the tarp with mud, grass and leaves. It looked like a bush now. I'd even thrown in a couple of twigs to make the disguise work better.

And Taichi thought I couldn't handle myself out here.

Ha!

No one was going to look twice at a bush. I'd pitched the tent in the middle of a bunch of bushes. It just blended into the surroundings. I'd put so much effort into hiding it—I really had little else to do during the day—that I climbed into a _bush_ the night before when I was heading to bed. Yeah. It looked _that_ good.

My tent was pretty small. It was big enough for a person to have a little bit of room, but it would be pushing it to try and cram a second person in. It would be so squished that it would be more comfortable for me to _actually_ sleep in that bush. But I didn't have to. Because it was just me out here. Just me. _Still_ just me.

Taichi said he was going to send a person to relieve me of my duty as soon as he could, because he didn't like the idea of me being here by myself. He also didn't have time to come and do it himself—which I totally understood. He was a busy guy. And it was a busy time. But couldn't _anyone_ come and give me even just an hour or two? I wanted to use an actual bathroom and bathe myself in something that wasn't an ice cold stream. I wanted to grab a couple of books, or my guitar, or some music, so I could do _something_ other than knit.

I thought—for some reason—that this job would be exciting, thrilling, the answer to all of my prayers. But it wasn't. It was just as boring as sitting around our house. Worse even, because the house had a lot of pleasantries that the woods didn't have. Like, for example, a pantry. I didn't know how much longer the bread I'd brought would be any good. I had a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jam, and a third of a loaf of bread. And it was getting stale. I didn't know how long I would be here, I didn't know how stupid it would be to start a fire—not stupid at all by the way—and I didn't know how long things took to cook over an open flame. So I stuck with a simple favourite. And I was sick of them. I couldn't understand how I'd _ever_ thought peanut butter was interesting and delicious. It was gross. And raspberry jam was evil. I hated it. And I had so many stains on my Teenage Wolves concert T that it was ridiculous. When was I ever going to get the chance to get another one of these? Never. That's when, because I wouldn't support the band when they had ditched their founding member and star.

I'd just have to raid Hideto's shrine and hope he didn't notice until after I'd made my escape.

I wanted a hot meal with herbs and garlic permeating the mashed potatoes, and marinated meat with thick, creamy gravy that I could share with the potatoes. I wanted steamed vegetables, a sweet and tangy tomato soup. I wanted fresh bread, still hot from the oven with _regular_—not peanut—butter melted right into it. I wanted crisp, fresh lettuce with tiny tomatoes, cucumber, celery, croutons, dressing. I wanted salad. Maybe it could be a potato salad, with peas and dill for a bit of added flavour. Or a macaroni salad, with cheese and canned ham. Oh! A _fruit_ salad with melons and berries and apples and pears for dessert! That would be perfect.

I just wanted food.

Maybe I could take cooking lessons from Mimi or Daisuke for my next hobby.

Hobbies... I didn't _want_ hobbies. Not _just_ hobbies in any case. I wanted a goal. Something to strive towards, some reason for waking up early each day, instead of sleeping most of the mornings away. Taichi always left before I was awake these days. I couldn't even make breakfast for him, so I'd just given up all use of my alarm clock. What was the point in getting up just to be bored all day? And yes, I was _bored_. I tried so hard to convince Taichi I wasn't. There was no good reason to be bored when I had a big long list of things I could do again. I wanted to do them all too. But I'd grown complacent. I was _used_ to having use of my legs again. Nothing seemed like such a novelty anymore. I _loved_ being able to use my legs, but sometimes I wished I was still on Earth. There was so much more to do there, even without my legs. I loved Taichi and Pal and Pul and Agumon though. I would never give this up for the world. I was _happy _here. I just didn't have anything to do.

I needed to come up with something I could do day in and day out and have _fun_ with it. I wanted something to complain about with Taichi when he ranted about his job. I wanted to relate to him. But there were still only a handful of establishments in the Digital World. Jou handled all medical emergencies with his—as yet unnamed—medical facility. Koushiro had a team to do research. There was an architectural firm, though there was only one worker. There wasn't enough of a demand to require more. He'd built his own office though. There was a restaurant owned by Digitamamon, and a small cafe that he managed as well. There were little stalls that digimon set up and sold their wares in. None of those things needed me. Unless Jou needed a secretary?

But I didn't think I wanted to sit around answering a phone all day. And no digimon even _had_ phones, so there went that idea.

Not for the last time, I thought about my old pastime. I played matchmaker all through college. I'd gotten pretty good at it. But that was over now. No digimon claimed to have a gender—despite the sometimes _obvious_ signs to the contrary—and didn't understand the need for romantic attachment. And there weren't any humans living here aside from Taichi and myself. All of Taichi's friends were partnered up with someone already, and I barely ever saw my own friends anymore. There was always Neo, but even I wouldn't dare tamper in _his_ love life. Well, not after last time.

"Ugh!" I groaned out loudly. I was so frustrated. "I just want something to do!"

I pulled out my knitting, and sighed. I'd finished sweaters for both Pal and Pul. They matched the ones I'd made for the rest of the family. I'd moved on to hats afterwards, and to switch it up every once in awhile I knitted a scarf. I was getting alarmingly fast at knitting. I was running out of yarn. I was on the last hat—one for Agumon, though I didn't know if it would fit him or not, since I didn't have him with me to test it out—and I didn't think I'd finish, that's how little yarn there was left.

And what was I going to do when the yarn ran out?

Scream?

Run around aimlessly?

Cry?

Gather blades of grass and tie them together until they made a long enough chain and then knit with _that_?

I really didn't know. And Taichi didn't feel inclined to actually _send_ anybody to take my place so that I could gather more supplies. I was starting to get really frustrated with him. I knew he was busy, but I really didn't think he'd forget that I was alone out here with limited activities to occupy myself.

And it was worse because _nothing_ had happened yet. My home base was in the bushes, but I sat on a giant rock formation—it had formed into what appeared to be a chair for a giant, and I thought it was _awesome_—knitting my day away, staring at a large door and waiting for _something_ to change. Nothing had. I was going to go insane. I was sure of it.

I wanted to help the team, but it turned out that I was wasting my time, not doing anything useful at all. Deciding I should just march myself back to Taichi, I gathered my knitting in my bag and started crawling down the rock formation. I paused halfway down though. There was a loud, creaking noise and I panicked, letting go of the rock and falling flat on my back. I saw the large doors opening and rolled over until I was hidden behind the rock. I peeked out though—of _course_—so that I could learn more. It would be pointless to go back empty handed when an opportunity like this presented itself to me.

I saw nothing at first, just the doors continuing to open. And then I saw a man. Sort of. There was a blinding light behind him as he passed through the gateway the doors had opened. I couldn't see any details until the light died away. He was large. Not fat, but _tall_. He had impossibly wide shoulders and muscles as hard as rock. He wore black combat boots and a pair of dark brown cargo pants. He paired it with a t-shirt that showcased his muscle, and stood with a military bearing. His hair too led me to believe he held a position in the military, as it was cropped short, buzzed at the sides. He had thick eyebrows that capped off thin, cold eyes, and I nearly gasped when I saw the scar on his face. It was jagged, a lighter colour than his tanned skin, and ran from his cheekbone down his neck, disappearing into the collar of his shirt. He had a well trimmed beard that nearly obscured the scar, but it was so noticeable.

I crawled a little closer on my hands and knees, trying to use the surrounding rocks as a cover, but realized it was absolutely silent around me and quickly stilled myself. I couldn't draw attention to me. I opened my mouth, breathing shallowly. I needed to know what he was planning, but I didn't want to become his next target.

He looked at his surroundings, bypassing my hiding spot entirely. I held back my sigh of relief. He started walking, sharp, calculated movements, away from me. But he stopped. I glanced around and saw nothing of interest to me. I was so busy worrying about what he was doing, that I didn't realize he was talking to me.

"I know you are here, little girl," he said. His voice was like gravel yet somehow chilled me to the bone. "Your stance in this war is naive. You will, undoubtedly realize you are in the wrong. Let us hope that realization doesn't come too late."

I was frozen, stuck in my place behind the rock that I was peering around. My hands and knees were being mutilated by the sharp shards of rock on the ground. My heart was beating rapidly, and I couldn't control my breathing. I couldn't come up with a witty response to save my life—and that might have _actually_ been what saved my life.

He walked away, and was long gone before I was able to get control over my motions again. I grabbed my knitting bag and started running through the bushes, past my camp site and into the trees. I needed to talk to Taichi, and _not_ about my never ending boredom. No. That had been cured.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Taichi does something he will probably always regret, while Ken deals with a Guilty Conscience.


	20. Guilty Conscience

**Y/N: **Another chapter written entirely by me. This one stars Ken and Taichi, and it was hard to write it. I remember that—and not just because Ken's involved either. I've been getting over my super intense and entirely unjustified hatred of him. It was just _hard_ to write about this stuff. Things are getting intense, and I don't like it. It makes me feel all the bad things.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 2: Challenge**

**Chapter 20: Guilty Conscience**

_**Taichi Yagami:**_

My mood was lighter than it had been during previous days. We finally had a plan. It wouldn't help in the fight over digimon rights, but it would make us feel like we'd accomplished something. It also created a new project to keep everyone's spirits lighter. Cleaning. Yeah, not the most thrilling of projects, but the place that needed cleaning up was kind of awesome. There were huge rooms, high ceilings, and an arena in the sunlight. There were cells that needed to transform into guest rooms, and guest lists that needed securing. I hadn't exactly had a lot of time to think it over. I'd left Gabumon and Agumon in charge, with Gatomon and Patamon backing them up. I was pretty sure they were just playing around at that very moment, but it wasn't like I could fault them for it. There weren't a lot of places it was safe to just goof off anymore. We'd found a safe place though, and I wanted to get people and digimon moving in ASAP.

Unfortunately, I couldn't. I spent a couple of hours yesterday exploring with Yamato—and Takeru and Hikari for a short time—jotting down a long list of things we'd need to work on before it was guest-ready. I wanted to be there again, with a fresher perspective, maybe bring Rei along, since she wanted to head the project while I was at work, but Babamon called for a meeting. She wanted an update, because she was an annoying old crone that didn't realize I would've called for a meeting if I knew anything else.

Okay, so I was still frustrated with her lack of effort. She'd actually fallen asleep on Benjamin yesterday. I woke her up and told her to get to work, and she said she'd been working too hard, and she was _tired_. I may or may not have snapped that I was just as tired and I could at least list the things I'd _done_. She said she could too, but when I asked her, she was suspiciously quiet and left the room.

Yeah.

She was still shirking her duties. I was starting to think that us humans were really thinking when we came up with that retirement age. She was _well_ past her prime. If she couldn't prove herself, I wasn't going to be able to keep her on the council. The council _was_ after all created to help keep peace in times of great need. I was almost certain she accepted the position just so she could brag about it.

"How sure are we that Etemon was actually deleted?" I asked.

Everyone looked to Koushiro, and he in turn looked to me raising his eyebrow at me, silently inquiring if I was questioning his discovery. I rolled my eyes. He'd been wrong before. At least once. He said Hikari, Takeru and Willis were the holy three, but he was wrong. I had reason to believe he could be wrong again.

"Then where are his files?" Koushiro asked me.

"I was just thinking, maybe he'd been defeated too many times. Maybe his file was just old and had been recycled too many times," I said. It was a little weak, but I thought it was worth looking into.

"That is just not even remotely plausible," Babamon said dismissively. I clenched my hands into fists and forced them to relax again. She was _always_ doing this. If she wanted to share information at a meeting, she should just come up with her own information, instead of slamming everyone else's ideas. Yes, she was a digimon, but that didn't mean she knew everything about digimon-kind. I was a human, did that mean I understood how everything worked within the mind, or body? No. I had no idea what the hell my spleen did. I just knew I had one. Maybe files got old, maybe they got corrupted. How was she supposed to know? She'd never died, not even once. She was as old as the Digital World itself. If she had no experience, how was she suddenly an expert _just_ because _I_ had made a suggestion?

Because she was a little—

"While your theory holds some merit," Koushiro said. "I have to agree with Babamon's conclusion. I would be able to find traces if the file had become corrupted or unbalanced. I can't find any sign of a file, however, leading me to the conclusion that the file no longer exists."

"And have you had anyone else search?" Neo asked.

"My whole team has been looking," Koushiro said defensively. "And Benjamin has his own team searching. None of us have found anything. Don't forget that I _witnessed_ the deletion. I _saw_ the difference."

"So you say," Babamon said airily.

"What would I possibly stand to gain by "imagining" an In-training's death?" Koushiro asked her.

"I'm just saying that I find it mighty suspicious that there are never any digimon around when you humans make your important discoveries!" Babamon announced.

"Maybe you'd be _present_ for a discovery if you ever got off your lazy butt," I snapped at her. "Do you see Tinkermon lazing about? No. She's been around just as long as you have, so you can't pull out your favourite excuse."

"Who needs her anyway," Babamon said. "She's probably just exploring her stupid spas, _pretending_ to be doing actual work."

"Like you are you mean?" I asked angrily. "You know what? Tinkermon is beautiful. _She_ doesn't need a spa."

"What are you implying?" Babamon asked, sounding scandalized.

"You know what I'm talking about," I said, looking her up and down. Her wrinkled body seemed quite offended by my words but I just rolled my eyes. Centarumon had been around just as long as both her and Tinkermon had, yet only _Babamon_ showed that age. I found it suspicious also, that of the three of them, she was the only one unwilling to attempt to do her job. I think I found the connection.

"Right," Andromon said quickly. "Do we have any news on Willis' predicament?"

"No," Neo said. "Alias III is working on it. I think..."

"Who cares," MetalifeKuwagamon asked. "He's probably fine. There are digimon out there being deleted by the humans. Why would they waste their time killing one of their own kind when there are oh so many of us just ripe for the picking."

"Be fair," Leomon admonished MetalifeKuwagamon. "Willis has helped save all of our lives time and again. To abandon him in his hour of need is cruel. And by doing so, we are saying that he is not worthy of our time."

"And we've got to put all of the digimon problems on the backburner just to waste a lot of time on trying to solve a problem we won't be able to assist with?" MetalifeKuwagamon asked incredulously.

"We can keep him in our thoughts and hope for the best," D'Arcmon said firmly. "We cannot abandon him. If we do so we are giving him permission to abandon us. And as he is the digidestined that represents Destiny _and_ Miracles, I suggest you make your decision carefully. He—as are all of the digidestined—is required for our world to _ever_ attain peace. Your petty attitudes are hindering that goal from ever coming into fruition."

"Thank you!" I said using both hands to gesture to her. "That's what a team player sounds like. It's not all about you, it's about the Digital World as a whole. And whether you like to believe it or not, _Babamon_, the digidestined are involved in that."

"Have you mentioned the coliseum yet?" Neo asked coolly making sure the conversation didn't become too negatively directed toward Babamon.

"No," I said snapping my fingers and pointing at him. "Good point. The _digidestined_ have come up with step one of an emergency safety plan. We're going to move digimon and human supporters to a safe place, the location of which I'll refrain from revealing just yet. It is invisible so the enemies won't be able to find anyone that is hidden within."

"I've also thought of a secondary location," Koushiro said. "Piximon has a home with a similar structure. I'm sure he's aware of the situation and would be willing to offer up space for more digimon to be protected. I can't say for certain just yet. I've been working on getting in contact with him. I'll most likely have more information soon."

"Good," I said. "That'll hopefully _double_ the number of safe digimon. That's really good. Obviously we'd like to take the injured and abandoned digimon first, once the location is inhabitable. We'll have our digimon doctor on the scene to make sure things run smoothly. I'm going to get in contact with our architect and interior decorator to see what he can do to make it more homey."

"I think they would like a change of scenery," D'Arcmon said. She had taken to the abandoned digimon like a mother hen. She took care of them, comforted them. She even fed them. She'd started her own little class for them, to teach them that not all humans were bad, and that they couldn't allow one negative experience shape their entire view. She also told them stories about the Digital World while it was still young. And she trained them in self defense as well, in case they _should_ encounter another human with the same attitude as their partners had.

"We can't move all of them though," Koushiro reminded us. "Crabmon, Wanyamon, Syakomon, Punimon, Pinamon and all of the Fight Club's digimon have trackers on them. We can't bring them to the safe house until we discover a way to remove the devices."

"I suppose your plan is to move all of your human friends into the safe house as well," MetalifeKuwagamon said dryly. "Instead of saving that space for more digimon. You are acting a tad selfish, Taichi."

"And you're acting like a complete moron," I countered. "Do you think it's _just_ the digimon that are in danger? 'Cause it's not. People are lashing out at _anyone_ that supports digimon. Someone burned down Mimi's restaurant guys. It wasn't because the service was bad, it was because she supports digimon! If you want to turn away the only human support you've got, then I'm sorry, but you're not the type of digimon I thought you were."

There was a dry silence that followed my outburst. The digimon of the council all exchanged looks to one another until finally one of them decided to speak up. "We're going to need all of the help we can get," Ogremon agreed. "It's not selfish of Taichi, it's selfish of _us_. Their support could make or break this fight. If we turn them away because they're "not digimon" then we're just as bad as the people we're fighting against."

Oh how I wanted to give him a standing ovation. He summarized all of my feelings in a nutshell, and I didn't have to actually shout it in MetalifeKuwagamon's face for him to get it. He looked like he'd swallowed a lemon, when he realized that even _Ogremon_—the council's _dark_ digimon representative—was against his views. And as much as I really hated his new attitude, I could sort of understand where it was coming from. He was upset. We couldn't find Divermon's file. The two of them were really close. He was struggling to deal with the first permanent loss in his file's entire history. I remembered struggling the same way when my grandpa died. It was a _long_ time ago, but he'd been my hero as a real little kid. I took it really hard when he left. I couldn't cope with the idea that he wasn't coming back to play with me anymore. I figured MetalifeKuwagamon was going through the same thing—even though he wasn't a child. It was something so new to the digimon. They didn't understand what we humans had to come to terms with. It was a part of life.

But this wasn't something I could allow him to use as an excuse though. I could be lenient, but I wasn't going to accept that he wasn't helping his people. If he wanted to stop the deaths, we'd all have to be on the same page. He and Babamon couldn't be trying to discredit me every step of the way. I could take constructive criticism. I could handle it when they countered my ideas with ideas of their own. I _would not_ handle harsh criticisms when they had nothing else to offer. If they weren't going to put in the effort, they weren't allowed to participate.

"Speaking of help," Babamon said—and I knew it wasn't going to be good. "Have you heard from Earth's ambassadors yet?"

"No," I admitted. "I don't know what they're up to. They won't talk to me."

"Perhaps," Babamon said, as though it had just occurred to her, and wasn't her plan all along. "_You_ should be the one to leave the council then, if you are no longer the ambassador. You were only permitted into the council in Gennai's abrupt leave of absence because of your position."

Many jaws dropped at Babamon's sudden proclamation, including Koushiro's. Neo however pushed his two thin eyebrows together and asked, "Didn't he die?" But I ignored him.

"I'm still the ambassador," I said firmly, with no small amount of irritation. "And at least I've made progress during their radio silence. You've just gotten fatter." I stood quickly, kicking back my chair and angrily storming through the door. I heard Babamon's cry of "Well I never!" behind me, but I ignored it. It wasn't the best comeback I'd ever come up with. But I was tired, I was frustrated and I was angry. My brain didn't work very well with a surplus of just one of those things, but with the three problems piled all together? They were lucky I could still form coherent sentences.

I ended up outside, thankful that for once there wasn't a new digimon to take care of. That was a good sign. Right? Or maybe it was a really _bad_ sign, and they were done "sending their message" and were ready to take the next step. I didn't know. And according to Babamon, I didn't have a right to do anything about it anyway.

I ran my fingers through my hair, clutching fistfuls and pulling, letting out a frustrated scream as I did so, kicking the Temple wall. And then I had to hop around on one foot because my toes hurt so badly. I let out another scream, staring up at the sky, and ignoring all of the digimon in the marketplace that were staring at me.

Why?

Why was all of this happening? Why were we _always_ at the centre of everything? Takeru explained how we weren't doing this alone, but I didn't know how to let go. I didn't know how to loosen the reins and let these other people help us. I'd been in the thick of things for so long, and it was _literally_ my job to take care of these things as best I could. To try and keep it from becoming an issue that the digidestined would have to come in and clean the mess up. That was what my job entailed. And I failed that job. I failed it so spectacularly that it was ridiculous. How could the world start hating the digimon so much? And how had I missed it? Everything seemed just fine not too long ago. And now restaurants were being burned down and digimon were being abused and returned and deleted and everything just really..._sucked_!

"Taichi," D'Arcmon said. I didn't react to her presence. I was so angry I didn't have any room to be surprised or startled. "Taichi, she does not think before she speaks. She means well. I know she does. But she does not understand the effect her words can have on a person. She's old, and cranky, and her home and her kind are being threatened. She is feeling a fear she's never felt before."

"Neo destroyed her home and Arkadimon and Yggdrasil tried their hardest to get rid of the digimon," I reminded her. "So don't tell me this is all new to her."

"Not the situation, Taichi," D'Arcmon said gently. "That has happened again and again since the Digital World's creation. It is the enemy that is different. The digidestined and the Chosen are the only real encounters digimon as a collective have had with humans. And as digidestined and Chosen, these interactions have generally been quite friendly. A few exceptions come to mind, but even those few became friends to _you_, and are now helping to protect the digimon. To know that there are humans out there who hate us so vehemently _still_, after all this time. It is hard to take in. She was there that day, Taichi, when the humans threw the digimon into the world of darkness, _just _to rid their world of creatures they didn't understand. It was not until Hiraga created the Digital World itself within the darkness, and cast his own likeness—who became known as Gennai—that things really started looking up for our kind. And now they attack us in our home. The home they forced us into when all we wanted was to coexist. You must understand how _frustrating_ that can be."

"I understand perfectly fine," I said, still angry. "What I don't understand is why she doesn't have time to do her damned job but has plenty of time to keep me from doing _mine_. I want to help digimon. I want to fix this so bad it hurts. But she won't let me do what needs to be done. She cuts me off at every turn and soon she's going to kick me off the council altogether, and then what can I do? How can I help if she won't let me use my position to provide aid?"

"You will not be removed from the council," she said reassuringly. "Despite her opinion on the matter, her age holds little value in the grand scheme of things. Centarumon, Tinkermon and myself all hold that same wisdom that age brings, and we—as are Leomon, Andromon and Ogremon—are fully dedicated to the digidestined and our cause. We will not vote against you. All her efforts will reveal are that she and MetalifeKuwagamon are alone in their opinions. Your position is safe here. But is it on Earth?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, feeling all my anger drain out of me, happy to know that I wasn't the only one fighting against Babamon.

"Perhaps Babamon was not too far off," D'Arcmon said vaguely. I stared at her, confused. "She wondered if you were not perhaps relieved of your duties. I know that you said the humans would have to do that personally, but I wonder if they simply were afraid to tell you."

"Why would they be scared of me?" I asked incredulously.

"You have thousands of monsters on your side," she said with a laugh. "They will do anything you say because you are the digidestined of courage and have saved our entire world so many times. They—no... _We _are willing to fight for _you_, to repay you. Because we believe in you. The humans know this, even if you do not. It is wise of them to fear you."

"But I don't want to be feared," I said. "I want to know what's going on."

"Then ask," she told me.

"I've tried. But they don't answer my calls, my emails."

"Then go to them, speak face to face, where they will no longer have excuses to hide behind," she suggested ironically. A digital woman was telling me to stop using my computer in the age of technology. "If you want answers, do not rely on technology that is easy to ignore. Make him acknowledge you."

"You know what? That's a great idea," I said, a smile forming on my face. Oh I was going to channel all of the anger Rida had caused me—and yes, I'd dropped the formalities, if he wanted to be a dick, I wasn't going to be polite. He was just Rida to me now, no "Ambassador" needed. "Tell the others I won't be back for awhile. I've got a meeting to attend. I'll let them know how it goes when I get back."

I _could_ have stopped at home and grabbed a tie, or a _clean_ shirt that hadn't been worn three days in a row, but I didn't want to lose any of the steam D'Arcmon had helped me gather. Instead I went as I was through the gate and back into the world I was born in. My pants were actually the cleanest part of my ensemble, which was saying something because my knees were covered with dirt—from bending down to untie abandoned digimon, so I wasn't too worried about it. My shirt was much worse though. There were various stains that I had no idea how they got there. One looked suspiciously like blood, and the only blood I'd come in contact with was Mimi's and the digimon so I didn't know whose it could be. There were spots of dirt on my shirt too, and what appeared to be coffee...

Maybe I should've changed?

No!

I strode up to the building and didn't even glance at the secretary who was trying desperately to get my attention. "Sir! You can't go back there, Sir!" Like I cared about the rules at this point. It wasn't like Rida was following them. I ignored her and her professional looking suit because _she_ didn't have abandoned digimon to look after and a potential world crisis to avert, so she had time to bother with her appearance. And I knew she spent a lot of time on such things. She always had in the past, contorting her hair into complicated styles, and her sky high heels. She was the first thing most people saw when entering the building, and therefore she gave the first impression. People generally _liked_ the impression she gave.

I didn't though.

Not today at least. I didn't care how "professional" the people in this building were. They weren't doing their job. And I was here to learn _why_.

"Rida," I yelled with anger. I saw his head lift up in shock behind the glass walls that made up his office. I grabbed the handle of the glass door and pulled it open. "We need to talk."

"I'm afraid we don't actually," Rida said dismissively.

"Why not?" I demanded.

"There is simply nothing to discuss," he said. "I would've come to you if there was."

"You should've been knocking at my damn door," I snarled at him. "The digimon are in trouble. I was hired to act as the go-between for Earth and the Digital World, and when the _Digital World_ is in trouble, you're just going to ignore it?"

"I will need you to elaborate," Rida said, waving his hand.

"Digimon are being deleted!" I shouted to him. "They're _dying_."

"Well, it's horrible of course," he said airily. "But humans are doing the same as we speak. I don't really see the issue here."

"You know what? You guys all seem a hell of a lot more cooperative when it's _your_ lives we're saving. You haven't lifted a damn finger to help the Digital World in all the time you've had me working there. You don't care at all do you? That the humans are taking things too far, that they're courting a war they won't be able to fight against?" I said, finally unleashing all of my pent up anger. "What are your humans going to do when an army of Vilemon start terrorizing them? Or Devimon finally snaps and decided to take over the world? I'll tell you what they're gonna do. They're gonna call for the digidestined to come and handle thing for them. And I'm starting to think that would just be a waste of my team's time."

"Security!" Rida shouted. "It sounds to me like _you_ are the one courting a war."

"Maybe I'll have to," I yelled at him. "When I'm leading an army of super-powered digital monsters, maybe _then_ you'll realize that you should've been helping me when I asked for it. Because any war that may or may not happen? Yeah, it's now on your shoulders. Because you sir, are asking for it."

The door opened behind me and two really large men grabbed an arm each and started dragging me backwards with excess force. They weren't being gentle by any definition of the word. I glared at Rida as long as I could—which was quite awhile, since his walls were glass and all—before being thrown out of the building.

I sat there, on the concrete and stared at my knees, grabbing fistfuls of my hair. Little droplets of water splashed onto the fabric covering my thigh and I looked up to the sky, wondering if it was going to rain. But it wasn't. I realized they were angry little tears that I couldn't control. My hands started shaking and my breathing became erratic.

What had I just done?

_**Ken Ichijouji:**_

I used to like working with Yakuin. I used to like being a police officer. I didn't anymore. Morestuna was responsible with both of those changes. He'd weaseled his way into Yakuin's personality. The carefree, movie star was gone. He'd sheared off his hair, making him look more like our chief. He started talking more gruffly, and he'd also lost any shred of decency that he had possessed. I didn't know if he'd ever _liked_ digimon, but I knew that he didn't hate them. He was one of those neutral people. The kind of person that didn't _want_ one, but didn't fault anyone else for having one.

I thanked the stars that I'd never mentioned Wormmon or Hawkmon in his presence.

They would've undoubtedly become his next targets.

He was a man on a mission. I mean, I was technically supposed to be one too. I'd been _given_ a mission. I just wasn't doing it. I couldn't. Maybe if Daemon magically popped up and gave me another dark spore... But he was dead. Never to return. I didn't know where to find a dark spore, even if I wanted one. But I didn't. I didn't want to lose control of my mind like that ever again. I didn't _want_ to hate digimon, to crave power, to belittle my best friend. Wormmon was my hero. I just pictured him and all of the frustration that work caused me lifted away. Because he was the reason I was doing all of this. Protecting the digimon that the other officers were attacking.

We'd been given tracker guns. It wasn't the official name for it, but Morestuna was under the impression we were all idiots that marched to his fife, so he didn't bother to share the technical name. All I knew were the instructions he gave us. If you see a digimon that _doesn't_ have a tracker, put one on it. But it hurt the digimon, so I couldn't do it. They wanted to know where they were at all times. I couldn't aid the DWD movement like that. Because I knew that's who provided Morestuna with the weapons. He had to be more than a DWD supporter though, because he was in a place of power. He commanded several teams of police officers, all desperate to earn a living. I had a baby on the way—not that Miyako had ever _told_ me about it—I needed the money. I also needed to keep my job to help Wormmon and Hawkmon, and all of the other digimon in the city.

The police had a digidestined in their ranks and they didn't even know it.

Because I pretended that I did the jobs assigned to me. I didn't of course. Yesterday I emptied my clip of trackers into a garbage can because he was getting suspicious that I still hadn't asked for a second cartridge. When I asked though, he _smiled_ at me, handing me two, just in case. So now I had to get rid of another two cartridges by the end of the week, because I knew that he was still slightly suspicious. I sat on a bench and I shot two trackers at a tree. Just for fun.

"You shouldn't waste them."

I nearly jumped out of my skin as Yakuin sat down next to me on the bench.

"How many digimon have you tagged?"

"I don't even know," I said, pretending it was just _so_ many that I couldn't remember. "How about you?"

"Sixteen," he said proudly. "But I've shot at a lot more. I almost double tagged one yesterday. I just love the feeling I get when the tracker sticks. The shouts and screams. Mmm! It's so good. You know?"

"Totally," I said, trying to still my churning stomach and force the rising bile in my throat back down. I'd gotten good at lying since Morestuna took over the station. I couldn't give anything away. My eyes had to be carefully neutral, my voice needed to be flavoured with excitement. I was playing a part. I was acting—something that was typically _Michael's_ department. I was getting more and more believable with each lie I told. I was burying myself in my character, shrouded in my role of willing "law" enforcer.

"I think...I think I see one," Yakuin said with a twisted smirk. "Wanna take first crack at it?"

"And ruin your fun?" I said dryly. "Of course."

"You would," Yakuin said with a laugh.

I felt sick to my stomach, but scanned the area. I didn't see a digimon. Where was it? Bushes and trees. _Just_ bushes and trees. I could see children were playing in the distance. I was queasy at the thought, but I scanned their playing grounds too, just in case that's where he spotted the digimon. I wouldn't put it past Yakuin anymore to be willing to shoot into a crowd of small children if it meant that he would get his "prize". I strained my ears, listening, _hoping_ to catch it before Yakuin got bored and took the shot for me. _Keep looking Ken. You've got to find it..._

_There!_

I spotted a white fur coat with purple stripes. There was a magenta horn in the middle of its forehead and a lizard tale in the same colour with spikes lining it. I could only see its back, but I knew that if it turned around, I'd see a familiar face with a different colour scheme. It was a Psychemon—a digimon that looked startlingly like Gabumon. There would be a green spot on its stomach that had a deeper green symbol on it. Most Psychemon's symbol was that of a skull, though I'd heard that some shared a design with the Gabumon. I couldn't be sure about this particular Psychemon, since his back _was_ turned.

But I _could_ be certain of one fact: I had to save it.

Now I couldn't make it obvious. I needed it to look like I desperately wanted to attack the poor thing, whilst at the same time _warning_ it of the impending danger. It was walking alongside a pair of schoolchildren, and I knew they would rush it to safety if I could just alert them to my presence.

"Target acquired," I said, trying to infuse as much sadistic excitement into my voice as absolutely possible.

"Took you long enough," Yakuin joked. "Now get it before it gets away."

"On it," I said, forcing a smirk to twist its way across the bottom half of my face. I was met with a beaming grin from Yakuin, so I figured my acting was up to par for the day. I lifted my tracking gun, bracing my arms for the kickback when I fired it. I closed one eye tightly, watching, _waiting_ for the perfect shot.

I pulled the trigger.

_BANG_

The tracking device hit the side of a tree, narrowly missing its target. I'd waited until the digimon and the children were in the bushes, before I'd shot. They jumped, appearing at the other side of the bush, looking around frantically. Yakuin lifted his own gun, I glared angrily at him, and he put his hand in the air, signalling that he'd let me do it. Psychemon was looking at me, thinking very hard.

He recognized me.

That was the only explanation. He started talking frantically to the kids. I peeked at Yakuin out of the corner of my eye. He was too enraptured by the digimon to notice what I was doing. I jerked my head a couple of times, trying to get the digimon to run. _Finally_ he seemed to understand. I was trying to help him, not hurt him. I shot another tracking device, this time narrowly missing him, letting the device smash into a tree behind him. Psychemon grabbed the children's hands and pulled them along with him, heading home. With the kids behind him, I couldn't be faulted for not shooting. We weren't meant to hit _human_ bystanders.

"Damn it!" I snarled. I kicked the ground angrily and almost threw my gun. "How could I miss that? It was like shooting fish in a freaking barrel!"

"You win some, you lose some," Yakuin said comfortingly, though I could hear his own disbelief quite plainly. "We know that one's out there now though. We can keep an eye out for it. Can you believe that some people send those _things_ out with their kids? Those people aren't fit to be parents, I say. If they can't be bothered to find _suitable_ care for their children, then they just shouldn't have any. A foster home is more acceptable than a monster caretaker."

"Yeah," I said—even though I'd already had multiple daydreams of Hawkmon and Wormmon being the babysitters of my own baby. "People these days. They make me sick."

"That's why our job is so important," Yakuin said proudly. "We're saving the future generations from this infestation of monsters. They'll be safe, and it'll all be because of us. That's really something, isn't it? That we can save the whole world from these beasts. We'll be heroes."

I almost _was_ sick at that. Could he _really_ be so deluded? The digidestined were heroes. Our digimon partners were heroes. Morestuna, and all those that followed his instructions blindly? They weren't. Morestuna couldn't be classified as anything other than a villain in that scenario, and that made every other man and woman on the police force his _minions_. Minions that had been duped into thinking they were the heroes.

Unfortunately, none of them seemed to realize this. I missed Chief Keishi more than ever. He was a loyal, upstanding man dedicated to truth and justice._ He_ was the ideal chief of police. He wouldn't _ever_ have created a revolt against the digimon. He wouldn't even have joined it. He was too good of a man. He would have been out on the streets shutting these DWD activists down—with force _only_ if necessary. He wasn't violent unless justice demanded it of him. He was jovial, and just _good_. Honestly, truly good in a way you just don't _see_ in people anymore.

Why did he have to retire?

Wormmon and Hawkmon and all of the other digimon would be safer if he was still on the force. _I_ would be safer too. And Miyako. Our baby. Haruki and Emiko. All of our friends. We would be _happy_ still. But instead we were miserable and fighting for our partner's lives in a battle we didn't even understand yet.

No.

I couldn't go around blaming my old chief. It wasn't his fault. He did nothing wrong. It was Morestuna that deserved my frustrated anger. Not Chief Keishi.

"Do you think we should follow it home?" Yakuin asked. I blinked, realizing he'd been talking to me the whole time I'd zoned out. "Or would that make us seem like stalkers. I mean, it _did_ have two small children with it..."

"I think it was the right choice to let it go," I said slowly. "Those kids' parents obviously trust the digimon, so I wouldn't put it above them to accuse us of nefarious deeds if we _did_ follow them home. I doubt Morestuna would've cared, but we can't have them sullying the good name of the force."

"Damn right we can't," Yakuin said. "We're the heroes. We don't get our names dragged through the mud."

It was _so_ hard to keep my mouth shut after a comment like that. I curled my fingers into fists—well, one fist, since my other hand was still holding the tracker gun. I clenched my teeth and mentally counted to ten. It was all I could do to keep my head. I could not afford to make any mistakes. I couldn't dare speak up for digimon rights. I needed to stay on the force. I truly felt that Morestuna was high on the ladder in terms of our enemies. He needed to be taken down, and if I was kicked off the squad...well...we wouldn't have any inside information on him. By being on the team I was kept up to date with the DWD plans. I knew that Jenna Washington was over in America listening in on meetings, but there was so much time between each meeting. A single week could be huge in this dangerous game of chess we were playing with the activists. Every day was crucial. Jenna couldn't be the sole person gathering Intel. It wasn't fair of us to demand that of her. And it wasn't fair to the digimon we were protecting if we didn't put the extra effort in.

So I went to work every single day for countless hours, doing everything I could to save the digimon. I didn't take days off anymore. It was now common in the office to ask for overtime hours. Everyone wanted more time to take care of the "digital threat to our nation". It would have been suspicious if I didn't ask the same.

I didn't know entirely what to think about the fact that I got approved for said overtime hours far more often than most of the other _willing_ choices.

But I was really good at acting now, so I knew Morestuna wasn't suspicious.

Maybe I was just _too_ good. Maybe he actually thought I was his top supporter or something...

"We're on our way," Yakuin said into his walkie-talkie. I nodded at him, acting like I actually knew what had been said, and he started walking towards our cruiser. I got in the passenger side and let him drive us to our new destination, hoping I could pick up the gist of it along the way. Yakuin was no help. Usually he was so chatty, always making me say things I didn't mean, and feel like I ought to wash my mouth out with soap for _letting_ myself say them.

He ended up pulling into the parking lot of the station. I gulped nervously. So Morestuna wanted us. I didn't know why, or what for, but I knew it couldn't be good.

I followed Yakuin through the front door. Kimi sat at the front desk, and she looked up at us as we walked passed her. Her eyes threw me off. She looked scared. No. Not quite _scared_. Nervous though. She was anxious. She didn't like what was happening in the back. I braced myself. Yakuin waltzed in, confident as ever. There was a crowd—all officers that had been called in to work today—around Moretsuna, and he was talking loudly. Excitedly.

"These just came in," he said proudly. "They are exactly what we needed around here to get our numbers up. These digimon can't be left roaming free. It's up to us to save Japan, and my only hope is that police officers around the world are doing their duty, the same as us. Yakuin, Ichijouji, care to report?"

"I got another one this morning," Yakuin said. "Ken here missed his."

"Why?" Moretsuna demanded. I floundered for just a second before answering.

"I'm finding the tagging rather dull sir. My interest is lacking," I said, making my voice drip with boredom. "Is there nothing else we could be doing?"

"I'm glad you asked," Moretsuna said. He stepped aside, revealing a wooden crate. He pried the lid off so effortlessly it wasn't fair, and rooted around inside. There was the rustling of bubble-wrap and I allowed myself to relax momentarily. Scary things didn't come in bubble-wrap. He pulled three things out of the crate, dropping the bubble-wrap to the floor. "Ichijouji!" Moretsuna called to me, tossing one at me. I examined it carefully—though I only took a second to do it. It was silver and black, small, sleek. A gun. Why did we need another gun? "Perhaps _this_ will be more up to your speed."

"But what does it do?" I asked, holding it up and aiming it the wall, just to get a feel for the weapon.

"Don't ask questions," Morestuna snapped. I gulped, lowering the gun to my side. "Just point. And shoot."

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Ken is back next and he tries to take precautions now that things are heating up, and Action is brewing, while Sora helps Taichi deal with his recent declaration.


	21. Action!

**Y/N: **Ken is starting off arc 3. It's a fun arc, that's to be sure. I hope you'll all stick around for the ride.

**U/N: **Pretty sure I had trouble with this Sora chapter. Either this one or the next, but I do really enjoy the friendship between Sora and Taichi, because they work so well as friends. It's nice to be able to use them together in a way that's finally not "oh no but I love Tai AND Matt." "And neo." So that was exciting, I know, and also, this is the start of the downhill slope o.O as if things weren't already going downhill.

Anyway, sorry for not uploading, there were conflicts in uploading, but yeah, since we missed Canada Day, and the 4th of July, and we usually do stuff for the "special" days, I'mma upload two chapters right now. I mean, why not?

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 3: Ignorance**

**Chapter 21: Action!**

_**Ken Ichijouji:**_

"Are you sure you don't have your own packing to do?" Miyako asked Daisuke, Takeru and Kurayami yet again. They were in our apartment, and had been since dawn. Literally dawn. They just showed up with a pile of totes and volunteered to help pack. And we didn't have time to waste. Not now. I knew that the guns were a bad omen. I needed Miyako and the baby, and Haruki, and Emiko, and _all_ of the digimon into the safe zone. And it needed to happen like..._yesterday_.

"I've already moved most of my stuff in," Takeru said picking up a stack of notebooks, debating whether they might be useful or not. He flipped through the pages—not reading them, because that would be rude, but simply checking to see if they'd been used. All but the purple one on the top of the stack appeared unused, so he tossed them into a big, blue Rubbermaid tote. He'd already stuck a white label on it. He wrote "Office Supplies" on it with a big, black marker. He'd tossed a few packages of markers and an entire plastic bin of pencils into the tote. He was eyeing the stapler and a three whole punch.

"I need that purple notebook!" Miyako gasped, diving across the room to grab the one notebook that Takeru had dismissed. She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, but he just seemed confused, so she let him go. Obviously she was worried he'd read some of it. It probably had to do with the baby she refused to mention to me. She slipped it into her navy blue canvas backpack—the one with the tan trimmings and the leather fasteners—watching everyone nervously the entire time. I rolled my eyes. Everyone had already moved past her outburst.

Kurayami was rocking Haruki, trying to get him back to sleep. He had been awake since they'd gotten here, and he really needed sleep. He was swaddled in a bright blue blanket with red fire trucks on it. He opened his mouth really wide, letting out a great big yawn. I watched—fascinated—as he finally gave in to the sleep that had been trying to catch him. His eyes drooped slowly, and he let out a little sigh, cozying up to his mother. He was precious.

And I would have one soon. Soon-_ish_ anyway. Miyako still hadn't exactly talked with me about it, so I didn't have an exact time frame to work with. I really hoped she'd tell me soon though.

"I doubt those will be necessary," Hawkmon told Daisuke, who was trying to carry two laundry baskets into the room without tripping over his own feet.

"Who says?" Daisuke argued. "These things are real important. I didn't used to think so, but we never seem to have enough of them."

"How long do you suppose we'll be there?" Wormmon asked anxiously.

"Who knows," Daisuke said. "And my guess is that we're gonna need to wash some clothes before long. Hence the laundry baskets."

"They are useless without a washer," Hawkmon said proud of his logic. "And either a clothesline or a dryer would come in handy too."

"Do you guys have any of those?" Daisuke asked. "We can take them too."

"No," I said, rolling my eyes at his enthusiasm. "The apartment complex has a laundry room. We have to pay to use the machines too, so it would be useless to take a set without taking a jar of spare change."

"Darn," Daisuke sighed. "I'm still taking the baskets. We'll pile something in them."

I didn't know_ what_, but he was determined, so I knew by the time we finished up here, they'd be stuffed full of something that he deemed important.

"Do you have any suitcases?" Takeru asked. He had tripped over the pile of clothes Miyako had left in the middle of the living room on his quest to grab our container of paper clips. Miyako disappeared into the bedroom and came back with two suitcases—one large, one medium in size. The smaller one was mine. She smacked his hand away—her face bright red—when he tried to pack them. She stuffed her undergarments into the smaller case, carefully _not_ looking in Takeru's direction. He just laughed at her before picking up a pile of sundresses. "How many dresses do you own?" he asked in disbelief as he crammed as many of dresses as he could in the larger suitcase. Daisuke joined them on the floor, tossing pairs of legwarmers at Miyako to pack, along with her scarves, bandanas and gloves. Takeru managed to get three pairs of leggings in the suitcase along with the dresses, but that was it. Daisuke cheered victoriously, heading to grab a laundry basket, but Hawkmon swooped in with another small suitcase and three reusable grocery bags. Daisuke narrowed his eyes at the digimon.

I knew a rivalry had been formed.

"Ken?" Wormmon asked quietly.

"Yeah, buddy?" I prompted him.

"Can I bring movies?" he asked. He looked so embarrassed, but he had no reason to be. Movies were his favourite thing. He watched at least one a day. Always animated though. He didn't like live-action for some reason. I winked at him and headed to the closet. I reached up onto the top shelf and pulled down a black bag covered with zippers. Wormmon's eyes lit up and he cheered. It was his portable DVD player. We brought it with us on the few car trips we'd made. He loved it. I double checked that the charger was in the bag, and sent him off to pick out his favourite movies, warning him that he couldn't bring them all. He promised he wouldn't and hurried away. I was suspicious at how quickly he'd agreed with me. I wouldn't have been surprised to find he'd taken all but _one_ of the movies in his collection.

I knew that everything we left behind would still be here for us whenever we got back. Or I hoped it would be anyway. I gave the landlord the rent we would be paying for the next six months. I couldn't afford to pay any further just yet, but with my incoming pay cheque, I knew I'd be able to pay at least another two months before I headed in after my family.

Yes.

I was staying behind, even though things were becoming more and more horrible on Earth, and increasingly more dangerous at work. I couldn't abandon Jenna. I couldn't leave her to deal with gathering Intel alone. It wasn't fair, and I refused. Miyako hated the idea, and Wormmon didn't take too kindly to it either. But I was sticking to my guns on this one. I was needed here. They weren't. They could all be safe without me. And they would have to take care of one another in my absence. I was the only one that _couldn't_ go. Miyako didn't have a job anymore. Not really anyway. She technically worked for Mari at the library, but she wasn't really doing anything anymore. And she could afford to give up that job by this point. Taichi wasn't charging people to enter the Coliseum. He was offering protection to any human he could trust, and any digimon at all. I knew there were a few logistical problems that would need sorting out, but I knew someone would deal with those issues sooner or later.

"What do you want done with the kitchen?" Kurayami asked. She had succeeded in getting Haruki into a deep sleep, and was now ready to help. I headed into the kitchen with her to give her a hand. Just because I wasn't leaving didn't mean I was excused from the work. And I'd mostly been standing around up to this point.

"Okay. We're going to put the non-perishable items in totes," I explained. "Miyako is going to bring those with her. Everything in the freezer and the refrigerator are staying here. They won't last in the heat of the Digital World."

"Won't that just be a waste of food though?" Kurayami asked looking at the refrigerator door with a frown.

"No," I told her, shaking my head. "I'll eat whatever I can while I'm still here. The only groceries I plan on buying for now are non-perishable, so that I can add to the collection whenever I join you all."

"You're not coming," she said. I hadn't exactly realized she didn't know that. I glanced over at Miyako and saw she was glaring at me. I winced. Yeah. She still wasn't taking it well.

"Leave the sunflower seeds behind as well," Hawkmon instructed Kurayami, flying up behind me. "I'm going to need those. I do so enjoy those."

"What are you talking about?" Miyako asked. "If you want them, we should be taking them with us."

"No," Hawkmon said slowly, as if talking to a stupid person—and Miyako wasn't stupid. No one was really following along with Hawkmon's train of thought. "If I'm going to stay here to protect Ken, then I want my favourite treat to stay here too."

"Oh no," Miyako said, entering her lecture mode. She was going to make such a great mother. "I gave in and let Ken stay behind against my better judgement. There is no way I'm leaving you behind too. So you can just get that idea right out of your head mister. You are coming with _me._"

"No, I don't believe I am," Hawkmon said simply, ignoring the growing panic and anger in Miyako's voice, in favour of flying into the air to get the cans from the highest shelves so that Kurayami wouldn't need to get a chair.

"Should I stay too, Ken?" Wormmon asked, dragging a black, cloth grocery bag behind him—and using all of his might to do so—filled to the brim with animated classics. He sounded nervous, and I knew how scared he actually was about the goings on of Earth lately.

"No," I told him gently. "You're going to go and play with Patamon, and Veemon, and Labramon, and all of the other digimon. And you're going to keep Miyako company too. That's a really important mission, don't you think?"

"Oh goody," Wormmon said happily. "I hope they like movies, 'cause I've got lots."

"Looks like it," I said shaking my head in amusement.

"I'm glad you're so happy about this," Miyako hissed at me. "Hawkmon is determined to get deleted. Just listen to him. He can't stay here."

"I can though," Hawkmon said. "I have to do my very best to protect you, Miyako."

"How can you do that if I'm in a different world?" Miyako countered. "So it would be best if you just came with me."

"I'll be protecting your heart by staying here," he said simply. And I was touched. "You would not be able to handle it if something happened to Ken. I will prevent it."

"But what am I going to do if something happens to _you_?" Miyako cried. Big, fat tears formed in her eyes and Hawkmon flew to her side immediately.

"Nothing," he told her gently. "Because nothing will."

"Because you're indestructible?" Miyako asked sarcastically, her voice thick.

"No," I said quickly. "Because I'll be taking care of him at the same time he's taking care of me. Just like you and Wormmon will take care of each other. We're a family, Miyako. We're not going to let anything happen to break us up. Trust us."

"Fine," she sobbed. "Be like that."

"I will be," Hawkmon said, not realizing she didn't mean it. "Thank you, for trusting me to make up my own mind. For letting me do so. I do possess one, and I enjoy making my own decisions. You know that."

"Of course I do," Miyako said, letting out a teary laugh. "It's why we watch so many bad television shows."

"I think you'll find they I only pick quality programs," Hawkmon said affronted.

I could see that Takeru didn't agree with Hawkmon's decision. I was glad that he didn't say anything though. He just trucked on through our stuff, grabbing various office supplies—which I was pretty sure were secretly for his own use, since he never asked our opinions—and chucking them into his tote.

"Hey, Daisuke," I called, trying to get everyone's minds off of Hawkmon. "I think there's an air mattress or two in the closet. You should check. I don't want people sleeping on the ground if they don't have to."

"On it, boss," Daisuke said with a wink. He was putting a lot of extra effort into being cheerful these days. I figured that was Takeru's influence. He hopped to it, and caused everyone to laugh when he tripped spectacularly over his prized laundry baskets. He looked at them like they had betrayed him before joining us in laughter.

Miyako was now even more secretive, disappearing every once in awhile and coming back with something else to slip into her canvas bag. I saw her get her e-reader, and she swiped a pack of six pens from Takeru's office supplies bin. She had three books that I'd seen her leave out countless times. Baby books—obviously. She grabbed her metal water bottle, and slipped it in a side pocket. Just when I thought she was finished, she grabbed her wallet, and her knitting bag. It was mostly just unused balls of yarn, and three mangled little baby booties. I didn't know who she thought she was fooling. There were only so many things she could do and claim they were a coincidence. The books, the vitamins—which she had jammed in the other side pocket—the sudden caffeine allergy, the knitting. At some point she had to realize I knew.

Right?

I just hoped she took advantage of Rei's knitting expertise and made a few booties that actually resembled a foot, instead of the scary shapes she'd made so far.

I knew that I'd have to either buy a tote or a suitcase for my own clothes, when I decided to join them in the Digital World. And I'd be getting a couple of totes worth of non-perishable food items, just to make sure I was pulling my weight in the Coliseum. I wondered if there was a list of foods pregnant woman _needed_ to eat. I'd have to look into that, and make sure all of Miyako's bases were covered.

"Do you want your wedding album?" Takeru asked after dropping a package of printer paper into his tote along with a pack of coloured pencils—I was starting to think he was really bored in the Coliseum, and wanted something to distract himself with.

"Yes," Miyako said. "If Ken and Hawkmon are going to be stupid and stay behind, then I'm going to need something to remember them by."

"We're going to be fine," I said firmly.

"You don't know that. You _can't_ know that," she moaned. "And I really need you to come with me. It's important."

I knew what she was talking about. The baby. But she wouldn't come right out and tell me that she wanted me to be there, wanted to know for sure that I was okay, for the sake of the baby. And since she wouldn't ask the right question—not that I was a hundred percent certain that that question would sway my decision—she wasn't going to get the answer she wanted. And there was nothing I could do about it. It was up to her to share that vital piece of information.

And it was up to me to do my duty for digimon-kind everywhere.

We were at a standstill.

"Hey, awesome!" Daisuke called from inside the closet. "You've got like tons of soap in here. There's shampoo, body wash, dish soap and bar soap. You guys have gotta bring this stuff. Everyone will love you for it."

There wasn't nearly as much soap as he made it out to sound. Yes, we tended to stockpile things when they went on sale, but there wasn't an _excessive_ amount. We just liked to keep a couple of months' worth in reserve, just in case money got tight like it was during the early days of our marriage. Not that we weren't technically still in the early days of our marriage. We were coming up on our fifth anniversary though. Five years with the most wonderful woman, yet it didn't seem that long at all.

"Should I pack the laundry detergent?" Daisuke wanted to know.

"I thought we established that there weren't any washers or dryers," Hawkmon pointed out. "It would be entirely a waste of energy to drag heavy jugs of soap that you aren't able to use."

"You know what?" Daisuke decided, ignoring Hawkmon entirely. "I'm gonna take them. And hey! There's the air mattresses. Cool. There are two. Just like you said."

"Yep," I said, rolling my eyes and packing a couple of bags of rice into the tote on the floor in front of me, following it up with two boxes of different styled crackers.

"Where did we put the camping gear?" Miyako asked. "We should bring our sleeping bags, and pillows, and extra blankets."

"Put them in the laundry baskets!" Daisuke shouted. "They're perfect for that."

After that, everything went a bit more smoothly. Kurayami and I packed three totes to the brim with non-perishable food. It was a real eye opener for me. Why was I always complaining that there was nothing in our house to eat? There was so much food right in front of me that it was ridiculous. We only left the fresh produce, bread, milk and the leftovers for me. Also like thirty different condiments. It was silly to have that many, and I knew I would throw most of them away the first chance I got. We just didn't need that many.

Takeru discovered Hawkmon's puzzle collection, and our small pile of board games. He made sure to pack those—leaving a puzzle behind at Hawkmon's insistence. Daisuke debated for ten minutes over the usefulness of toothpicks, and in the end decided to bring them whether we'd need them or not. Miyako cleaned out most of the bathroom items, including all of our spare toothbrushes—just in case. In the end we had five totes—three of food—two laundry baskets, three suitcases, a canvas backpack and a wicker basket—which served no purpose at all, but Wormmon thought that we should bring it because he liked it.

The only problem that I could see, was transport. I was heading to work—and I was too scared of being late to take any chances. Kurayami evidently was heading out soon too. She'd carefully lifted the sleeping Haruki out of the playpen and tucked him into his stroller, before collapsing the playpen and forcing it back into the bag they'd brought it in. She added the playpen to the pile of totes and stepped back to admire our hard work.

"Daisuke, Takeru," I said. "I'm leaving you guys in charge of carrying these things to Coliseum. I'm sure I can trust you to do it."

"What about me?" Miyako asked. She knew she shouldn't be lifting such heavy things. And I knew it. If she didn't want people to know about the baby, she was going to have to stop drawing attention to herself when she didn't need to.

"Just make sure Wormmon and his basket get there safely," I told her. "And carry your backpack. Or one of the laundry baskets. Those are light."

"I'm not weak," she protested. "If this is because I'm a girl—"

"No," I said, cutting her off quickly. "That's not what this is about at all. Just let them do it, okay?"

"Fine," she said, her voice a whole lot calmer as if she'd just realized why my plan was a _good_ plan.

"I'll see you later then," I said, my voice thick. I didn't know how long it would be before I saw my wife and partner again. It was a little hard to comprehend. It hadn't truly sunk in until this moment. And I wasn't really all that good at emotional goodbyes with an audience. Takeru, dragged Daisuke off towards the bathroom, and Kurayami pushed Haruki's stroller out the front door and into the hallway.

"You had better count on it," Miyako said with a wavering smile. "You better take care of Hawkmon, Ken. And Hawkmon, you keep Ken safe too. I need to have my boys come back to me."

"We will," Hawkmon said solemnly.

"Be good, Wormmon," I said. "Make sure you eat healthy and get lots of exercise between movies. Deal?"

"You got it, Ken," Wormmon said. "You're coming back, right?"

"Of course I am," I said confidently.

"Promise?" he pressed.

And I hesitated. I couldn't make that promise and know that I could keep it. But the look in his eyes—the same look that was in Miyako's—made me say it anyway.

"Promise."

"Good," he said happily.

I reached into my belt holster—I'd been in uniform since waking up, I didn't want to waste time changing clothes—and pulled out my new gun. I turned it so the handle was facing Miyako. "I want you to take this."

"Won't you need it?" she asked worriedly.

"No," I said. "I refuse to fire that at a digimon, even if I plan on missing. I'm not a perfect shot. I could accidently hit someone with it. You take it. I need to know that you can protect yourself and Wormmon in case things get bad in the Digital World. I've got my tracker gun still. They won't notice for at least awhile. Please. Just take care of each other."

"We will," Wormmon and Miyako chorused.

"I love you, Ken Ichijouji," Miyako told me fervently, kissing me on the mouth one, two, _three_ times before pulling away.

"And I love you, Miyako Ichijouji," I said teasingly, though I meant every word. _And I love the baby too_, I added silently. "Take care of yourself," I urged.

"I love you too, Ken!" Wormmon reminded me. I knelt down and hugged him with all my might. And I could hear that Miyako and Hawkmon were doing the same. There were more than a few tears shed on Miyako's part.

It took far longer than I could afford to say goodbye, but I couldn't rush it. Not when there was a chance—however small it may be—that I would never see them again. Ever. It was huge. And I needed them both to know just how much I loved and cared about them before they left. Just in case I never had another chance to assure them of that fact. I had no solid evidence that we may never meet again, but there was something about the atmosphere and the aura everywhere I went that clearly said something was wrong. Eventually, I met Kurayami out in the hallway. She let me be silent for a good ten minutes, letting me savour the last few moments I'd had with my complete family.

But she didn't wait too long, so as to let me dwell.

"They'll be fine," she assured me. "Neo's got that place shielded pretty heavily. If there's any chance of trouble, it'd be on your end. And you can take care of yourself. They don't give badges to just anyone you know."

"Oh, I know," I said, remembering the gruelling, seemingly endless hours of schooling I'd endured to become an officer of the law. "It's just that the badges _used_ to mean something special. Something better."

"And you'll make it better again," Kurayami said simply. "You're the shining apple in the bushel of rotting fruit. So long as you remain true to justice, truth and our cause, then the people will still have someone to look to in times of trouble. You represent all that is good in the system. Right now you might be the only good that it has. But that can spread. Look at me. Look at Neo. You guys made the light spread through us, you got us to join _your_ cause, instead of continuing to fight for our own. That's got to be proof of something. Doesn't it?"

"You're right," I said, thinking of Kimi, the woman that sat at the front desk in the station. She wasn't corrupted yet. And maybe she wouldn't ever be. I didn't know. But there was still hope. And Kurayami was helping me see it. I was making a difference. _We_ were making a difference. Even if we could only save one digimon. That was still _something_.

We parted ways after that. Kurayami was headed to the hospital to visit her grandfather. And I started running, determined to not be late for my shift. Moretsuna wouldn't have any reason to be suspicious of me if I could help it.

_**Sora Takenouchi:**_

"I just don't know what that was supposed to _mean_!" I groaned. "We can trust Katsue. Trust _me_." I quoted Yamato out loud. Biyomon politely nodded again as if I hadn't been going on about it for half an hour. I promised myself I would let it slide, and not complain about it, and be the mature person. I would pretend what he said was simply normal, and I would not vent to anyone about it. Besides, was it even worth venting about? No. And yet here I was, venting about a stupid little sentence. "Remember what you said, Biyomon? 'How could you love someone and not trust them?'"

She thought back a moment and then nodded, "Of course I remember that."

"Does that mean he loves her?" I asked, "Am I just the road block that keeps the couple from staying together?"

"What?" Biyomon asked with a high voice, "Sora, no! Not at all! You can't love someone without trusting them. At least in my opinion. But you _can_ trust someone without loving them. Yamato trusted you first. Do you remember when the two of you dated the first time?"

"Shh!" I hissed, "We don't talk about that." I had made her promise not to speak of the awkward couple of months Yamato and I had dated when we were fourteen years old. We basically stood together and he'd put his arm around me, and we'd walk around town together, but that was pretty much it. We broke up because both of us felt it was ruining our friendships with the rest of the group. But I didn't like to think about it because it was a very awkward situation. In fact I often pretended it didn't happen... because, really. Nothing _did_ happen.

"Do you remember what he said to you?" Biyomon insisted.

"_This is for you," I'd said to him, my face heating up like I was nearing the surface of the sun. I handed Yamato the box I'd tied together and clenched my eyes shut._

"_For good luck?" Yamato asked, slinging his bass guitar over his shoulder._

"_No," I shook my head, "For Christmas. It's..." He was reading the note I'd attached to it, so I shut up._

"'_Yamato, I like you,'" He read out, "'Simple as that. I still don't understand the true meaning of love, but I do like you, and I was wondering if you like me.'" He looked up with a bemused smile. One that was almost sly and devilish. "Sora, you're one of my best friends." I thought he was going down the route to say we should just be friends, "I trust you, and I care about you. And for a while now I've had a bit of a crush on you." _

"_Really?" I asked loudly, perking up. He nodded and I threw my arms around him._

And that pretty much meant we were dating or something. Well it did back then! Back in 2002...

"He trusted you first," Biyomon was saying, "And trust can develop into many things, and one of those things is love. He loves you Sora, just talk to him about it. It's painfully obvious even for someone like me. Like when he came to your house for the first time he was blushing and looking for you everywhere, well maybe not as eager as I make it sound, but he so was. Also whenever someone mentions your name he looks for you everywhere, and whenever you're around he keeps his eyes on you as if he's scared you're going to disappear again. You've left him a lot of times, Sora, he's just scared maybe you will forever, and if he ends up with Katsue that'll be all _your_ fault because you let it happen. He wouldn't do that on his own."

I was silent, taking in what she'd said. It was true, I had left him quite a few times. That first awkward relationship, I had been the one to initiate the break-up, then I broke up with him again seven years later, and then I had died supposedly, and I'd also disappeared to school for a few years... But all that time away could mean he really did get over me. I could only make so many mistakes... "But you didn't hear him," I found myself saying, "He sounded so _sure._"

"I give up!" Biyomon exclaimed, sliding off of the stone bench we'd been sitting on and landing on the beautiful stone tiled ground of the Temple. The sun was beating down in that weird way the Digital World always did. Intense, and hot, but since it wasn't real sun, you couldn't burn, or tan. It was a weird artificial heat. I'd offered to take Taichi and Rei tanning a few times now since they weren't getting any real sunlight, but both of them assured me they were fine being pale and taking their vitamin supplements. Which was fine, as long as they were healthy. The tall stone walls of the Temple blocked out any and all wind which meant we were left with only the direct heat and the stuffiness caused by the residents. We were sitting in a park just off the market place where a lot of digimon would eat. The ground was mostly tiled in a beautiful arrangement of colour and patterns, but there were patches of grass in each corner where a thin trunked tree grew to cast shade. "I think I'm going for a walk," Biyomon decided, "Since last time I did, I promised I'd never walk around in the human world again."

"What?" I asked weakly and confused. "When?"

"Uh," Biyomon thought to herself, "A couple days ago."

"You're joking right?" I asked.

"No?"

"Biyomon!" I gasped, "You can't go outside by yourself—or at all! The humans are incredibly dangerous right now. I mean I think they are—I've been told anyway. Who knows how many of them actually are, but the point still stands that I want you to be safe."

"Oh yes," Biyomon nodded, "I'd like to be safe as well, but wouldn't you act just as rashly? You're hardly one to talk. When we fought Arkadimon the first time it was pretty clear how dangerous he was, and yet you still kept jumping in and doing what you thought was right. You saved Agumon, sure. And you saved Neo the next time you were confronted with him, again, acting rashly without much thought. You saved lives by doing what you thought was best. I think that hiding away my individuality just because some people don't like me is _not_ the right thing. I can go on walks if I want to. Maybe I'll save some lives."

I was left speechless because she was right. I was entirely hypocritical by this point, but I just wanted to keep her safe. "You don't get it," I told her in a harsh whisper so the on looking digimon would return to their meals. "You could die at any second. I don't want that to happen."

"And I do?" Biyomon asked, "I don't want to die as much as you don't want me to die, Sora. I'm not a child. Sure I have a high pitched voice and I get excited about things like the Saturday morning cartoons, and barbeque flavoured bird seed, but that doesn't mean I'm completely brain dead." She said it in a very un-Biyomon like way and I was forced to lean back into the bench I was sitting on. "I love you Sora." She said, her voice softer this time. "More than anything, and more than anyone. But I do love myself as well. I'm careful when I go out."

I was silent still and she was taking calming breathes to make sure she wouldn't get too angry, and I really admired her at the same time as fearing for her safety. But she had a point. She just didn't understand death the way a human did. She didn't understand that she now had the chance to _die_. And never to come back. The only real death she'd ever been confronted with was my own. And guess what? I came back too. She just didn't understand how severe this could really be. "But..." I said slowly, remembering something she told me, "You said you promised not to walk around on Earth again, why is that?"

"Oh," She said, her face falling, "This man was mean to me." I sat up straight and was about to say something but she accurately read my expression, "No! Not like that. Well maybe it was like that, he was mean, but not like violent mean, you know? He just said some mean things to me. He called me a parasite and that I should go home to where I belong because he didn't want me to contaminate his kids which doesn't even make any sense because I'm not a disease, he does realize that, doesn't he?" I leaned forward and hugged her, because even though she wasn't showing it, I knew it had affected her. "And then he called me 'Nisemono'." Biyomon finished quietly in my ear.

We both turned to where the walls were newly cleaned. That word had been painted on the courtyard wall not too long ago. It was what the humans were calling the digimon. It summarized everything they thought of them. That they were fake—that they didn't belong, and that they were abominations. I squeezed her even tighter and she sighed into my shoulder before releasing me. "It's okay though." She told me. "I think I'll just go for a walk though, okay?" I nodded and she looked happy before jumping back, "I'll be back soon, don't worry about me. I love you!" And she was off, flying through the sky.

Without Biyomon I didn't really know what to do, so I thought I'd take a walk around the Temple myself. It had been a while since I'd had a moment to look around, and everything had changed in the past three years. The market place had many new buildings and stands, and the old ones looked bolder and refined. The walls that had been damaged during the fight with Yggdrasil were repaired, but it was painfully obvious which ones they were. The walls that had remained standing looked about a billion years older. I walked up the stairs that annoyingly spiralled around the motel because everything in the Digital World had to be weird, and looked over the top wall, out to the world. I saw straight down into the misty depths of the moat around the Temple, and saw Digitamamon's tea house. I could even see the peak of Taichi's house through the trees.

The world was beautiful and rich. The digimon were friendly and kind to their world. Not like us humans. They didn't—or couldn't, really—litter. Their earth was never spoiled by the simplicities of garbage—plus I was pretty sure some digimon ate garbage. Like Garbagemon—maybe Raremon. Not to judge though. It seemed so obvious to _me_ that the digimon weren't bad. We could learn from them and their ways. We could imitate their caring nature and fix a lot of our own problems.

Instead, when people saw digimon, they saw life forms that were sucking away their own resources as if they were not welcome there. Of course they didn't know the past. They didn't know that digimon also lived on Earth. They were just as welcome there as we were, until the humans screwed that up by sending them all to a world of darkness without any remorse.

"...and he was all 'Your father and I have had a discussion'..." A strange voice interrupted my thoughts from below me. I turned quickly and paced to the other edge of the bridge-like wall. Looking down to the steps leading from the motel door I saw a familiar blonde boy.

"Michael?" I interrupted. He looked up, surprised and smiled to me. He was wearing a light blue jacket and a black t-shirt with Betamon wrapped in one arm. His other hand was busy holding Tatum's hand as she shielded her eyes from the sun as she looked up, trying to make heads or tails of what she was seeing.

"Sora?" Michael asked. "Is that you?"

"Yup," I said brightly, walking around to the stairs. I stopped halfway down where I was level with the two of them who were still on their own set of stairs. "What are you guys doing here?"

Michael looked a bit ashamed and he sighed, "We live here now." He didn't give me much time to react, but I was confused. They had a beautiful home back in New York, why would they choose to stay at the Temple where everything was very expensive. "A man broke into our house and saw the digimon. We thought it would be best if we didn't go back for a while. We don't want to give them any advantages. So we're all here now. Well, except Willis."

"Any news on him?" I asked tentatively.

Michael shook his head and said nothing. "He's been gone for nine days," Tatum filled me in. "Last Thursday he sent Mari a text asking for help. That was almost three full days ago. No one even knows where Mari is anymore, so who knows what's going on."

"Kiyoko and Hideto are gone too." Michael explained, "So I think they're up to something..."

"If they don't get him back in a couple days what would you say to an adventure with Miss Sora Takenouchi?" I asked with a confident grin. "We could bring Birdramon. They may not like digimon, but a giant fire bird could break him out of a silly human prison." Michael seemed to brighten up at my offer which was good. I was of course hoping we wouldn't have to. Nine days was a long time to be missing and if Willis was in danger I wanted him saved as fast as possible, so I was sending all my prayers to Mari and the others. They might need them.

Our conversation was interrupted by a loud wailing sound, and I spun quickly to see a crying digimon. He was using the purple feathers on his wing to wipe his tears, but there were too many to catch. "Well, we'd better get going." Tatum said, "We haven't eaten yet today. It was nice talking to you Sora." Tatum smiled.

"Of course," I said without looking back to them. I was already hurrying down the steps toward Penguinmon where I fell to my knees in front of him on the stone ground. There were a few digimon huddled around him, like Gazimon _and_ Gizamon which was confusing and I was too focused on Penguinmon's tears to pay much attention to which was which. I was hugging the digimon who nervously hugged me back for a while. "What's wrong?" I asked him finally without letting go.

"I-I-I'm sad!" He sobbed.

"I know," I smiled gently to him, finally releasing him. I looked down and tried to be as positive as possible. Takeru was better at things like this. Just being a good person often made others happy around you—just by watching it. But it was hard to be positive and optimistic looking to his horror stricken face. "Why?"

He sniffled loud and long and wiped his eyes again, but when he tried to speak he just broke down again. Gazimon—or Gizamon—the orange fluffy digimon stepped forward and answered for him. "His partner left him. It's hard. D'arcmon has been doing such a good job making us feel loved and stuff, but every now and then it just hits how sad it was. Losing a partner is sad, and I guess Penguinmon couldn't handle it anymore."

Both Gazimon and Gizamon suddenly had a face similar to Penguimon, but without the tears. Their eyes filled instead with broken promises and pain. "I can relate." I said carelessly. "Not to the extent you all have experienced of course." I justified myself. "But being betrayed by a partner... that I can understand." Penguinmon's sobbing softened and he looked up to me. "I've had all kinds of partners... not the same kind of partner. Biyomon is always going to be my partner-partner." That upset them even more. I was stupid to think that telling them I didn't betray my partner would make them happier. "But I once had a partner that picked someone else over me. He was a mean boy, and he decided I wasn't good enough for him."

"He picked a different partner?" The orange digimon asked. "That's horrible."

"It is," I said, "And once my partner betrayed my trust and went against everything we promised just to ease his curiosity. When he came back I was confronted with a decision to make and I chose not to take him back."

"W-why would you do that?" Penguinmon asked.

"Because I loved myself enough to not let someone back after hurting me." I said quietly. "Or perhaps I loved myself _too_ much..."

"I believe that a person cannot make a mistake." A mystical voice said from behind me. I turned to see D'arcmon, carrying a Kunemon around with her. There was a Vegiemon bouncing around by her feet looking fairly upbeat. "They merely take the path they find most inviting. They may have been tricked either by a malicious sense of pride, or by an overwhelming outside force. But no mistake is irreparable."She knelt down and welcomed Penguinmon to hurry to her side. She kissed his forehead and smiled down to him.

Holy. Crap.

D'arcmon was so good at that. How the heck did she just swoop in and cheer them up without any thought. I would definitely have to take a lesson from her. Or like a series of lessons. A class. I'd take a class of how to be perfect.

"Humans understand more than we would like to give them credit for," D'arcmon said gently, "But what they learn, they learn in progression. We digimon never stop learning and growing. We never die. With each new transition in our development we learn more about the world, and more about ourselves. Humans are different. They learn only what their narrow minds allow them to. A human can be unbelievably kind, or they may have intelligence beyond compare, but their minds are easily warped and manipulated. Your partners are all lost in the minds the world around them has created. They think you are not worthy because you are not just like them. In time this can be changed. A narrow mind is only a temporary illness."

"You really think they'll change their minds?" Vegiemon asked.

"Anything is possible." D'arcmon confirmed with a gentle smile. "Now go play." She told them, "We will meet again for classes soon. Enjoy your free time." The digimon all bound off together joyously with giggles. It was actually outstanding how she'd managed to turn their mood around with such ease. She seemed to just have this sense about her. Like she knew everything.

"Hey D'arcmon..." I said taking a chance to see if her advice could help me. She looked to me with an elegant expression and I immediately felt intimidated and pressured to be perfect. "Uh... what do you think about what's going on?" I chickened out. If she was an all knowing goddess, then asking her about my relationship problems seemed petty to say the least.

She thought for a moment and decided on how to respond. "I believe history has a way of repeating itself. We are faced with our greatest and most potent fear time and time again until we conquer it and move forward. While I am unaware of how the human race works as of present day, I can be sure that humans still fear oblivion. They fear death because they do not understand it. And as such, they have come to understand that fear and hatred of anything they cannot grasp is the cultural norm. Anything that has the potential to be a threat will always be feared by the human race as a whole."

"I guess that makes sense..." I said slowly, "I don't understand death really myself. I wouldn't necessarily say that I fear death though."

"Well my dear," D'arcmon said with a beautiful smile. "You are one of the lucky few who have experienced oblivion first hand."

"Well that's only partially true." I said slowly, "It was me in a different timeline."

"There is only one timeline." D'arcmon said, "Every stream of time meets in the middle. One day you were killed by a vicious and unwanted glitch, and in the same day, you were saved and dragged away from that day, and into a future day. The day in which you died melted together into the day you lived. And as such, you have both experienced a magical day in which a saving grace fell upon you, and a day in which you died. You may not remember the latter, but that does not mean it did not happen."

I swallowed the lump in my throat nervously, "It's weird..." I said softly, "You seem to understand death more than any digimon I've ever met."

"Do not be so naive to believe all digimon are the same." D'arcmon warned kindly. "If I did the same for you I can't imagine this conversation would have gone so smoothly."

"Well, no—I didn't mean... I-I..."

"I know what you meant," D'arcmon said, placing her warm hand on my shoulder. "I must be off," She said suddenly, looking off toward where Pinamon and Wanyamon were trying to catch Demidevimon. "Taichi wishes to speak with you, though he may not know this yet."

She strode off without another word and I was left alone to search for Taichi. I couldn't shake the tingling feeling in my shoulder from where D'arcmon had touched me. It seemed so familiar. I was rubbing my shoulder through my yellow cardigan when Taichi's frustrated sounds caught my attention. D'arcmon was right, he definitely looked like he'd need someone to talk to. He was pacing back and forth angrily, his hands in his hair. He was underneath the stairs to the council hallway. Babamon was sitting on the top step and looked startled at the yells Taichi had emitted. She hurried back inside as I took D'arcmon's advice and went to speak with Taichi.

"You alright?" I asked as I got closer. He spun around sharply and sighed when he saw me. "Oh my god." He looked horrible. His hair was in messy clusters all around his head, his eyes were heavily lidded, and his clothes looked like they belonged to a very large, messy child. "What's wrong?"

"I just have a lot on my plate," He groaned.

"Judging by the amount of stains on your shirt I'd say you missed your plate all together." I joked. He relaxed a little and smiled at me before leaning against the wall and sliding into a sitting position. I sat next to him and we were silent for a while as he wiped his sweaty palms on his pant legs.

I didn't know what he needed to say, but I did know he was waiting for me to go away so he could be angry in peace. But I wasn't going anywhere. He needed someone and no one who knew him well enough was brave enough to ask. Not even me, really. But I knew he knew what I wanted. So I waited.

"Sora," Taichi said finally, proving me right. "I did something really bad."

My stomach seized up as I turned to look at him. I was scared, but I had to be strong. Had to keep a brave face for Taichi. "What did you do?"

He took a deep breath and sighed. "I declared war on Earth."

"Taichi!" I gasped, losing all hope of keeping a straight face, "What happened?" I turned my whole body to face him now, propping myself up on my knees, ignoring the sharp pain of the pebbles digging into my bare legs.

"Rida... the Ambassador..." Taichi said, not looking away from his knees. "He wouldn't help. He... And then I said that the digimon help them all the time. And he won't help them. It's not fair. It's not a partnership. I told him that I'm not afraid to go to war with him. He... I think he's okay with the digimon attacks."

It seemed strange to me how I could be bothering myself with my fashion career or whether or not a boy liked me. Besides the fact that I was a grown woman, Taichi was dealing with something far more serious. I wish I'd known this before I wasted all that time fuming about a potential love triangle. "Taichi," I said, placing my hand on his shoulder the way D'arcmon had done to me. I ignored the stickiness and tried to smile comfortingly, "While what you did was rash and probably one of the more dramatic things you've done, I don't think it was entirely in the wrong. I think what you did was justifiable simply because they are in the wrong. You didn't actually declare war—not from what you told me. You only threatened to do so if they don't smarten up." Taichi finally looked up to me and nodded slowly, "I would have done the same thing."

"That's because you're just as rash as I am." He laughed nervously. His voice was shaking, and it was impossible to ignore how scared he was. Even if he _was_ Taichi, who relentlessly concealed his fears and emotions—I knew he was finally scared, and so was I.

"Taichi," I said slowly, "We won't have to start a war. Not if we can stop this hatred before it gets that far."

"How do we do that?" He asked, nervous.

"Well, we can start by making sure we know all digimon are on our side." I said firmly, "Then we'll order them to only do as we say. If that sounds controlling, that's because it is. We need them to not step over the boundaries. We can't give the people any more reasons to hate them. Then if we can figure out what's going on we can use it against the humans."

"You want to delete the humans?" Taichi asked.

"No," I said firmly, "I want to use their minds against them. If we can show the people what's actually happening and make them relate, we can open their minds to what hatred really means. We can really change the world."

"Sora," Taichi said softly, "People will always hate things."

"I know," I said, "I hate those weird gummy candies that taste like filth. Everyone hates something. But hate and racism are different things."

"But we're just two people, Sora." Taichi said, he sounded broken now.

"No, we're not." I told him. "We're not _just_ two people. I'm Sora Takenouchi. I'm the girl who died, and came back to life to start a fashion career." He broke out into a grin suddenly and I couldn't help but smile too, "And you're Taichi Yagami. You're the man that led us in the fight against Devimon and the Dark Masters. Against all four Sovereign, and Dragomon. Against the deadly sin digimon and _nine_ great evils. It was because of _you_ that we defeated Arkadimon, even if you weren't there. And without you we never would have defeated Yggdrasil. Because of you, the entire world is still standing. You're the unofficial king of the Digital World Taichi." He smiled again, "So yeah. We're two people. But we're not _just_ two people. And besides, we're not alone."

I hopped to my feet and reached for his hand. "Where are we going?" He asked, taking my hand.

"We're going to start right now." I told him, "Together you and I are going to find the solution. But to do that, we're going to have to help digimon. And if what we found out last week was any indication, there are a_ lot_ of digimon who need our help."

He looked dramatically out over the wall and he grinned. "We should get Koushiro though." He said suddenly.

"Probably a good plan," I agreed, "We'll need him."

**Next Time on Digimon Adventure 06: **Neo and Allias III work together in finding solutions for all of the problems they're facing, looking for quick fixes, while Koushiro takes the Royal Knights out for spin.


	22. Royal Knight Rises

**Y/N: **Izzy gets to have all the fun these days. His chapter if full of action and suspense just like it was last arc. His are definitely some of the most fun to write.

**U/N: **Neo is the easiest character to write ever. He is so bitter, and it is so fun, and I love it :P I also really like Allias III, so that was cool, and well, I don't despise Koushiro as much as I once did, so his part is fine too :P

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 3: Ignorance**

**Chapter 22: Royal Knight Rises**

_**Neo Saiba:**_

"Mari, I thought it was super important to save Willis before we did anything else?" Hideto asked kind of annoyed. Mari had barged into my house unannounced and dragged me to her apartment early this morning and dragged the three of us outside. Hideto was still in his cranky early morning mood, his arms crossed over his chest as he pouted, following behind. Kiyoko was wearing fuzzy slippers and rubbing his eyes tiredly. Mari looked like she hadn't slept all night, which was probably the case, and she was marching ahead of us excitedly like she was on some sugar rush.

Personally I was fine. I had already been awake and drinking my coffee when Mari had shown up and even now I had my fingers wrapped around the mug keeping warm in the cool morning air.

"Yes, that is important," Mari confirmed, "but this was important too."

"What is?" Hideto asked, still annoyed.

"You'll see!" Mari assured him.

Kiyoko tried to speak but had to clear his throat first, which ultimately sounded rather disgusting. "W-why are the digimon here too though?" He asked, "Isn't that dangerous?" He had a point. Warg, Melga and Tapirmon were in the midst of our group, each of them as tired as Kiyoko or Hideto.

"Well, of course." Mari agreed, "But it's important that they come with us. We can't leave them behind! That would be worse."

I was beginning to wonder if perhaps Mari had gone insane and that was why we were marching across a downtown street this early in the morning. I'd been permitted to leave Dracomon at home. Permitted. Mari was calling all the shots today.

"I don't understand." Kiyoko admitted.

"I don't understand why I wasn't allowed to put pants on..." Hideto muttered to himself. He was wearing black pajama pants instead, and it really wasn't that big a change from what he was normally seen wearing, so I didn't see what the issue really was. No one said much else until Mari finally led us around the corner where there was only one clear destination in mind. "The library?" Hideto asked aloud. "I can't... read."

"Oh we all know of your illiteracy Hideto," I joked, but he elbowed me sharply.

"I meant it's too early." I didn't respond. Of course I knew what he had meant, I was just trying to lighten the mood and wake him up. Mostly because I didn't want to have to put up with how depressed he was going to be all day if his mind didn't wake up quickly.

Mari marched straight up the stone steps to the library and stood in front of the door, looking down to the six of us, a grin on her face. "As you may all remember, Kiyoko found a notice on our door not long ago informing us that our loser land lord was kicking us out, right?" There was a murmur from the others, but I merely sipped my coffee. "Well, three years ago I was left a wonderful gift from a wonderful woman. She left me this library." If I was correct in where she was going with this, I simply did not see why I had to be here. "As well as a small fortune. I've been thinking about shutting the place down from public use, and last night I officially made the plan. I'd been working on the library for a while anyway, and with Miyako's help I've gotten rid of a lot of the books, and even a ton of shelves... and... It's pretty awesome."

"What are you talking about?" Hideto asked, "Are we moving into the library?"

"Come inside!" Mari said excitedly, spinning around and pulling the doors open. She strode through the now open doors and the rest of us were left to exchange looks of confusion and to follow in her wake. "Now," Mari said the moment we'd all entered the hallway. Tapirmon closed the door behind us and we all walked to where Mari was standing by the checkout counter. "It's not much—"

"Not much?" Hideto said loudly, seemingly snapping out of his sleep state. I stepped up to be level with him and instantly understood what he meant. The place was pretty big, that was no surprise. It was a public library after all. The shelves had been pushed against the walls mostly, leaving gaps for the big cathedral-like windows. In the space on the floor where the shelves used to be, there was a large comfortable looking couch, a couple chairs—one that looked oddly familiar—and a large television sitting on a stand. "Mari, this is the coolest thing you've ever done."

"Nah," Mari said, "Remember when I caught twenty five peanuts in a row using only my mouth?"

"That's nothing compared to this." Hideto laughed, rushing over to the couch and leaping toward it. "Let's go save Willis right now and come home and then never leave." He was grinning like a fool, and it was seemingly contagious. Warg and Melga rushed off to the couch with their partner, while Tapirmon floated excitedly to the kitchen area that had always been there. He clearly wanted to ensure that they had food stocked up. Kiyoko was thinking to himself as Mari blushed at Hideto's praise. Personally I thought it was quite a nice change from the dingy apartment Hideto had been living in for what seemed like forever.

But I still failed to find reason in my presence. "I assume I was invited to be in the know?" I asked, "Now that I know where you will all be residing, I should be allowed to leave though, am I right?"

"Huh?" Mari asked, "What are you talking about? You can't leave. You're Neo—that's why I invited you. You're the leader of Alias III. You're our boss, whether we're evil or not. You've been there for all the milestones! You know... the ones where you forced us to do your evil work?"

"It didn't take much convincing." I said bluntly.

"Yes, well..." Mari looked frustrated, "You're not leaving though." Mari then led us all over to where she had kept the bookshelves. She showed us the ones she kept and explained the reasoning behind a couple of them. Including one specific one. The book was old, and looked handmade. She held up the fluorescent pink book and smiled, "This one I made with my Grandmother." She told us. "I forgot all about it, but Miyako and I found it when we cleaned out the upstairs rooms. It's a story about a girl who planted a garden." She laughed nervously and her face turned red. "Kind of dumb." She put it back on the shelf and everyone remained silent. After clearing her throat and turning away she said "Come on upstairs guys, I'll show you your bedrooms!" She was rushing toward the metal stairs off to the left of the entrance hallway suddenly, with everyone hurrying after her. It appeared she left a few desks in the corner where a few new looking computers sat. I followed them upstairs even though I found that it would be entirely uninteresting, and found Kiyoko laying, sprawled out on the carpeted floor of the first room on the right. Tapirmon was laying in the big comfy bed Mari seemed to have purchased.

The upstairs of the library had a metal railing that overlooked the rest of the building, which was odd in my opinion. While it had been a library, anyone could have seen into the bedroom that Mari's grandmother used to sleep in, and it would have been quite invasive really. But now that it was no longer a place of public use, the overlooking ledge just made the place look fancier. Hideto was staring into his own bedroom that appeared to have a bunk-bed for Warg and Melga. Mari was standing, waiting for his reaction, but it didn't appear he'd give her the reaction she was hoping for.

"So this is my room?" Hideto asked, "Like, me and Warg and Melga?"

"Yes," Mari confirmed, "That's what this is."

"Okay," Hideto said slowly, "But where do you sleep?" Mari pointed to the last door, the one in which her grandmother once used. "But that's a different room. We're not sharing anymore?"

"Well, we're adults..." Mari said, confused. "I know we've been sharing a room for a long time, but isn't it great that we don't have to anymore?"

"No..." Hideto muttered, but Mari was already walking off toward her room.

"I've been taking most of the stuff we'd need over the past couple months." She was saying. "I don't know if any of you noticed, but the pots and pans are all here by now, most of your clothes have been here for days, but I brought the rest last night. There are just a few things left to bring over, and we're officially moved in." Mari entered her room finally, then poked her head out one last time. "Meet downstairs at the meeting table in an hour."

Hideto looked excited again. "We have a meeting table." He just couldn't seem to wrap his head around it all. I'd only seen him this excited when it involved the Teenage Wolves, but somehow this was equivalent to that in his mind. Though I could understand how moving away from the apartment that smelled of rotting fish would be exciting, I was a little confused as to how exactly this earned such enthusiasm.

Kiyoko popped out of his room and pointed with a grin to a silver bag in his hand. "I've been looking for this!" He reached inside and pulled out his toothbrush. "I've been so dirty without you," He said to the toothbrush. "I'll be back." He strode toward the stairs, heading to the bathroom when he paused and slowly turned back to Hideto and I. "Do you think Mari dismantled _all_ of Sigma's traps? The ones he left in my bedroom?"

"Probably not." I admitted. I knew for a fact no one had dared open the closet in the corner since Sigma had left us all.

"Serves them right." Hideto shrugged. "They deserve what's coming to them." Kiyoko nodded nervously and walked down the stairs. The moment he was out of sight, Hideto turned to me, "We should go back for those traps."

"Definitely," I agreed. It could be very dangerous for anyone who opened them, and even if their smelly annoying land lord was a total jerk that didn't justify his untimely death just because we were all too chicken to look inside of Sigma's closet. We knew he kept Kiyoko tied up in a closet so who knew what other twisted games he played inside. He was insane.

I decided I'd use this hour to slip out, unnoticed. I didn't really need to be there, and I could think of a lot of other places I'd rather be. Home, for instance. I did like my house. As I was headed down the entry hallway however, I heard a shudder from Kiyoko. He was behind me, heading back to the stairway. "What's wrong?" I asked him. He pointed to the bathroom and I cautiously walked back toward him. "Come on," I said, leading the way. I didn't really want to touch the door as this was once a public space so I used my foot to push the door open. The lights inside were flickering, and the walls were coated in dusty grime. The tiles were mostly pulled up and there was a large hole in the corner of the room.

I could, in a sense, understand Kiyoko's shudder. But didn't all public bathrooms look like this? Disgusting? There was a knock on the front door and Kiyoko was quick to retreat from the bathroom. I followed behind him while Mari popped out from her bedroom. "Oh, no the bathroom isn't ready yet."

"Really?" Kiyoko asked sarcastically. She stuck her tongue out to him and asked him to get the door. I busied myself trying to keep my shoes clean from the horror that was the bathroom so I didn't drag any dust into the clean red carpeted floor of the rest of the building. "Who are you?" Kiyoko's voice came sharply.

There was an unfamiliar voice as a response. "Call me Bengoshi."

"Oh what the hell?" Mari was instantly annoyed, rushing to the stairs.

"I'm simply confused," Bengoshi said as I stepped into the entry hallway where I could finally see his face. He was an unpleasant, unfortunate looking man. I certainly was glad I didn't look like him in any case. "If this is a public space, then why am I not permitted to enter during the hours it is said to be open?"

"Don't answer that!" Mari shouted loudly, rounding the corner, as Kiyoko was pushed gently aside. Bengoshi, whoever he was, and Mari had a silent showdown in which Mari relented and allowed him access into her new home. She turned and walked over to the shining wooden counter. Kiyoko and I shrugged to one another while Bengoshi stepped slowly and menacingly through the hallway. "What do you want?" Mari asked, pulling herself up and over the counter gracefully. Which was surprising considering how short her dress was.

Bengoshi laughed, "It's not what _I_ want my dear," He said as if he and Mari were on very close terms. "Itami and Batsu sent me to speak with you." Those were the names of Mari's parents. I knew that much, but I did _not_ know who this man was.

"Can someone please stop the dramatic game and tell me who this guy is?" Hideto called from above.

Bengoshi looked up to him, raised his eyebrows as if he were unimpressed with Mari's company and let out a long sigh, "I am Bengoshi. The Goutokuji's lawyer."

"Oh," Kiyoko, Hideto and I let out as one. "So you're the Douche bag who is trying to take the one thing Mari has left, huh?" Hideto finished. Mari looked down to where she was twiddling her thumbs nervously, her eyebrows raised. Judging by the look on Hideto's face it hadn't come out the way he had hoped it would have.

"I guess that's me." Bengoshi smirked. He stepped forward and laid the briefcase out on the desk, opening it and pulling out an off-white folder that looked nearly empty. He set it in front of Mari and smiled to her, "This is the information you will need for our next case."

Mari looked up from her thumbs finally and toward Bengoshi. "Next case?"

"Yes," Bengoshi said, "Itami and Batsu would like the inheritance you wrongly received." Mari didn't at all look surprised when he said it, and everything sort of fell into place. It was obvious she'd taken down a wall separating the male and female bathrooms, and she was renovating like an insane person. She was spending her inheritance money because she feared someone would take it from her. She was acting rashly because she was scared she wouldn't have the chance to do so in the future. While I didn't think it was entirely wise, I did understand her motives.

Hideto was storming down the clanking metal stairs now, his arms swinging angrily, "Well too bad." He declared, "This is no longer public property, it is a home, and as one of the residents of that home I retain the rights to tell you when to leave."

"Hideto," Mari silenced him, holding her hand up, "It's alright." She decided, turning her back with a sigh, "He's right. Maybe we should go to court. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I need an outside force to tell me what's right and what's wrong." I narrowed my eyes on her and noticed her cheeks tighten. I couldn't see her face clearly, but she was smiling. In the break in her speaking, Tapirmon appeared at the bottom of the stairs near Hideto, catching Bengoshi's eyes.

"Oh this should be fun." He decided. "I think I've just won my case."

Mari propped up a section of the counter and stepped out into view, now faking sadness. I knew what she looked like when she was sad. We'd all seen it before—and this was not that face. She stepped toward Bengoshi. "Let me show you the way out." Mari had many good qualities, but chivalry was not one of them. Tapirmon, Hideto and Kiyoko joined me as we watched Mari lead the way to the end of the hallway where she busied herself in opening the door. She pulled it open, but only barely, and allowed Bengoshi to step through. "Bye," She said, drawing the word out as she slowly closed the door. When she turned to face us she was unable to contain the wicked grin on her face. "Man," She said slowly, "I definitely wish I did more when we were supposedly the bad guys. Because that felt _good_."

We all stood in silence. "S-sorry?" Hideto asked, "What felt good?"

Mari bit both lips, trying to remain calm but then let out a loud laugh as she pulled a long white key out from behind her back. Hideto and I both dropped our jaws in both amusement and shock. Kiyoko was confused though. He looked to each of us in turn. Hideto rushed forward, not noticing his boyfriend's confusion and he was quickly at Mari's side examining the key. "What's going on?" Kiyoko asked.

I decided to explain it for him since no one else seemed to be able to, "It's the key to the Dark Ocean." I told him. Instantly his jaw dropped as well.

"So she...?" He asked slowly. I nodded and he laughed too. "Pshh!" he waved it off, "He deserved it." Mari and Hideto both laughed along with him, and honestly I didn't feel like I had the right to say otherwise. While I wasn't entirely behind blatant acts of evil anymore, the man was the representative of a few fairly wretched human beings. He did deserve it...

The question was, was this the right thing to do?

I didn't care really.

"While I'm sure you all have many more secret rooms to show me in this marvellous new home you've all come to love," I said, after another sip from my coffee. "I think I shall take this opportunity to take my leave to give you time to plan your entirely illegal break in of the building in New York to rescue Willis. I have more important things to be doing than sitting around and not being involved in your plans."

"Aww," Hideto mocked, "Do I detect some jealousy?"

"No," I said sharply, "I'm merely running out of coffee, and I did not let Dracomon know where I was headed this morning, because a certain blonde haired girl popped in and out of my house without so much as a second thought. And without removing her footwear."

We all looked to where Mari was wearing comically high boots that were laced from toe to knee, "They take like four years to take off," Mari shrugged.

"I'm sure," I smiled politely, "But I really should be going."

"That's alright," Mari said, "We do have a lot of planning to do. We're getting Willis tonight."

"Tonight?" Kiyoko and Hideto asked together. Mari smiled and nodded. "Well let's get to work then!" Hideto grinned. "Kiyoko, do you have the blueprints to the building that you illegally downloaded?"

Kiyoko looked to Mari, unsure if she brought them or not, she nodded. "Yep!" Kiyoko replied with a grin.

Then the three of them were set to work and I was walking out the door without so much as a farewell. I was not kidding when I'd told them I was running low on coffee. I needed at least three cups in the morning, and I needed them to be in a constant flow. And I really should be getting back to Dracomon. He was easily one of the least courageous beings I'd met in my time and I didn't want to know what kinds of mundane things he'd do upon waking up with me not there and not having left a note.

I went to the nearest coffee shop, one where I knew Takeru used to work. I had made a habbit of not coming here as I detested small talk, but now that he'd been fired I could finally taste the coffee and understand why it had been praised by so many people.

"Here, sir," The annoying man behind the counter said. His name tag read "Ai" And he seemed like he would be entirely difficult to work with if the way he began yelling at the girl working alongside him was any indication. When I spun around to leave I saw a familiar face sitting, facing the windows. She was brushing her hair behind her ears and sipping what appeared to be coffee through a straw lazily. She pressed down on her phone to check the time like she was waiting for someone. I'd have gone to say hello, but didn't want to interrupt, so I was heading toward the door when a man entered the building. He was enormous. He looked to be the strongest man I'd ever laid eyes on with the way his muscles threatened to burst from his tanned, rough skin. His sharp jaw was covered with short hair that attempted to conceal the thin scar running down his left cheek. He made eye contact with me with his thin, cold and dark eyes. His eyebrows jerked momentarily in surprise that I did not back down to his stare, but why would I? I did not feel threatened, though even I could see why someone might. He walked right past me and with a glance over my shoulder I saw Evelen look up with a relieved look on her face.

Whoever this man was, he was the person who had been keeping her waiting.

I was quick to leave the coffee shop because quite honestly I didn't care what was going on in there, it was none of my business and I'd promised to let her keep her secrets as long as I could keep my own. But it was painfully obvious that she was up to something.

_**Koushiro Izumi:**_

Focus.

I forced myself to move my fingers over the keyboard in front of me. It wasn't my laptop. It felt wrong, but it was the only computer I could use to do the work I needed. I was searching through the files, trying to find locations. I had to draw them from oblivion. It was difficult. It was frustrating. I developed a migraine the size of the Digital World, but I continued to pursue my goal. I needed this information. It was crucial that I find it. When I did, we'd have another piece to the puzzle. We'd be able to start to put the pieces together. To try and form the bigger picture.

Focus.

But I couldn't. My attention was constantly being pulled away from the screen in front of me. The sleek, black PC with an obnoxiously large monitor—the size of a television—and a far bigger processor than my Pineapple laptop could handle. It was one of the newest models available, and Taichi had bought eight for the laboratory in the Temple basement. We were in possession of the highest quality equipment available on Earth. It was nice. I quite enjoyed it on a typical day. But today was anything but typical. The entire research team was present to start. Tatum wasn't in the room at that very moment—she had slipped off for a lunch date with Michael—but she would be back before too long. The floor was far cleaner than usual, which was another nice change. We also had an audience. This was the cause of my inner turmoil.

Leomon and Ogremon were nice additions to our otherwise dull day. They were contributing positive conversation and witty banter, lightening the mood of our dreary team. We were all exhausted, _tired_ of getting absolutely nowhere with our research. We needed answers. I wanted to find them. I _always_ found them. It was my job. It was the one way I was able to contribute to the digidestined when no one else could. I _liked_ being the only person qualified to do the job. What I didn't like, was being distracted by the continuous "hem, hem" of an obnoxious, elderly hag.

Focus.

I sighed in annoyance as Babamon coughed daintily once again. "Hem, hem." She seemed to be under the impression that she was welcome in our lab—_my_ lab. She wasn't. She was a distraction that was getting under all of our skin and causing our work to slow to a snail's pace. I wanted answers _more_ than she did. I looked away from my screen, knowing that it was pointless to continue before asking her just_ what_ "her royal highness" needed.

"What now?" I demanded tiredly.

"I want a progress report," she said.

"Nothing's changed from ten minutes ago actually," I informed her. "And even then it hadn't changed from the last time you'd asked."

"Well," Babamon gasped. "There's no need to be so rude."

"Of course not," I muttered sarcastically.

Shuu snorted, causing Babamon to glare at him, and he lowered his head, focussing more energy onto the computer, not wanting to be her next target. He'd been assigned a Cherrymon, and was having even less luck than myself. Haruhiko was at the seat next to him, searching for any signs of a Hippogriffomon. I'd never met that digimon in all the time I'd been in the Digital World, and it pained me to know I never would now. I would never learn the complexities of its daily life, never see it in action, see it soar through the sky high above me. None of us would. And we'd never get the chance to face off against Cherrymon as he works towards his dream of conquering the Digital World using a surprisingly brilliant and thorough understanding of the human psyche. We'd never hear Divermon's excited updates on the events and occurrences within the ocean's depth.

And that wasn't even to mention the digimon Tatum and Benjamin had been assigned to, or the digimon who's termination location had already been pinpointed, such as Etemon.

Focus.

Those of us that were searching for the final locations of digimon were lining the wall. We could have spread out, giving ourselves some semblance of privacy, but we didn't need to. There were eight computer stations, and I had seated myself third from the end. I was closer to the door of the whole laboratory this way. I could escape quite easily if Babamon managed to dig her claws into my nerves any further. Haruhiko had the same idea, I supposed, since he chose the station pressed against the wall. It was usually the station we clamored to avoid, since it was closed in, and offered far less elbow room than all others. He was oddly contented to be there today though. Shuu was between us, spreading papers all across his desk top. He had three different coloured, finely tipped markers without lids in front of him. Any time he thought of something—no matter how little relevance to the problem at hand—he jotted it down in one of the outrageous colours on a random piece of paper. I couldn't fathom what his organization method actually _was_, but he knew what he was doing, so I left him at it. My own desk wasn't as clean as I preferred it to be. There were three different glasses and a mug in front of me. Tentomon was continually fetching me beverages, despite the fact that I never requested them. He was always sure to keep me hydrated. I was hopeless at doing so without him. I'd had orange juice, water, coffee and a strange blend of fruits and vegetables that I assumed was his attempt at a smoothie. It tasted similar to something Mrs Yagami had given me before, and was surprisingly enjoyable, no matter how atrocious it smelled.

The station to my right was Tatum's. It was empty. Not just because Tatum wasn't there to fill the seat, but because Tatum was meticulous when it came to her work station. No paper, no glasses, no food. She left beverages on her personal lab table, along with her binder and laptop. There was a single notebook that she kept flawless notes in—her handwriting was impeccable, and it was cursive, not printing. She also only wrote in English, which made it easier to appreciate the quality of the writing, as I really had to focus to know what she'd actually written. The English language confused me. There were so many rules that contradicted themselves, and so many words that meant the same thing. I much preferred the boxy symbols and dots that created the Digital language used in the Digital World. It was easy, to the point, beautiful in its simplicity. It really called to me.

That wasn't to say that I _couldn't_ read English. It was an ability I _did_ possess. It simply wasn't something I enjoyed doing, because it took more time than reading in plain old Japanese or the digital language. I didn't like reading slowly. It made me feel inadequate.

Benjamin was at the station to Tatum's right, the only one of us that was able to truly focus despite Babamon and MetalLifeKuwagamon's presence. He was hunched over, fingers flying over the keyboard as he imputed code after code, searching endlessly. The muscles in his shoulder were tense, getting worse with every hour that ticked by. It wasn't healthy. He needed a break, but when Tatum had pointed this fact out to him, he'd nearly bitten her head off. This was his job. He was created solely to keep the Digital World safe. The digidestined answered the call when bid to do so, but Benjamin, Gennai and their brothers were created only for that purpose. And he was angry at himself, and the situation, because he couldn't do what he was meant to. He couldn't keep the world safe, or the digimon. He couldn't ensure that things were running smoothly as they ought to, because he couldn't figure out _how_ the enemy was doing what they were doing.

I wished I could hand him the answers. I had been so close to getting them. If only Sora hadn't dragged me away. The answers were there, on that lab table in the enemy's base. They had destroyed Chicchimon using it. I knew it was the same method. Because I'd run tests. Chicchimon's file was deleted the same way all the others had been, and knowing where he'd been destroyed helped me develop an algorithm that was meant to assist in locating all other termination spots. I'd found Etemon's purely by accident. But I had found it. Knowing _two_ locations helped form a pattern. It was far from perfect. The data was obscure at best. But I knew that even on my computer, a deleted file left signs of its presence, even when you'd removed it from the recycle bin. I couldn't reboot their files, but I could find the signs. It had worked quite easily for a few smaller digimon—digimon who wouldn't have been able to put up a fight. Mostly in-training and baby digimon. There was a single rookie among them. But they hadn't reached the point where they'd been ready to test on larger digimon. I knew where they had all been deleted: the same lab as Chicchimon. The lab no longer existed in that location though, so knowing this didn't help find the answers we needed.

But it was still nice to _know_.

There were twenty-nine deleted digimon, and we knew where Etemon, Chicchimon and five others had been. That left twenty-two unsolved cases.

But if I could find Divermon...

"I want a progress report!" Babamon announced yet again. I spun around on my chair to look at her, suddenly more angry than I'd ever been at a digimon before. And that was saying something, with all the Great Evil's we'd fought.

"Nothing's changed!" I roared at her. She backed away momentarily, before huffing and crossing her tiny, little arms.

"No need to be so touchy," she said, having the audacity to pout about it.

"How can you work down here?" MetalLifeKuwagamon asked loudly. I almost shouted at him too, before I realized he was talking to Centarumon, Andromon and Tentomon. I let out a long breath, hoping to relieve myself of some of my building anger.

Centarumon was leaning over a table, flipping through—as Taichi puts it—his "Mystical Book with All the Answers". He'd searched it cover to cover time and again, always coming up short. There was a lot of good, solid information in that book, but it couldn't help us. The only humans it mentions at all are the digidestined, and we already knew everything we needed to know about ourselves.

No.

That wasn't true. We still didn't have an identity for Trust. It would only be a matter of time, however, before we knew that as well.

The point was, the book couldn't help us. Centarumon was at a loss though, as to what to do without it. He always turned to his book in times of crisis. And so he continued to read it, even though it couldn't help us.

Though from the looks of things, he was merely turning the pages at varying intervals. He was talking with Leomon and Ogremon. Andromon had joined them, once he'd programmed his computer to start a search for whichever digimon he'd assigned himself. I knew that I could theoretically leave my station and wander over to my own personal lab desk, but I wasn't willing to part with it. I could advance the search by improving the algorithm. I knew I could. And I _would_, if Babamon would just stop irritating me.

Tentomon was sitting on top of Centarumon's desk. It looked like he was _actually_ trying to read the book, while the others just talked. MetalLifeKuwagamon was leaning against Andromon's desk and was talking with them. Babamon was sitting on Haruhiko's desk right behind me, just to tick me off. She _had_ to know she was entirely unwelcome. I wasn't exactly being subtle in my anger. Subtle was not something that actually came easy to me. I was blunt. Rudely so, most of the time. I had all but told her to leave. Why hadn't she gotten the message yet?

"It's actually quite peaceful," Centarumon told MetalLifeKuwagamon in answer to his question. "Guests are quite infrequent. Most of us enjoy the quiet atmosphere, and produce more results because of it."

"That's not what I mean," MetalLifeKuwagamon insisted. "I can't stand it down here. My exoskeleton crawls just being in here. I've got the heebie-jeebies. And I swear I can hear screaming."

"That is highly irregular," Andromon pointed out. "Perhaps you are having a negative psychological reaction to the current goings on around the Digital World. Would you permit us to do some tests? We could probably clear that problem right up for you."

"I suppose you don't all _see_ shadows crawling around either," MetalLifeKuwagamon said sulkily. "Because I swear I've seen ten of them so far."

"You're being illogical," Tentomon buzzed. "There are no shadows crawling, as shadows cannot, by definition, do so. The only shadows present are the ones created by the harsh lighting fixated to the ceiling."

"There are other shadows," I reminded Tentomon. "The remnants of the souls of bad people that fled the gates of the Dark Ocean to do the bidding of both the King of Dark Ocean and Sigma who were deemed 'Shadows' for lack of a better term. We fought them on multiple occasions."

"They were all either secured in the Dark Ocean or purified by Norn," Tentomon dismissed. "It's illogical to assume they could be here now, for that very reason."

"I still think he's referring to them on a purely psychological level," Andromon insisted.

"I would have to concur," Centarumon agreed. "I do believe there is more to his questions than what can be perceived at face value."

"Stop analyzing me!" MetalLifeKuwagamon shouted. "I can't stand it in here. How can you be so calm all the time? I just want to get out of here."

"Oh," I said, an epiphany striking me. "He's referring to the original purpose of this laboratory. It's actually quite understandable for him to be reacting in such a way. It _did_ put me off at first. This room was created for the sole purpose of housing the Shadows that were torturing the Fairy Queen representative of the Digital World: Spring. By saying he's seeing crawling shadows and hearing screams, he is implying that he is greatly affected by the original purpose and is having difficulty adapting to the new, _positive_, purpose we've allotted this space."

"Ah," Tentomon, Andromon and Centarumon said as understanding struck. I loved being around these guys. They all worked the way I did, they _spoke_ the way I did. They understood me in a way no others could, and I never once had to 'dumb down' my ideas for them.

"Yes," MetalLifeKuwagamon said. "I don't like it."

"Then leave," Benjamin suggested. "Maybe then I could get some work done."

"Excuse you," Babamon said affronted. "He's here on my request."

"You weren't invited either," I pointed out, narrowing my eyes at her.

"I don't _need_ to be invited. I'm an integral part of the Digital Council, and I will do as I see fit. Even if that means standing here, watching over you all to ensure you're doing what you are _paid_ to be doing!" she declared.

"We're not being paid at all," I said, rolling my eyes.

And it was true. We used to get biweekly pay cheques, but those were a thing of the past. When the governments of Earth stopped contacting Taichi, the money they threw his way ceased as well. At first, Taichi insisted it was temporary, but I knew better. And if Taichi's gradually deteriorating appearance was any indication, he knew it now as well. I wasn't too fussed. Our salary was far too much for the work we were doing. Not to say I didn't appreciate it, there was always something I could use it for—most recently I paid off Mimi's mortgage so that the bank could not under any circumstances try to take the house from her if they discovered that two digimon resided within it. I could go for an extended period of time without getting paid. It wouldn't bother me. I was doing what I loved to do. I just wondered when Taichi would get around to sharing the information with his other employees.

"And you shouldn't be!" Babamon announced. "For all the success you've been having. You can't tell me anything. I expected more from you, as the digidestined of knowledge. I expected more from all of you!"

A short time ago, I thought perhaps I was judging Babamon too harshly; villainizing her for her offhanded remark about Gennai's "extended leave of absence". That comment ruined her standing in my opinion. I used to think quite highly of her, as she had been in the Digital World since its very creation. But at her flippant dismissal of Gennai's death, as if he could have prevented it. And I suppose he could have, but I wouldn't dismiss his sacrifice. He gave Iori a second chance at life. He was my idol. I looked to him for guidance, for answers. I modeled myself after him for so many years. I wanted to be just like him. And anyone that could be so harsh to him after he'd already died? I didn't want anything to do with them.

Babamon was the only one that currently fit that bill, therefore I had no use for her. Her comment was inappropriate and I could not see how she could possibly redeem herself from it. If that made me petty...I didn't care.

Mimi might have once fallen into that category, but I knew she was heartbroken at his death. She was more deeply affected than even I was, because I'd internalized all of my feelings of anguish and grief. I'd locked them up so tightly within myself that they'd only just now begun to seep out of their hold. I was struggling to grieve for my hero, and the world was falling to pieces around me. I couldn't focus the energy needed on that task because I was constantly being given new tasks to complete, and I just needed to talk to Mimi about it, because she'd understand. She _still_ grieved for him years later, because she was so caring, and I knew she wouldn't think it odd that I was just now getting to that same place emotionally. But I couldn't talk to her. I barely saw her anymore. I was always locked—figuratively of course—in this lab, staring at one of the eight screens, searching _desperately_ for any sign of any digimon. And I was going to lose my mind if something didn't give and grant me a sort reprieve. Just a few hours. That's all I needed. But I couldn't afford to take them. Not when tensions were running high and everyone was so scared. I couldn't selfishly take that time knowing that whenever I closed my eyes I would see Chicchimon's petrified face as he slowly disintegrated into nothing.

I wasn't a typically emotional person, but that didn't imply that I was heartless. And I was not selfish in that regard. I would dedicate the rest of my life to this cause, without pay, if I could only wipe that fear from their eyes.

"Speaking of expectations," Ogremon said. "Piximon sent word, and he'd like to know what is expected of him. He has agreed to open his home up as a sanctuary, even going so far as to suggest which type of digimon to send his way, but he wants to know specifics. How long, how many. Those types of things."

"I will respond to him," Andromon offered, glancing at his screen, noting that it was still processing the algorithm.

"Which digimon has he asked for?" Centarumon asked.

"The larger digimon actually," Leomon said. "He has suggested that they send the larger, more ferocious digimon his way. He realizes that there will be humans in our safe house, and wishes to help make it safer for them."

"He's also strong enough to take care of any fights that break out between them," Ogremon added.

"I don't see why we're going to such great lengths to ensure the humans' comfort when it's not _them_ that are under attack," Babamon said. "We could fit far more digimon if we don't account for all of you." She said this whilst glaring in my direction. "It's _your_ kind that's trying to destroy us after all."

"And it's my kind that's saved you time and time again," I said. "It's simple, really. Without us you wouldn't be here at all, let alone _have_ a safe house to hide in. Neo and Sigma created it. Both using human hands and intelligence to do so. Take time to process that."

"Without human kind, we digimon would be in our home world right now, I'll have you know!" Babamon shot back, silencing the room.

Ping!

I turned quickly and looked at my screen. I'd done it. Evidently the algorithm worked.

"Anyway," Ogremon said firmly, choosing to ignore Babamon's outbursts as so many of us did nowadays. "Piximon is working diligently to clean and prepare his home for whatever digimon we end up sending his way."

"It's so nice of him," MetalLifeKuwagamon said. "He's doing his part to ensure that the digimon live to see tomorrow. It's empowering, isn't it? An inspiration. It really makes me want to get out there and do more to help."

Good, I thought. He'd been slacking off just as Babamon had. He'd been following her example, allying with her when he should have been out doing what he was chosen to do. He represented a large part of the digimon population—the bug population. I was not biased toward them, but they were a very important part of the world. The decisions that he made were no longer just about him. They were about thousands of digimon that depended on him to make the right choices, to make _smart_ decisions. Allying himself with a bitter, angry, old digimon wasn't smart. It just made everyone else turn their backs on him. It made us doubt his dedication to the Digital World. It also made him look like an ass. It was a no-win situation for him. I couldn't understand why he chose the decision he did when the outcome was far from positive.

But I didn't care to delve into that problem. Not when I now knew where Divermon had been when he was deleted. I thought about simply keeping the information to myself, out of spite for Babamon, but decided that it would be important for several others—MetalLifeKuwagamon especially—to _know_. We'd all interacted with Divermon the most of the twenty-nine known deletions. He was the digimon in the list that made this seem _real_ to the majority of them—Chicchimon was too glaring of a memory for it to be the case for me.

But the glass door opened and Taichi stormed inside followed quickly by Sora. All thoughts of sharing my news evacuated my brain at the look on their faces. They had their game face on. It was a welcome surprise really. It meant that we were finally going to be _doing_ something—other than research. Taichi looked like a mess. His hair was still sticking up in every direction, he had the most unappealing shirt on that I'd ever seen, and I didn't want to ask what caused any of the stains. His shirt was untucked, and his tie was missing. There were large, black bags under his eyes, but he was determined. He didn't look lost anymore, and that was a good sign. Sora stood in sharp contrast to him, just the sight of her bright, sunny cardigan gave me a boost in morale. Her clothes were all tasteful and stylish as always, and_ her_ hair didn't remind me of a bird's nest. She had the same determined look in her eyes though, and I let her speak.

"Koushiro, we need you to come with us," she said.

"Can I inquire as to where we're going?" I asked slowly.

"We're going on a mission," Taichi said firmly. "It'll be dangerous, but it's important. We're going to save the digimon."

"I thought you were doing that already?" Babamon drawled.

"Shut your face," Taichi said warmly with a smile.

"The main problem is that there are DWD activists here in the Digital World and that's not okay. I'd go so far as to call these guys their soldiers even," Sora explained. "If the DWD doesn't want digimon on Earth, that's fine—well it's not, but whatever. The point is, they're getting rid of the digimon that are "invading their home" so we just need to make sure that there's no more DWD in the DW, you know?"

"No," I said simply. "That sounds like a string of slang—"

"Okay, I just wanted it to sound cool," Sora said. "Because it is cool. The point is, we're getting the human invaders out. They think we're going to take this sitting down, because that's what we've been doing. So we just have to stop doing that."

"We know there's at least one base in the Digital World," Taichi continued.

"And we know they send out foot soldiers to collect digimon that they can then use to fine tune their latest projects," I said, trying to put it as delicately as I could in a room filled with digimon. Shuu and Haruhiko abandoned all pretenses of working and turned to dedicate their attention to the new topic. Benjamin though was determined to stay focused and for all I could tell, he wasn't even _hearing_ the conversation.

"What are you suggesting we do?" MetalLifeKuwagamon asked.

"We're going to spread out," Taichi said. "Canvas the Digital World for these foot soldiers. We're gonna be like the digital version of Robin Hood. And we're gonna take these people down. We're gonna focus on the soldiers, because all searches for their home base have come up empty. But their soldiers can't disappear like their ship. They're out there. And we're gonna find them. Maybe if we could _talk_ to one, we'd have the information we need to actually improve our current situation."

"You should have already been doing all of this," Babamon snapped.

"You could have been doing it too," Taichi pointed out, still too high on the idea of having a mission to let her effect him. "And you haven't been, so you can shut your big, fat trap."

"I think that the Council members that aren't needed one hundred percent for any of the current missions should head over to the Coliseum," Sora suggested. "To see how that's progressing."

"Leomon and Ogremon, you guys could be a big help over there," Taichi said. "We've got Takeru over there leading a team of rookies in the clean up. Babamon, you've proved to be of no use whatsoever, so I guess you'll be heading over there too. And just so you know, _Takeru_ is calling the shots over there, so don't you dare get it into your not-so-pretty little head that you'll be shouting orders out that everyone'll be expected to follow down to the letter. If Takeru tells you to do something, you do it. No questions asked. Is that understood?"

"I don't see why _I_ have to bow down to him," Babamon said angrily. "He's not nearly as old as I am. I've been around—"

"Since the Digital World was created," Taichi finished for her. "I know. So you'd think, having been alive all that time, you'd care more for the well being of the digimon, and actively try to fight for your home. But you're not doing that. So now you've been delegated to Takeru's cleaning team. Hopefully you'll be a better maid than you are a council member."

She sucked in a deep breath, ready to start yelling at Taichi, no doubt, but Taichi wouldn't let her talk.

"I'm in charge of the digidestined," Taichi told her firmly. "I know we say Daisuke's the leader, because he's got the goggles, but they look to me for orders. Neo is one of the digidestined, and he offered _me_ the use of the Coliseum—which is _his_—to use as I saw fit. I'm using it to save digimon. So do your part. Because I want you to be on the inside before things get bad. You're so proud of the fact that you've been alive all this time. So stay that way. I don't like you. But I don't want you dead. So get your lazy butt over to the Coliseum and pull your weight. We're prepping it to house as many digimon as we can cram in there. So get it ready for them! That's an order."

"I'll go," MetalLifeKuwagamon offered. "I shall assist in whichever way this Takeru sees fit."

"MetalLifeKuwagamon!" Babamon gasped. "You're so willing to be a slave?"

"Yes," MetalLifeKuwagamon said. "That is what we all are. We're a slave to the digimon race, we do what needs to be done for them. And I have been failing at that. I know I have. I have a lot of time to make up for. If cleaning the walls of a Coliseum is what I must do to reconcile, then that is what I will do. But what of the Knights? Would they not be a helpful addition to the clean-up efforts?"

"Probably," Taichi admitted. "But they're gonna be busy for a little while yet. They're gonna come with us."

Seeing that she was now alone in her view, Babamon submitted—angrily but a total submission. Leomon excused himself, Ogremon, MetalLifeKuwagamon and Babamon, leading them out of the lab—Babamon grudgingly—and then they were gone. Shuu, Haruhiko, Centarumon, Tentomon, Andromon and I looked to Taichi and Sora expectedly.

"Well, Taichi," Sora prompted. "What do we do first?"

"Well, Shuu, Haruhiko and Benjamin are going to stay here and keep up the good work. Without Babamon around you'll probably get more done," he said with a grin. Haruhiko and Shuu laughed, but again Benjamin made no response. I honestly didn't think he realized anything was happening around him.

"I'll join them," Tentomon said. I nearly let out a sigh of relief. I didn't want Tentomon to be out there. I needed to know that he was here, that he was safe, and that he was contributing his talents in the best possible way. Flying around and beating up humans wasn't his forte, but research, algorithms, computers? He loved those.

"I was gonna suggest that actually," Taichi said with a grin. "Awesome. 'Kay, so we're gonna go grab the other Knights, and we're gonna head out. I know it doesn't sound like an exciting way to spend the afternoon, but we're kinda going to wander around aimlessly, waiting to find the bad guys."

"Sounds like a riveting good time," I said sarcastically, though I pulled myself to my feet regardless. We said our goodbyes to those staying behind, giving Tentomon instructions to share the new mission plans with Tatum whenever she finished eating lunch. Taichi sent the rest of us outside while he stuck his head into the training grounds. We didn't wait long, however, as Taichi started decending the stairs two minutes after we'd done the same. He led a procession of digimon. Dorumon was in the lead, followed by Wizardmon and Kotemon—both of whom were more serious about the task, as Dorumon was nearly bouncing with excitement. I thought that would be the end of the parade, but two giggling digimon followed closely behind Kotemon, taking turns at jumping down the steps. Terriermon and Lopmon.

"They're coming too?" Sora asked hesitantly. I knew her mind was going to Willis—who was still missing and no one could give us a straight answer as to whether there was a plan to deal with that or not—and how he would feel when he found out Taichi, Sora and I let his digimon partners follow us on a quest to hunt down the humans capable of deleting digimon. I would've done everything in my power to convince Tentomon that he didn't want to come, had he not made that decision already. And I _knew_ Sora was worried sick about Biyomon—who had apparently headed out for a walk—and was in a rush to leave before she got back so she couldn't invite herself along on this mission. Taichi's own partner was at the Coliseum with Takeru, so that wasn't an issue. It simply didn't sit well with me that we were taking another digidestined's partners without asking.

"They wanted to come," Taichi said. "And they've got minds of their own, so I couldn't exactly refuse."

"That's right, we do," Terriermon said with a firm nod.

"We're big digimon," Lopmon said. "We can make our own choices. Like deciding what to eat or what movie to watch."

"Or going off on an adventure when Willis isn't here to help," Terriermon said confidently. "This is gonna be so much fun!"

"Willis is gonna be so mad that he missed this," Lopmon agreed. "We'll have to tell him all about it."

"You bet you will," Sora said encouragingly. I knew she was just as worried as the rest of us were about Willis though. I could see that her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. But I also knew that there was no force in the Digital World that could get her to tell Terriermon and Lopmon that there was a chance they wouldn't be able to see Willis again. Ever.

"Okay, then let's head out!" Taichi shouted enthusiastically.

We didn't make it out of the courtyard though before we found yet another addition to our party: Veemon. He begged us to let him come along, and since he was a part of the Knights, and all the other Knights were invited, we couldn't exactly exclude him. So Sora, Taichi and I were in the midst of eight digimon. I found that we quickly and naturally separated into smaller groups as we walked. Centarumon, Andromon and I continued our work, discussing Centarumon's book, and what little he was able to gleam from it. Andromon fretted about his computer, and how he left the search going, without asking anyone to keep an eye on it. I assured him that Tentomon would be keeping an eye out.

Taichi was walking with Dorumon and Veemon, both of whom were trying to convince Taichi they were the better leader. Taichi looked both frustrated and amused all at once. I knew that Agumon would always have his vote. Neither digimon seemed bothered by the direness of the situation around them, both just thrilled to have an excuse to leave the Temple. I knew Dorumon had been waiting since the day he signed on to be a Knight to go on a real mission like this. He didn't know yet that missions weren't all fun and games. He was more or less excited by the _idea_ of it. Veemon on the other hand knew all of this. He just didn't want to be stuck running the noodle stand in the marketplace. He'd spent so many hours in the past few months standing behind the small booth, serving noodles to Council members and visiting digimon. He enjoyed it at first, when it had been fun. But now it was the only source of income for his entire family, and he took his duty seriously. It was running him down, however, and I was glad that he'd have an excuse to get some exercise, even if we didn't end up finding what we were looking for.

Sora walked with Terriermon and Lopmon, allowing them to regale her with stories of growing up with Willis, all the shenanigans they got into, funny anecdotes about learning to do all of Willis' chores, and how hard it was when they were just little baby in-training digimon, but how they got better at it, and when they got _really_ good, they digivolved for the first time. Sora recounted several stories of her own about Biyomon, and how they'd grown as partners since they met sixteen years ago. That brought me to a halt. It _had_ been sixteen years. The most difficult and trying sixteen years of my life. But also the most wonderful.

Kotemon and Wizardmon were quite silent. Wizardmon was constantly looking around him in wonder, as if the very vegetation was beautiful to him, and he wanted to savour ever moment. He _had_ already died in a permanent way once. It was a mere fluke that he'd managed to be recycled at all. Kotemon had also experienced a death in a way most digimon didn't. His partner died not quite three years after they'd met. He _understood_. He wasn't enjoying the scenery in the way his companion was however. He was turning his head all around him, constantly on the lookout, continuously on guard.

"I'm bored!" Dorumon announced loudly. "This is taking _so long_!"

"Sorry, but I can't do anything about that," Taichi told him with a laugh. "I warned you it might get boring."

"I know," he moaned. "But it should be more fun than this. We should digivolve at least. You know, to make sure we're ready in case something happens. That's a good idea. Right?"

"I guess," Taichi relented. It didn't sit right with me, but I couldn't come up with any logical reasons to counter his suggestion, so I kept my mouth shut. Sora didn't protest either, and I dismissed my worry. She was a good judge. If she didn't have a problem with it, then I should accept that I was making a mountain out of a molehill.

"Alright!" Dorumon cheered, and Terriermon and Lopmon joined him with a few enthusiastic hoots of their own.

"**Wizardmon warp digivolve to... Dynasmon!**"

"**Centarumon warp digivolve to... Kentaurosmon!**"

"**Andromon warp digivolve to... Craniamon!**"

"**Dorumon warp digivolve to... Alphamon!**"

"**Kotemon warp digivolve to... Crusadermon!**"

"**Terriermon digivolve to... Gargomon!**"

"**Lopmon digivolve to...Turuiemon!**"

"**Gargomon digivolve to... Rapidmon!**"

"**Turuiemon digivolve to... Antylamon!**"

"**Rapidmon digivolve to... MegaGargomon!**"

"**Antylamon digivolve to... Cherubimon!**"

"**MegaGargomon digivolve to...**"

"**Cherubimon digivolve to...**"

"**Leopardmon!**"

"I wish Daisuke was here," Veemon grumbled looking enviously at Alphamon. I supposed it didn't help his arguments about being a better leader if he couldn't digivolve on his own like the rest of the present Knights could. He wasn't the only Knight that couldn't. Warg and Melga needed Hideto to become Omnimon, and Dracomon needed Neo to become Examon as well. The only reason that Terriermon and Lopmon could become Leopardmon at all was due to the simple fact that Willis did not need to—and physically _could not_—portray destiny and miracles. Those crests were in the air around us no matter which world we were currently in. Therefore Terriermon and Lopmon could do as they pleased without Willis' help. That didn't make him unnecessary—we all wished for his safe return, none more than Terriermon and Lopmon—merely a bonus. However, digivolution could only occur by use of a digivice itself. I was sure Willis would be comforted by the glow of the evolution, knowing his partners were still out there. Wherever he was of course.

"Check me out!" Alphamon said, flexing his arms mockingly at Veemon, who rolled his eyes and looked away. The sunlight glinted off of the golden accents of Alphamon's black armor, the slight breeze ruffling his tattering cape. He stretched his arms high into the air as if preparing for a fight. "It's good to stretch out all these muscles."

"Look at us!" Leopardmon cheered, bouncing around Alphamon. The red sash tied around his waist was fluttering, and the puff-ball that made up his tail was flinging about wildly. He flapped the wings on his shoulders, and did a big stretch of his own—more languid though, catlike, opposed to Alphamon's arrogance.

Kentaurosmon was getting used to his extra pair of legs, stomping his black hooves on the ground, causing the golden rings on his ankles to jingle. The brilliant red of his armor blazed brightly in the sun, and he ruffled his mane as it got caught on his own pair of wings—though his were large and golden, catching the sunlight as effectively as his armor did. Craniamon lifted his double headed spear into the air, testing its balance with one hand, and adjusting the loin cloth that the wind displaced. His grey and purple armor made his eyes stand out, piercing and blood red, matching the morbid theme of his loin cloth, where a skull was featured front and centre. Crusadermon was still searching the surrounding area, determined to never be caught off guard. His armor—a somewhat appealing combination of both salmon and thulian pinks and a brilliant gold—nearly blinded me from where he stood direction in the sun's path. He clutched his Pile Bunker—a golden weapon that worked similarly to a gun—and unconsciously fingered one of the golden body-sashes that protruded from his armor. They would form into blades if he bid them too. Dynasmon was perhaps the most blinding of the lot of them, with his white, light blue and gold armor. His violet wings were ripped and torn, and in the palm of his right hand there was a crimson dome that I knew he could use to channel the power of the Ten Legendary Warriors—who I learned were the original sources of the elemental abilities of all digimon from some ruins I translated, and then proceeded to write the interesting histories into one of my textbooks found in the laboratory bookshelves.

Interestingly enough, the original Digidestined were challenged by a separate Dynasmon and Crusadermon in their time.

Veemon remained rather small and far from frightening, I had to admit that the Knights were an impressive set of digimon to look at. I still remained partial to Tentomon and his subsequent evolutions, but that couldn't be helped. He was my partner, and I was biased towards him.

"Okay!" Alphamon said happily. "Let's keep looking."

But we didn't get far, maybe only twenty feet, before we were ambushed. There had to be two dozen of them, all human, all dressed from head to toe in black clothing. I knew them. I'd faced off against them once before—even punched one in the face in an act of violence that was against my typically passive tendencies. They were DWD. And they were dangerous. But how did they know where we were? We'd been out searching for them, but we hadn't seen heads or tail of them. Why were they here _now_? What had changed? Were we being too loud, and drew their attention? No. We hadn't been speaking any louder than before, and Kotemon—now Crusadermon—would have noticed them approaching.

There had to be _something_ that drew them to us.

"Digivolution," I muttered dropping to the ground just in time to have one of the DWD soldiers trip over me, crashing to the ground in front of me. "We can't digivolve anymore."

"What?" Taichi yelled.

"I'll tell you later!" I shouted. We had to fight out way out of this first.

"We have to send the digimon back!" Sora ordered us. She was right. They were the very thing that drew the enemy to us. They had to have developed some sort of technology that zeroed in on the signal emitted during a digivolution. It would have to be a complex machine, and it was probably _beautiful_. But it was also deadly, because digimon depended on their digivolutions to protect themselves. The digidestined's digimon did so especially. With the exception of Gatomon, none of them could hold even the champion level indefinitely.

Unfortunately, in order to send the digimon back to the safety of the Temple, we'd have to fend off the people in black, and I didn't figure asking nicely would work.

"Scarlet Tempest!" Crusadermon shouted, pointing his Pile Bunker at the nearest two humans and shooting at their feet. They fell backwards, slamming onto the ground, and Kentaurosmon gave them both a swift kick as he shot his own "Inferno Blast" attack, shooting incandescent arrows of light from Muspellsheimr, his crossbow, at the feet of three other enemies.

"Vee Headbutt!" Veemon called out, taking a running start and bashing his head against a DWD soldier who was taking aim at Leopardmon. Leoparmon shouted out his thanks, before using his Sword of Destruction—though not powering it with an attack—to disarm another opponent, swiftly taking the gun out of the human's hand and tossing it into the air. Alphamon blasted the silver and black gun into oblivion with a shout of "Seiken Gradalpha!" before using the same attack on another man's gun.

It was all happening so fast that we didn't even see what these guns could do—because I _did_ notice that most weren't the simple tracking guns they'd used last time—until three DWD soldiers took aim at Craniamon and pulled the trigger. My heart was in my throat, watching as three bursts of violet light shot towards my father's partner, but Craniamon didn't falter for a second.

"Shock Ringer!" he shouted, spinning his Duo Solar Spear in circles at high speeds, causing the three blasts to retreat on their shooters. The three soldiers immediately hit the ground, not hesitating for a moment before allowing the blasts to pass them by, sinking into the first tress that they hit. I didn't have time to watch the result, but if the soldiers were afraid, I knew it couldn't be good.

"Koushiro!" Taichi called tackling me to the ground as two—now seemingly harmless in comparison—tracking devices flew through the air right where I would have been standing.

"Laser Lattice!" I heard Crusadermon yell, and then there was a net made of intricately laced strands of pure energy that I knew had been projected from his palm heading directly towards a cluster of people in black. It captured them and Sora let out a little cheer, only for our brief triumph to be dashed. Their guns made quick work of the net, and it disintegrated.

"Get one of these big guys," a man called to the rest of his troops. "We can use it."

"What about the others?" a woman responded.

"I don't care," he said gruffly. "Do whatever you want. You! Get the truck."

"On it!" a second man said, rushing back into the trees.

"Get out of here!" Sora begged the digimon, but they refused to give up the fight. Energy arrows were being fired left and right by Kentarousmon, while Crusadermon was trigger happy with his Pile Bunker. Leopardmon continuously swung his sword at the humans, disarming them with ease. Veemon was headbutting anyone that wasn't paying attention, and Alphamon was blasting beams of light at any gun he could find. Between Leopardmon and Alphamon, there were very few "blast" guns remaining. And the soldiers seemed aware of it, because their numbers were growing fewer and fewer.

But the Knights didn't account for the trackers.

Veemon had just head butted his third or fourth DWD soldier when I heard Sora's strangled gasp. She'd just punched a guy and was staring in Veemon's direction in horror. I quickly located the source of her turmoil. A tracking device was heading his way.

But it didn't stick.

Because Dynasmon jumped in the way. The tracker stuck hard to him, flinging him back, crushing Veemon into the ground. He tried to pry it off, but he couldn't. He let out a frustrated roar, and raised his palm to the sky, gathering the energy of the Ten Legendary Warriors. "Dragon's—"

"No!" Taichi shouted, running at Dynasmon. "You can't. It'll kill them."

"I know," Dynasmon said, his rage taking control of him. Kentaurosmon and Crusadermon were quick to come to his side, with Crusadermon trying to talk sense into Dynasmon, while Kentaurosmon pulling Veemon out of the indent he'd made in the ground when he'd been crushed by Dynasmon. Veemon was out of the battle now and Kentaurosmon flung him over his back. Crusadermon threw one of Dynasmon's arms over his shoulder and started dragging him off towards the Temple. Kentaurosmon wasn't far behind him.

"Fall back," Taichi ordered the three remaining digimon, and Leopardmon did as bid immediately. Alphamon was stubborn though, and continued to refuse, shooting all the guns in sight, and then moving on to the ground at the soldiers' feet. "Alphamon," Taichi growled. "NOW!"

"Alright, alright," Alphamon sighed, racing off after his recently departed friends.

Taichi didn't notice that Craniamon hadn't followed orders. He didn't realize that he _couldn't. _Because he hadn't seen the three soldiers that had lugged over a familiar beacon. He didn't see them turn it on and encase Craniamon in a cage he couldn't break. Over the sounds of the battle, Taichi didn't hear the truck the soldier had asked for backing into the clearing, and he didn't see them load the beacon—and thusly Craniamon—onto the trailer hitched to the vehicle. I didn't know whether Sora did or not, because the moment I caught sight of Craniamon in that cage, everything ceased to move around me.

I called out in a strangled plea as the truck took off, and I fell to my knees watching Craniamon disappear into the trees in horror. I _knew_ what these people did to the digimon they captured. And this was _Andromon_. He'd been with us forever. He was the reason Tentomon digivolved for the first time. He was on the Council with me. We worked together in the lab every day. He was my father's partner. He was my _friend_.

"Andromon!" I shouted, pulling myself to my feet. Taichi caught my arm and suddenly I was aware that Sora was also by my side.

"It's my fault," Taichi told me gravely. "I shouldn't have brought them. I thought we needed them, but it was a stupid decision. They're after digimon. Why did I think bringing _digimon_ with us was a good idea?"

"It's no one's fault," Sora argued. "And it's not hopeless. It's _never_ hopeless. Come on, Koushiro. You're the guy with all the answers. You've always got a plan. That's how we do things. I support everyone, Taichi leads us, and you feed him the plan. So let's do this. Because we _can_ get him back."

"We have to," I said monotonously. "His computer is still searching. He needs to work."

"I think he's in shock," Sora said unhelpfully. "Come on. What's the plan?"

"His desk is a mess. He's going to want to clean it up," I muttered.

"Sora," Taichi insisted. "What do we do?"

"We follow the tire tracks," she realized. "There's never really been any cars in the Digital World before. It's not like there's going to be a bunch of trails leading us in the wrong direction. Okay, Koushiro. Let's get going. We're going to get him back."

I knew she was right. I couldn't be in shock now. I needed to be on high alert. We _had_ to get him back. Come hell or high water. I would _not_ let Andromon die. I just wouldn't.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 04:** Taichi and Mari both dive head first into adventure mode in their attempts at rescuing those who are important to them.


	23. Free Willis

**Y/N: **I got to experiment with two new characters in Taichi's chapter, and they were ridiculously fun to work with.

**U/N: **Uhh, the name of this chapter is awesome. #moviereferences xD I also love Allias III, so there's that :p

Also, someone left a question, and I cannot respond to them because they are listed as 'guest' so I shall answer it here! :D Lopmon, last chapter (?) evolved into Turuiemon rather than Wendigomon, and the reason for that is because after she was reunited with Alice, her actual partner, she no longer had the longing or negativity inside of her and her true digivolution was able to come out. The reason that was never shown in 05 was because there was simply _too_ much going on to have time to show Lopmon digivolve. But yeah, her true digivolution, the "good" evolutions came out three years prior to where they are now. Sorry for the confusion.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 3: Ignorance**

**Chapter 23: Free Willis**

_**Taichi Yagami:**_

I was worried. And not just because Craniamon had been captured and driven off who knows where. Not because we'd sent the other six—seven if they'd reverted to their natural state—Knights off with no chaperone, just _hoping_ they'd make it to the Temple, though now that I'd thought of it, it really was something to panic about. They were all angry, channelling their fury into their battle strategies. If they came across more DWD soldiers in the woods would they fight to flee, or fight to _kill_?

I shook my head. I couldn't worry about that. There was a pressing matter that needed my full attention.

Sora was standing by me, waving her hand in front of Koushiro's face. Her yellow cardigan was now covered with mud and grass stains, the perfect symbol for what happened. We'd been so excited, so _happy_ to finally have a plan, and now everything was muddled. I still had the same determination from before, I was just channelling it differently. Instead of focussing on the big picture, I had a far narrower target. They took Craniamon—one of my Knights, one of my Council, one of my _responsibilities_—and I was going to take him back by force. They thought they could just waltz in and take something from me? They obviously hadn't dealt with Taichi Yagami before. I was a lot of things: courageous, a good leader, a friend, a brother, _modest_. But I was the rashest, most stubborn person I'd ever met, and that was on a _good_ day. I could also be a real pain in the butt, and I was selfish. I could admit it. No one was allowed to touch my stuff. And they did. So they'd have to pay.

Not for the first time in my life did I wish _I_ could digivolve.

Or that I had at least had a sword or something.

Koushiro _should_ know what to do. He was the person I looked to when I needed to get something done. I hired him for the Council _specifically _for that purpose. He needed to know all the variables if he was going to be able to help me keep this world in order. And when I realized that the Temple even _had_ a lab, I immediately gave him the reins, and he'd found some really interesting things since I'd done it. He'd written books about it. Not fun books—I tried to read one and fell asleep within minutes, it was so dry—not like Takeru's, but he was proud of them.

He always had a level head, and could come up with answers even in the most dire of situations. He was like a robot, with the way he cut off all emotional thought and thought through each problem carefully and logically. Sometimes he was blunt—_most_ times, honestly—and more than a little rude, but he could pull it off, because he was _always_ right. I didn't care how arrogant he could be. I was probably worse than he was.

What I did care about?

The fact that he couldn't form a comprehensive thought right then. He was staring off into space. I could see his eyes moving. I _knew_ he was thinking of solutions. Somehow though, the words got lost on their path from his brain to his mouth, because he was only telling us the most mundane things in the world.

_Andromon likes a spicy cheese sauce over his poached fish, which I found was actually quite good when I tried it. No one else agreed._

_Andromon is a great chess player. I'm going to ask him to play me again soon._

_Andromon and Mom fight over who gets to clean the house all the time._

_Andromon watches cartoons about magical ponies. Sometimes I watch with him._

That stuff was all cool or whatever, but it wasn't helping us _find_ him. We didn't just lose him at the grocery store. Knowing what foods he did or didn't like did _not_ mean we'd find him. I doubted he was playing any games or cleaning or watching TV where he was! He was captured in some glowing net thing that Sora insisted was called a beacon—though I couldn't understand how she could _know_ that—and had been loaded onto the first gas guzzling vehicle the Digital World had ever seen.

Yeah.

Not only did they steal one of our friends and allies, they were also introducing _pollution_ to the Digital World. They were going to start Multi-Global Warming!

I didn't know if there was a way to be worse than these guys were. I knew that on the grand scheme of things that the exhaust fumes from a single truck wasn't as bad as anything else they were doing, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I was _done_ with these guys. They were always a step ahead of us, and no matter how quickly we scrambled to catch up, they just beat us at every turn.

And now they'd taken Koushiro from us.

"Okay," Sora said. "Give him your jacket."

"What?" I asked. "Why?"

"They always give shock victims a blanket on television," she said frantically. "We don't have one of those. Hence the jacket. I'd offer him my sweater, but it won't fit him."

It made sense, so I slipped my jacket off—it was too hot to wear it under the Digital World's sun anyway—and draped it over his shoulders. I rubbed his shoulders with my hands, and he leaned back into me. Sora's eyes lit up, so I figured she was hoping he'd react in _some_ way.

"What else do you know about shock?" I asked. "Do we even know that's what this is?"

"No," she said shaking her head. "But it's my best guess. We need to get going. And we can't just leave him here." I nodded and moved to Koushiro's side, wrapping my right arm around him, pushing gently. He stumbled through the first few steps, but eventually he was walking steadily beside me. I was happy about it. I knew we couldn't _leave_ him in the middle of nowhere, but I didn't like wasting time—seconds could mean life or death to Craniamon at this point. We'd seen their weapons. They weren't just using tracking devices anymore. They were aiming to kill—or that's what I assumed these new weapons did. We were lucky to not have to find out the hard way.

It took a few minutes before we found a pace that Koushiro could keep up with that _wouldn't_ take us years to get to our destination. It was difficult to see Koushiro struggling despite the fact that both Sora and I wished we were going faster. He was continuously squeezing his eyes closed, trying to set the world back in place. His movements during those moments assured me that he was dizzy. He would trip over his own feet—because of the speed and the dizziness—and Sora or I would catch him. Sora's eyebrows were furrowing deeper and deeper as she watched his behaviour develop. She held onto his hand, urging him to continue, and had to take her hand away several times to wipe it on her muddy jeans. His hands were clammy then.

I was cataloguing his symptoms, in case he didn't snap out of it soon. Benjamin could probably diagnose him when we got back to the Temple, or Jou was always an option.

The hand that wasn't in Sora's grasp was always at his head, buried in his hair, or covering his eyes. He was thinking. He was frustrated, but he was _thinking_. That was a good sign. A _bad_ sign was that his breathing was rapid and shallow.

"Taichi," Sora asked quietly. I looked over at her to show that I was listening. "We don't have a plan. Can we do this without one?"

"Totally," I said with a lot of forced confidence. "We're the digidestined, remember? Weren't you just telling me that we can do anything we put our minds to?"

"Yeah," she said with a sigh. "But what are we supposed to do with Koushiro when we get there?"

"Nothing," I said. "We'll snap him out of it on our way. It shouldn't be too hard."

"I've never seen him like this," she said, worrying over him.

I knew she was his best friend, and that she cared for him just as deeply as he did for her—all in a completely platonic way. I also knew that I considered them _both_ to be mine. There was also Yamato and Jou, but I spent a lot more time with these two. Yeah, Yamato and I got along—for the most part—and we could just relax and hang together, talking about absolutely nothing and still enjoy it. But it was Sora and Koushiro that I spent all the big, intense moments with. Back during our first adventure, it was Koushiro that helped me get through everything that was happening with Hikari. And Sora was my first best friend, turned girlfriend, turned best-friend again. I didn't see her in a romantic light anymore, sure, but I still couldn't imagine life without her. If anything, getting over those romantic notions made us grow _closer_ than ever before. But most of all, Koushiro and Sora were the only ones who had never called another their leader. They never strayed from the original group. Takeru and Hikari moved on to Daisuke, Yamato ran off on his own, Jou left that one time Mimi broke down and decided she was done fighting only to come back with an army. These two were my most loyal friends.

"Oh, I found Divermon," Koushiro exclaimed. "I have to tell Andromon. He wants to know."

"You found him?" I asked excitedly.

"No," Koushiro said with a sigh. "He's deleted."

"Then why...?" I asked, trailing off.

"He's been looking for his deletion location, hasn't he," Sora intoned. "He must've found it. His mind's all over the place though. I don't know if he can actually answer direct questions."

"Mimi's been like this before, right?" I asked desperately. "We've had to deal with Mimi freaking out about everything and having a complete mental breakdown. How did we stop her?"

"We didn't do anything," Sora sighed. "_Jou_ did."

"Why can't we just call Jou," I whined, too busy complaining to realize Koushiro tripped again. He fell flat onto his face. Sora glared at me and knelt down to help him back up.

"Koushiro?" she asked gently.

"Oww," he groaned pushing himself up with his hands, curling his legs under himself and sitting up. "Why am I on the ground?"

He didn't seem like he really wanted an answer, so I didn't give him one, just hauled him to his feet. He looked around us as if seeing it for the first time. I was so excited I almost cheered. He was _here_, not off in some dream world. He was, well he wasn't steady. He was sort of teetering despite the fact that he was seated. But he was more alert.

"Get to your feet," I ordered with a grin. "We're on the hunt, and you're slowing us down."

"Sorry," he said, shaking his head and getting to his feet. He swayed a bit and rubbed his eyes. He stared at my jacket that had fallen from his shoulders during his fall. Sora picked it up and glared at him when he tried to protest. She wasn't taking any chances. She linked arms with him, and we started after the tracks again—this time at a much more acceptable pace.

"So," I said casually. "You mentioned finding Divermon?"

"I did?" Koushiro said sounding surprised. "I mean, I did pinpoint the location of his deletion, and I remember thinking about it. We're actually heading in the right direction—"

"Which is just about the worst sign I can think of," I surmised. I glared at the tire tracks, kicking one of them angrily.

"Maybe," Sora agreed. "But we still have a mission here. It's not the same as before, but we're going to be successful."

"That's what you said in the first place," I muttered, picking up the pace again. Sora and Koushiro lagged behind me, walking as quickly as Koushiro could manage while he recovered from his bout of shock. I could hear them talking, but I didn't pay too close attention. Sora was just asking random questions to see how Koushiro would respond to her now. She was making sure he was really _there_, and not just halfway between shocked and normal. We needed him to be ship shape, but we'd settle for mentally available if we had to. I tuned them out entirely when Koushiro started jabbering about how excited he was to get a second chance to steal their research notes. I did note, however, that there was a subtle hint of rage simmering under his every word.

The further we travelled away from the Temple, the queasier my stomach got. What if Andromon wasn't the only digimon there? How were we going to managed to get them all back to the Temple? We couldn't even keep the Knights safe, and they were _trained_ for combat. They were our response team. And they were useless now that the Digital World really needed them. I couldn't risk bringing them out for missions anymore. I knew that Dorumon wouldn't take that news well, but it didn't matter. Mom expected me to keep her partner safe. And hiding them away was the only way I could ensure that that happened. Just look at Andromon. I'd let him get taken. I'd been too preoccupied with making sure the others got out, that he fell through the cracks and could be enduring the most painful of executions as we ambled down the pathway that the DWD soldiers had chosen to be their road. And that wasn't even mentioning the fact that I'd let Wizardmon get landed with a tracking device. He was in a lot of pain, and now he was able to lead the DWD right to our doorstep, just like those digimon Koushiro and Sora saved for the fight club. That meant there were _eight_ digimon in the Temple that could bring the enemy to us at any moment.

But we couldn't just kick them out.

I would not leave any digimon to face off against these guys alone. We knew how that went. I would rather fight off their entire army myself than leave even _Devimon_ to the mercy of these freaks. I would if I had to. And it was something that I might actually end up doing. I would not abandon the Temple when it was the only safe haven for these digimon. We couldn't get the devices off of them. Nothing Koushiro had tried worked. He could usually solve any problem, but his forte was research, and he hadn't made any discoveries that would make this easier. The devices needed to be removed before the digimon could be permitted into the Coliseum. I hadn't shared _that_ little tidbit with the Council yet, but someone must've realized it already.

I wasn't the _smartest_ member of the Council.

We couldn't risk the lives of all the digimon and people we hid away in the Coliseum _just_ to help these digimon. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. But that didn't mean I would leave them alone to face whatever horrors might come their way. Far from it. Because I was the leader of the Council, and the technically-not-but-unofficial leader of the digidestined, not to mention the ambassador of the Digital World. I was the captain of this ship, and if they were going to take it down, they were going to take me with it.

The wooded area thinned out, and the sunlight beamed down on us more strongly. The soft earth transitioned into sand, and I skidded to a stop. "Holy—" I muttered, letting my voice fade away.

It was nothing like what I was expecting.

There were army green tents pitched precariously in the sand, a few rock rings that showed signs of once housing a roaring flame were scattered throughout the camp ground. There was one _large_ pile of logs that was still alight, the salty water had soaked deep into the driftwood, causing the flame to turn bright blue and lavender. The colours danced around each other, settling my nerves. I wasn't so anxious anymore.

Probably a good thing with what I knew was coming.

I found it odd that no one was around. No one was lounging by the fire, no one was slacking in their duties, and taking some time to goof off. It was eerily silent, and I pricked my ears, keeping them on high alert. My eyes quickly scanned the area, not wanting to be caught in a trap.

There were tents—I estimated two, two and a half dozen—there were the charred remains of fire—meaning they'd been here more than one night—and there was a constant blaze. Someone had to be taking care of it, right? Other than that, I could see the faded remains of the tire tracks. The sand was only indented, the tracks weren't as clear as they'd been on the earth. The tracks disappeared behind the tents, and I feasted my eyes on their home base. It wasn't as cool as ours, but it was sort of awe-inspiring. It reminded me of a spaceship. Not a disk, like you'd assume alien invaders to have, and not a rocket, but definitely space worthy. It was shiny and bright. It was propped up on legs that _had_ to be retractable, and there was a set of stairs leading up to the door. They'd placed it in the water, with the stairs in such a spot, that they wouldn't get wet if they walked up them.

Damn.

They were learning. Sora and Koushiro escaped through a trap door at the back. If we tried to do that now, we'd be fish food. Not that digimon fish actually _ate_ humans. It would just make us easy targets for the DWD. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel. I hadn't realized until I'd seen it wasn't an option that I'd been counting on that escape plan.

_Think Taichi, think!_

I couldn't come up with anything. I hadn't been in their ship before. I couldn't close my eyes and recall their floor plans. I didn't know anything about their defense mechanisms. I just wanted Andromon back.

"Ye be a right fool, ta stand there gawkin' at 'em like dat. Get yer head down."

I crouched down instantly, glancing from right to left, catching sight of the tip of a large red feather. I crawled my way over to it, around the rock it was hiding behind. I don't know what I expected, but I was pretty sure I'd come face to face with a bird digimon or something. Not a pair of pirates.

"Who're you?" I demanded, clenching my fists.

"I could ask ye t' same question," the pirate wearing the captain's hat countered, poking me in the chest with what looked like a long, narrow barrel of a gun. The handle made me think sword at first, but there was a distinct trigger under his finger. I held my hands up quickly, a sign of peace. I looked him over, head to toe. He was pretty much the stereotypical pirate at first glance, what with the skull and crossbones embroidered on his large black hat, and the long, black coat he was wearing as a cape. He had a black button up shirt on under it, with white sleeves, and a pair of black pants—only _one_ pant leg didn't reach his ankle, being interrupted by the mechanical leg that was replacing his real one. Yeah, no peg leg for this guy. In addition to his gun, he had what looked like a harpoon launcher attached to his wrist. I was thankful he didn't decide to pull _that_ one on me.

"I'm Taichi," I said lamely, trying to keep my voice calm and collected. "You know, Taichi Yagami? The ambassador of the Digital World, the digidestined of courage."

"Yeah, yeah," the second guy said. "I've heard of ya. Tink talks about ya all the time."

"Tink?" I asked slowly, looking at the guy. He had a green hat on, with a brown band around it, two golden rings sticking through the brim, and two holes that looked suspiciously like gun shots in the top. Tucked into the brown band, was the longest red feather I'd ever seen. He wore a green and gold jacket, with thin, brown, leather straps buckled around his left arm. There was a white shirt under the jacket, and he had a pair of brown pants on, under a pair of green chaps that matched his jacket. He had tan boots that reached up just under his knee. The bottom half of his face was masked with a grey bandana, and he had a yellow scarf around his neck. Long strands of blonde hair were draping down his back, and his ears were pointed, with two golden rings—matching those in his hat—pierced through each. He also had white gloves, one of which was wrapped around a either a really large dagger, or a really small sword—I couldn't tell which.

"Ye say yer on dat Council, but ye ain't 'eard of Tink?" the first guy said, poking me with his gun again.

"Calm down you silly pirate," the second guy said. "It's him. I can tell."

"Well t'ree cheers fer ye," the first said sarcastically.

"I'm Petermon," the guy in green said. "And this grumpy pants is CaptainHookmon. Did ya come all this way t' help Tink too?"

"Who is Tink?" I asked, growing more and more impatient.

"Ya know, Tink..._Tinkermon_," Petermon said. "She's on yer Council."

"Tinkermon?" I asked faintly. I thought about it. I hadn't seen her in ages. She was always off searching for Divermon. I hadn't even spared a second thought for her. _She_ was doing her job, _she_ was listening to me and helping the Digital World. All my energy had been dedicated to trying to _guilt_ Babamon into doing her fair share of things. How could I miss something this important? She was my companion. I met with her every week, and had done so for six years now. Six years of chattering and complaints, but that just made her _more_ memorable really. I complained about her vain ideas to Rei all the time. "They've got her?"

"Now yer gettin' it through yer t'ick skull," CaptainHookmon said.

"We're here to get 'er out," Petermon explained. "We can't have Neverland without Tink. She kinda helps take care of all the little digimon I bring home. Takes up a lot of 'er time, but she likes it, ya know? And we get ta save all kinds a digimon so they won't never have ta grow up."

"Childish younguns t' lot a ya," CaptainHookmon sneered. "Digivolvin' is justa part of bein' a digimon. T'ey're missin' out a somethin' real special, t'ey are."

"Someone's comin'," Petermon announced. "Get down!"

We all ducked behind the rock, and tried not to peer around the edge. I was caught up in the moment, and it took me awhile before I realized I knew who it was. I lifted myself over the rock, ignoring Petermon and CaptainHookmon's attempts at keeping me 'safe' and waved Sora and Koushiro over to us.

"Relax guys," I said with a laugh. "It's Sora and Koushiro, the digidestined of love and knowledge."

"Good, ye brought backup in case dis ting goes south," CaptainHookmon said appreciatively

"What's going on?" Koushiro asked.

"You could have waited Taichi," Sora told me sending a glare my way. She wasn't mad though. She complimented both our guests on their colourful costumes. Petermon preened at her praise, and CapatainHookmon sneered at it. I introduced everybody, getting the newcomers up to speed, and thought we'd start planning immediately, but Koushiro decided to derail _that_ plan too.

"Are you two mortal enemies?" he clarified, looking between my new digimon friends. They look at one another, and then turned back to him, nodding simultaneously. "And CaptainHookmon, don't you also hate Tinkermon?"

"She's annoyin' ta be sure," he said. "But she's a Ne'erlander, and we protect our own."

"He's just worried Neverland won't be fun anymore without 'er," Petermon teased, but the joking look melted off his face as he cast another look at the ship. "He's right."

"Then we'll have to get her back," Sora declared. "You guys'll stay here though, right, to be the lookout?"

"Not on yer life," CaptainHookmon argued. "T'is no place fer a woman, ye can be t' lookout."

"I don't think I heard you correctly," Sora said smiling with gritted teeth. "You're a digimon that can be disintegrated with one blast of their guns, and I'm a human that has saved this world countless times since I was eleven years old. Do you _really_ want to argue points here? Because I win. You're a digimon, and you're the target. Stay safe, attack only if necessary."

"Tink's important to us though," Petermon insisted. "And you guys don't got any weapons. How're ya gonna beat 'em if ya can't hit 'em?"

"We've got fists," Sora said. "We're not losing any digimon this time. There's no way I'm letting you come in. I can't watch you die."

"Ye don't e'en _know_ us," CaptainHookmon pointed out to her.

"I don't care. You're alive, and I want you to stay that way," she told him, daring him to tell her otherwise. He realized he wasn't going to win the argument and backed down. He'd stay. For now. I couldn't tell by looking at him whether he'd _stay_ here though. I hadn't known him long enough to judge.

I debated leaving Koushiro with them, both to aid in his recovery, and to keep an eye on them, but decided that was a battle I would lose. He was practically bouncing on his toes in excitement, desperate to get his hands on any notes he might find in their lab.

Sora and Koushiro led the way. I took the rear, ready to pounce on anyone who thought they could sneak up on us. We snuck up the stairs, slowly, careful not to make too much noise. The stairs were metal though, and our footsteps clanged regardless. Sora hesitated for just a second as we entered. There was just a hallway, running left to right, and a wall in front of us. She didn't know which way she should lead us. Would they have kept the digimon in the same spot, thinking the digidestined wouldn't _dare_ to trespass a second time, or did they move them, hoping to lure us into a trap? Koushiro made the decision for us though, leading us down the corridor to our left. He was murmuring to himself, something about them thinking we'd never find their base a second time, so they wouldn't be bothered with changing their layout. I had to trust him, since I'd never been here before.

We came to the first door, and Sora peered into the room, retreating quickly. It was packed with people, facing all directions. But we couldn't just stand in the middle of the hallway! In the end we went with _my_ plan, which meant we all sort of lined up—me wearing my suit jacket once again, since my suit was black, like the DWD uniform seemed to be—and walked past the doorway with our heads held high, as if we belonged there. We couldn't waste a second, because there was no way my suit would've fooled anyone who was paying attention, and we started running down the hall until the next corner where we would evidently be turning left, to run down a set of stairs.

Only when we started running, Sora ran smack dab into some dude's chest. He clutched the towel he had wrapped around his waist and looked us over. Clearly he wasn't expecting to run into any digidestined when he'd stepped out of the showers. "Hey you!" he shouted angrily as Sora slipped by him, I pushed Koushiro passed him too before punching the guy in the gut and then swiping his towel. If he wanted to be an evil jerk-wad, whatever, he would just have to be naked when he ran to get help. I thought it was a pretty fair trade. As I ran after Sora and Koushiro, I spun the towel around, creating a tool I could whip at people if they got too close.

The stairs we ran down opened into a large laboratory that didn't have the same vibe as the one back at the Temple currently did. It reminded me too much of the Temple's lab _before_ I'd hired Kiyoko for renovations. There was a rectangular cage lining the wall to the right, though it appeared to be empty still from the _last_ time that Sora and Koushiro broke into this place. There was a larger cage in the corner directly beside us, and within it I spotted Craniamon. I was so glad to see him alive, and in his Knight form. They couldn't have hurt him too terribly if he hadn't reverted to Andromon again. I did notice that they'd stuck a tracking device on his chest though. They weren't letting this one get away. There were several chains hanging from the far wall, and I was pleased to see most weren't in use. One was, however. It was supporting what looked like a glowing lantern. Sora gasped, and I realized it had to be Tinkermon. Well, it was either Tinkermon she'd noticed, or the giant blue and brown whale in the centre of the room pinned to the ground with glowing straps. Whamon.

There were just three digimon, _that_ was a good sign.

The bad thing was that we had to move a freaking _whale_ back up those stairs and through the passageways that were far too narrow for him. Not to mention the fact that we only had a few minutes before all hell broke loose thanks to the naked guy.

I was right.

The air around us burst to life, filling the room with the echoes of the loudest, shrillest alarm I'd ever had the displeasure of introducing my ear drums to. I could barely hear the distant march of running feet. We didn't have time to think. We didn't discuss our plan; we just jumped right in the middle of it.

Koushiro ran at the desk that was being guarded by the wimpiest bad guy in a lab coat I'd ever seen. He didn't hesitate for a second. The guy lifted up a clipboard to protect himself with, but Koushiro just swiped his legs out from underneath him, sending him crashing to the floor. In the next moment, Koushiro was flitting across the desk, grabbing any paper he could lay his hands on.

Sora on the other hand headed directly towards the digimon, picking up the beacon that was sustaining Craniamon's cage and lobbed it against the wall. It bounced off and the cage flickered, but stayed strong. She picked it up and threw it again.

I ran at the only other humans in the room, the one that was prodding Whamon with a sharp stick, and the one making jot notes about Whamon's reactions. I tackled the guy with the stick, wrestling it out of his hands, and whacking him across the head with it, causing the stick to snap in two. Clutching the towel I'd stolen in my other hand, I spun around on the other guy, but he was running to the stairs. I watched in a dazed sort of awe as people flooded the room.

Sora threw the beacon again, short circuiting the cage and Craniamon burst out of his prison. He used his Duo Solar Spear to cut the chain connecting Tinkermon's beacon to her own lantern cell. Sora caught the lantern, and tucked Tinkermon behind her as she stood with her back against the wall furthest away from the DWD. Koushiro had found a plastic tub that he'd emptied out—not his smartest move, since there was no way he could've identified all those chemicals in the second he'd glanced at them before flipping the contents onto the floor—and had piled all of the papers he'd collected into it, and was now standing next to Sora.

I was still in front of Whamon armed with only a towel, with no hope in hell of beating this army alone. Craniamon used his spear to slice the straps off of Whamon. I was glad for that. If we were going to die, I wanted him to be free when it happened.

"Did you think we didn't upgrade our security after your last attempt," a cold, deep voice rang out over the blaring alarm. A man walked down the stairs, and the DWD soldiers all parted for him like he was Moses and they were the Red Sea. His posture screamed military, as did his hair. His face was clean shaven, but I thought some facial hair might actually help him. He was _not_ handsome. He had an angry face, with thick eyebrows furrowed as he looked down at us. He was older than me, maybe ten years older, but he also looked a hell of a lot stronger than me. He looked strict but victorious.

"You!" Sora gasped.

"Yes, me," he said. "You aren't getting the upper hand from _me_ twice. I learn from my mistakes. I don't repeat them. Morestuna is a force to be reckoned with."

Morestuna? I knew that name. Why did I know that name?

"Okay," I said from my place by Whamon's head. "I'm going to need you to slowly move back towards the wall. There's a button somewhere that will open it up. You'll fall into the ocean, but there aren't any other choices."

"I prefer the ocean," Whamon said slowly. I literally slapped my forehead. I was being so stupid. Of course we could get out the back. We had Whamon. He'd carried all eight of the digidestined _and_ our partners during Hikari's first visit to the Digital World. There were only three of us this time, and only two other digimon—and one of them was really tiny. I was sure he could pull this off. The only problem was that there was a mix of maybe thirty men and women pointing their guns at us and Morestuna was getting closer to me every second. I felt Whamon slide away from me, and in my peripheral vision I saw that Craniamon was following suit, backing up to protect Koushiro and Sora.

"You still think you have a chance at escaping," Morestuna said. "How sweet. You manage to have hope even in your darkest hours. It's too bad, really, that you didn't bring your digimon partners with you. I would have _loved_ to watch your faces as we deleted them right before your eyes. As it is I will have to satisfy myself with their reactions to finding your mangled corpses. Men! Take your aim."

I was suddenly the centre of attention as all thirty or so guns moved in unison, aimed directly at my chest. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, picturing Daisuke, Yamato, Jou and the rest of the digidestined, who I was glad weren't invited on our mission. I pictured Sora and Koushiro pressed up against the wall, frantically trying to come up with a plan that would hopefully get everyone else out of here. I thought of Mom and Dad with Dorumon and Kamemon. Rei, Pal and Pul, and I felt my heart ache to see them one more time. I saw Gatomon, and I saw Hikari growing from my baby sister into the woman she was today. And finally Agumon, who I hoped would be able to continue the fight in my place, because the digidestined needed a leader, and he was the only one that fit the bill to me. He was _my_ hero. I exhaled slowly, realizing it took only a second to recount the people I regretted leaving the most. Morestuna hadn't even given the signal to fire yet. So I met his eyes with my own, determined not to show any fear to him, because that's what he wanted from me, and I was stubborn enough to refuse him that.

"Spiral Twister!"

A swirling set of green, phantom flames came flying down the stairs, frightening many of the DWD soldiers. Morestuna himself seemed shocked, nearly jumping in fright before composing himself. Biyomon fluttered in after her flames, casting her attack again and again, confusing the enemies.

"Biyomon!" Sora screamed in panic.

"Don't worry Sora," Biyomon assured her. "I'm here to save you. And I brought backup!"

"Twinkle Shoot!" came the voice of Petermon as he walked calmly down the stairs. He tossed his sword in the air, and it suddenly shoot out at the nearest DWD soldier, slicing his hand, causing him to drop his gun. The sword continued on its merry way, disarming soldiers quickly and efficiently.

"Pirate's Punisher!" CaptainHookmon shouted, _jumping_ down the entire case of stairs. He held out his gun, using the enemy guns as target practice, and when he got bored with that idea, he started using his gun as a sword, smashing it into whomever he could reach.

"Whamon, I hope you're ready for passengers," I warned him. He didn't even bother to ask questions, simply opening his enormous mouth wide. "Sora, Koushiro, Craniamon, your escape plan is waiting." Sora ran over to me calling out her thanks to Whamon as she rolled the lantern holding Tinkermon inside before crawling in after her. Koushiro tripped on his way, sending his precious bin flying through the air. He grabbed whatever papers he could before Craniamon grabbed him from behind, tossing him inside of Whamon. Craniamon reverted himself back to Andromon to give Whamon a lighter load, which I was sure he was thankful for. I spied the button I was looking for on the wall, and made my way slowly to it. "Biyomon, Petermon, CaptainHookmon! Let's go!"

"Aye aye captain," CaptainHookmon called to me. The entirety of Morestuna's team were weaponless now, so Biyomon flew directly into Whamon's waiting mouth, followed by Petermon. CaptainHookmon let off a few extra shots of his gun in victory before clambering in after them.

"Looks like Morestuna _does_ make the same mistake twice," I goaded, pressing the button with excess force. The door opened slowly, and I started to panic. It would only take them seconds at best to pick their guns back up. Why couldn't the door understand that? With a loud 'thud' the door started easing open with more speed. Soon it was open enough for Whamon to slide down into the water with a giant splash. It was my turn now. I slammed my hand on the button again, and the door started to reverse its path. It was closing just as quickly as it was opening, but Morestuna wasn't taking my wisecracks too well. He'd grabbed the nearest gun and aimed it at me. Without thinking, I tossed the towel at him, covering his face. He pulled the trigger anyway, but I had already ducked out of the way. I ran at the closing door—which by this point was a really steep slope—and ran up as high as I could before grabbing the top and pulling myself up and over. As I crashed into the water below, I heard the door click shut. The next thing I knew, I was being swallowed by a whale.

"Taichi," Sora said anxiously rushing to my side. "That was the stupidest thing you've ever done."

"No," I argued. "I'm sure I've done stupider."

"T'ank ye," CaptainHookmon said, though it looked like it pained him to show gratitude. Petermon nodded his thanks as well as he pried open the lantern that held his friend captive.

"I was starting to think you guys didn't even realize I was gone," Tinkermon scolded us as she stretched out her limbs. I flinched, knowing it was true. I would definitely be paying closer attention to the Council's whereabouts from here on out. I couldn't afford to make this mistake again. "Whoa, it was really cramped in there. And you two. It's so sweet that you put aside your differences just for little ole me." Petermon grinned, but CaptainHookmon seemed angered that she noticed. He still blushed though when she kissed the both of them on the cheek. "Oh, yeah. Taichi, I thought of an idea. Why don't we move a bunch of young digimon over to Neverland to protect them? I don't know if you've thought of this, but there are a lot of little safe zones all over the Digital World. We could use them to house digimon and keep an eye on things. Great idea, huh?"

I flinched again, but nodded my head eagerly. She'd been missing long enough that she didn't even know about the Coliseum plan. I cursed my unobservant nature.

"And Petermon can help herd the digimon into these places. He's got this killer flute medley, digimon just flock to him when he plays it," Tinkermon said animatedly.

Hearing her talk so excitedly, despite the fact that she'd been held captive for so long was inspiring. It rekindled the flames to the fire Sora had recently built within me. We'd just saved three digimon with the odds stacked so firmly against us. If we could do that, what _couldn't_ we do?

_**Mari Goutokuji:**_

"But if we get seen, it won't matter what colour we're wearing..." Kiyoko said quietly, looking down to the clothes I'd made him wear. He was in black jogging pants and a black sweater. I'd even made him put his hair under a black baseball cap just to be safe. He didn't seem comfortable in the clothes, but it was all we had, and being comfortable wasn't really important for our mission at this point. I looked to Hideto who was wearing his own regular clothing, but with black gloves. We'd all need to wear gloves because we needed to ensure we left no DNA in the building. I was wearing a one piece black outfit and my knee high black stilettos. I looked like Catwoman and it was awesome. Only, I was wearing a black toque which effectively took away the super hero vibe.

"I like the colour choices." Hideto decided confidently, "it shows who we really are inside." Kiyoko looked to Hideto as if he were crazy, but didn't respond. At that moment, we all silenced and looked toward the bathroom door where a series of people had come out. I'd hired them to fix the bathroom because running across the street to the coffee shop every time I had to pee was getting ridiculous.

The head construction man smiled to me, "I think we're going to head off for the night." He said, adjusting his oversized coveralls. "It's getting late. We'll be back tomorrow, okay?"

"Sounds good," I told him with a smile.

But they didn't leave. They just kind of stood there awkwardly, looking at us. "Going to a costume party...?" One of them asked us.

"Nope," Kiyoko answered helpfully.

"Well whatever it is, it looks like you're about to commit a crime," The third man laughed. His two friends suddenly looked concerned, but he was still laughing at his own comment.

"What?" Hideto and I gasped as one.

"Define 'crime'" Kiyoko added before Hideto sharply elbowed him.

"W-well..." The first man said. "See you..."

"Bye," I smiled to him politely and they saw themselves to the door, muttering to themselves. The moment I heard the door click shut I rounded on Kiyoko who was already looking to me apologetically. "You're going to blow the cover!"

"I'm sorry!" He said nervously, throwing his hands up in defense, "I panicked."

I shrugged my shoulders and jumped up onto the counter behind him, sliding to the other side. "It doesn't matter." I said, walking toward our planning binder. "The crime will be in New York. They can't link us to that crime even if we told them we did it." I could practically hear Kiyoko relax behind me. "But people in New York, well they can." I grabbed the binder and turned back to them. "Do you all remember the plan?"

"Yup!" This was Warg, popping up from behind the counter. "Are those crazy men gone?"

"They're not crazy men?" Hideto said, confused.

"Then why were they hanging out in your bathroom?" Melga asked as if he saw something we hadn't, appearing at Warg's side.

Tapirmon was last to appear and he sighed. "I think the plan is crazy."

"Of course it is," I told him, "_We_ made it." I pointed to Hideto and Kiyoko and then myself. We weren't actually crazy-crazy, but I think being possessed by a king fairy demon, going through everything Marshall put me through, and living your entire life thinking you're inferior to everyone around you gave us permission to be a little weird every now and then. And we took advantage of that tonight. I set the binder down and was very serious for a moment. "Are there _any_ questions?" I asked. "I don't want to get there and have someone mess up. I trust you all, which is why you're involved, but Willis could be in serious danger and we can't mess this up."

"I remember my part." Tapirmon said, floating up to my eye level, "I'm just confused where we're supposed to meet up."

"Michael's dad's house." I told him simply. "It's closest to the scene. Do you remember where that is?"

"I think so." Tapirmon nodded nervously. "I hope so."

I checked my watch, nodding to him. "Alright..." I said slowly, "We have three minutes before the plan actually starts. If anyone has to use the washroom, now would be a good time. They installed the toilets. You'll have to wash your hands in the kitchen though." No one moved, though Kiyoko looked like he was debating whether or not he should go. "No?" I asked, again, silence. "Okay, let's move."

Kiyoko's face paled immediately in contrast to Hideto who formed a wicked grin, like he was about to try a new roller coaster or something equally thrilling. And thrilling was possibly the only plus side to what we were about to do. My heart was already beating faster than normal as I ran through the plan in my head again and again. I couldn't mess this up. This was a crime. And not a silly stupid crime like stealing a lighter from a convenience store. This was breaking into one of the highest secured buildings in New York. A place that has been kept entirely secret to the public because the Government thought it was too dangerous to let anyone know what was going on inside.

Also. I was stressing out about the man in the Dark Ocean. I'd have to remember to pull him back out the day after the court case. I didn't want to leave him there forever. I just didn't want to have to put up with him right now, and it wasn't like he could die. He was basically in Hell. So... yeah.

We'd entered the Digital World already, and had crept through the silent Temple. It had been oddly eerie with no one moving around the usually bustling market place. The gates of course were going to be locked, and guarded, so we'd climbed on top one of the walls and climbed down the other side. That was one of the parts of the plan I'd been most afraid of, but actually doing it wasn't so bad. Maybe it was because of the adrenaline, or maybe because dying wouldn't be so bad at this point. Just letting go and falling into that insane pit of mist below us, and ceasing to exist would make our lives easier. But that was selfish, and I knew that. I had to just go and save Willis once and for all. Terriermon and Lopmon would definitely be happy about that. I was already halfway down the wall when I'd remembered that they were in fact _in_ the Temple right now. I could have taken them with me.

But if we failed, I didn't want them to be a part of that. If we failed, they'd never have gotten their hopes up. Or if we find out Willis was dead—I wouldn't want them to find out the way we would have.

I heard Kiyoko whimper above me, his fingers trembling as they gripped the large bricks that made up the wall. Hideto paused just below him and was ready to help in any way he could, but Tapirmon was faster, and was using his head against Kiyoko's butt to keep him up as best he could.

The cement that kept the bricks together was sunken, a few inches at least, and the gaps between the bricks was even larger, so climbing down wasn't actually difficult—but keeping your grip and sanity the whole way down was. Warg and Melga seemed to be having the hardest time with their big clawed hands, but even they were working their way down.

"Why didn't we just..." Hideto paused, staring down to where he needed his foot to go. "...change the location of the door? Why did we need to go through the Temple?"

"Yeah?" Warg said, "Or maybe we could have just asked the guys at the door to let us through?"

"We can't!" I said sharply, "You know that. No one can know what we're doing. This is a secret. No one can ever know what we've done. Well, except Willis. We can't—" My foot slipped and I let out a scream, but Tapirmon moved like lightning, away from Kiyoko and toward me. I was thankful, but Kiyoko, who had grown to rely on Tapirmon's assistance was struggling again.

With one sudden slip of his hand, he was falling.

"Crap!" Hideto grunted, as he grabbed Kiyoko's flailing arm as he fell past him. The weight of Kiyoko ripped Hideto away from the wall as well. I watched in horror as the two of them fell the last thirty or so feet toward the grassy lip that surrounded the Temple.

They landed with a thud that I could hear from where I was, and Kiyoko had so much momentum that he kept rolling and actually fell over the edge into the misty moat, but Hideto still had a grip on his hand and was holding him tight.

I looked away as Tapirmon hurried down to help them.

My heart was pounding and I was ready to give up already. If this was too hard for us, then how were we supposed to go unnoticed the rest of the way? I was moving as fast as I could, pretending I was climbing a simple ladder, moving swiftly down to the floor of my library after having sorted all of the books alphabetically.

Soon enough, my feet were planted on the soft, damp grass. Kiyoko, Hideto and Tapirmon were all leaning against the stone wall, relieved, their legs outstretched. The lip of ground was small enough that Hideto's feet were dangling over the edge. He noticed me staring at them and pulled them back, looking up at me. "That went well." He said sarcastically as Melga dropped the last few feet and landed next to Kiyoko. We all looked to Warg who was a lot more cautious than the rest of us. Finally he made it down and we were all moving single filed around the Temple.

The plan was simple, and Tapirmon was already taking initiative. We could see the bridge itself, golden and glistening in the moonlight. The mist and fog was becoming easier to see through and the sounds of the weirdly magical waterfalls that fell from nowhere in particular right below us was starting to comfort me.

"HELP!" Tapirmon shouted from in the distance. Kiyoko looked sharply toward him, momentarily forgetting it was part of the plan and then relaxed. The guards on the bridge looked toward him and we all ducked to stay hidden under the cover of the mist and the darkness. "Help me!" Tapirmon was at the edge of the bridge now. "Someone is in trouble!" The guards were quick to leave their post and rush off to help Tapirmon as we all moved as fast as our legs would take us.

Hideto helped us all over the side of the bridge, and then we were off, running down the solid stretch of gold as silently as possible.

"Why didn't we just get Tapirmon to distract them and then come through the door?" Hideto asked me quietly.

"The door weighs eight tonnes and sounds like an orchestra of whales being beaten by a bunch of tyrannosaurus rex." I reminded him. He didn't respond but nodded to show he understood, and no one else spoke until we were under the cover of the nearby trees. We just had to wait until Tapirmon returned. We were to meet in Taichi's back yard because it was the most obvious place.

When we got there we saw that his living room light was left on, so we kept down in case he was still awake. We sat by the lake for five full minutes until Tapirmon arrived.

"Good job," Kiyoko smiled, hugging his partner. "Did you just run away? Are they confused?"

"No, we found a really old Togemon who fell into a well." Tapirmon giggled, "He actually needed help."

"Okay guys," I said, cutting into their bonding time a little too sharply. "The nearest gateway?"

"Right!" Melga proclaimed, "It's this way." He led the way back into the trees, all of us following as quietly as possible. It wasn't far at all. We could still see the faint light coming from Taichi's house when we had come to a stop.

"Alright," Hideto said finally, "So this is my part?" He asked. I nodded and motioned for Warg and Melga to step aside. "Ready guys?"

They both nodded and he slammed his fists together.

"**Warg warp-digivolve to... Wargreymon!"**

"**Melga warp-digivolve to... Metalgarurumon!"**

"**Wargreymon digivolve to..."**

"**Metalgarurumon digivolve to..."**

"**Omnimon!"**

Kiyoko pulled out his own digivice and looked to Tapirmon with a nervous grin. "Go for it."

"**Tapirmon warp-digivolve to... Piedmon!"**

I watched with a twinge of jealousy, biting my tongue as they digivolved like crazy people until finally the light show had stopped and they were all standing tall. Hideto patted Kiyoko's shoulder and then immediately used one of his digivices to open the portal.

Kiyoko was quick to stop him though. "Wait!" He shouted. He turned to Piedmon and hugged him. They both nervously looked to me and I turned my head to give them some privacy. "Don't get hurt." Kiyoko warned. "I need you to come back."

"I will," Piedmon assured him. "I promise. You be careful too." Kiyoko nodded with a smile and hugged him once more, signalling they were ready to go. Hideto waved to Kiyoko momentarily and they were gone a second later with more flashing lights.

"So we wait for Hideto?" Kiyoko asked. I nodded, and he looked like he wanted to say more but he chose not to. I knew he was worried about the safety of Piedmon and Omnimon. I'd heard him talk to Hideto about it when he thought I couldn't hear. They were scared they'd be caught or something. But I wasn't afraid of that. Probably because I had a clear mind when thinking about it, but they were too fast and strong to be caught by anything. All they had to do was create diversions around town, and near the building that kept Willis hostage. They were our bait, so I could understand their nervousness... but if they thought I'd put their partners in a place where I thought they might not come back alive they were mistaken. I would never separate them from their partners permanently. I wasn't that kind of person.

The two of us waited a moment in silence, obviously understanding how odd this was. Just because I'd come up with this plan was the one in charge tonight did not mean I was our leader. Hideto was definitely in charge when it came to most endeavours, and not having him felt like we were missing a huge chunk of the team. We needed him to thrive basically.

Then he was back, standing behind us. I heard his footfalls, and turned to face him.

But suddenly my heart lurched and I pushed Kiyoko out of the way, diving toward the ground. There were three people dressed in even more black than we were, standing around us. It looked like if we'd been the ones to sneak up on them we could have tricked them into thinking we were on their team, but as it had been the other way around, they were angry.

Each was holding a shimmering silver gun in their hands, pointing them toward us.

"What the crap?" Kiyoko managed to yelp as we shot into the trees. The ground was soft and my heels were sinking into the dirt slowing my movements, but that didn't matter. I knew, and hopefully Kiyoko did too, that we could not go too far from the gateway. When Hideto returned he would be confronted by those creepy people in black clothes. But they weren't creepy just because of the black clothes—because _we_ weren't creepy. We were awesome. They were creepy because of their desire to _shoot_ us.

There was a loud crack from behind us and a flash of violet light shot past my left ear, smashing into one of the trees ahead of us, melting a hole straight through the middle. Kiyoko let out his second whimper of the night and I could see a plan formulating in his head as we ran.

"I wish I brought my computer... Masks Square..." He muttered, but suddenly he was in a better mood. "Never mind. I've got this." He reached toward me and grabbed my hand, darting to the side suddenly in an arch to return to the gateway. "Hopefully." He added.

I looked to the left and saw the woman who had appeared, holding her gun toward us. She pulled the trigger and a shot blasted from the barrel and toward us. I panicked and let out a scream, but Kiyoko had faster instincts and pulled me down to the ground sharply. I landed on my knees which sunk partially into the muddy ground leaving stains on my awesome super hero outfit.

Then Kiyoko was running again, dragging me momentarily until I'd found my footing. This time it was Kiyoko who let out a scream as he saw the two men before I did. They were standing on either side of the trees right next to the portal.

I heard panting behind me and realized that the girl was now following us. "Do something!" I panicked.

"I am!" He insisted. He pointed his digivice to the portal as he dragged me past, and then reached his hand out to grab to a thin tree, stopping his running immediately, and rounding on our attackers as the light of the portal enveloped them. My panicking stopped quickly as a smile spread across my face. The attackers were sucked into the tiny computer that sat on the ground and I looked to Kiyoko with a grin.

"Where'd they go?" I asked.

"Russia!" He laughed, "I was inspired by you and that mean lawyer guy."

"Well," I laughed, "Russia is not quite as bad as the Dark Ocean."

"Isn't it?" He asked seriously.

Two minutes later Hideto had returned to the two of us crouching with our backs to one another, watching for any sign of the others. He looked to us, one eyebrow raised. "Long story," Kiyoko said simply to spare him the details, pushing Hideto out of the way so he could get to work. He knelt down to use the miniature keyboard that went alone with the tiny computer. He pulled my cell phone from his pocket and got to work.

"Omnimon and Piedmon?" I asked.

"In place," He confirmed. "So what happened here? Anything interesting?"

"Ah, yeah." I said sheepishly, "We were attacked. By three humans." He looked completely flabbergasted and I laughed, "We showed them. Don't you worry about us." I didn't tell him it was mostly Kiyoko—or all Kiyoko—because we turned to see Kiyoko doing even more for us. Without him we'd be just as useless as we'd be without Hideto.

Kiyoko was clicking away at the keyboard, until finally he smiled, "Got it." He looked up to us. "The signal was blocked, so I had to follow Willis' trail to hack into it again. Whoever tried to cover it up didn't know what they were doing." He stood up and we all turned to one another.

"Ready?" Hideto asked.

"Ready." Kiyoko and I agreed. Hideto motioned for Kiyoko to do the honours and he held up his device, opening the portal. As we were going through I started to panic again. Where were we coming out of? What if there were people all around where we were? We'd never have time to escape. Or what if this was all for nothing? What if Willis was dead...?

We'd waited a long time. It had been three days since his message—but we went as fast as we could. We couldn't just come in without a plan! But what if we hadn't gone fast enough? What if I'd lost him? I didn't know if I could handle losing anyone else. They say time heals wounds, but I think that was said by someone who scraped their knees, because I still felt like my heart was ripped in two over Lalamon—I couldn't take any more of that. Not from Willis.

He had to be okay.

There was silence ringing around us as our feet hit the carpeted flooring of the office rooms. Hideto and I were quick to look around for any signs of life, but Kiyoko was already moving, seemingly not caring that we could be caught at any moment.

And what kind of danger was Willis really in? Because if we _were_ caught, we could be subjected to the same fate. Didn't he know that?

Apparently not. He was waving to the ceiling. There was a tiny mechanical sound, like a tiny crane moving and Kiyoko understood. "Cameras," He said, "Found them." I had forgotten that part of the plan! Good thing Kiyoko was a clearer thinker than I was.

...That was not something I'd admit aloud.

He sat down quickly at the nearest computer and started working away at something. Hideto rushed to the doorway to ensure no one could sneak up on us and I was looking out the wall of windows to where Omnimon and Piedmon were ballroom dancing in the streets. I let out a laugh, and then turned to the others to apologize, but neither seemed to notice.

Kiyoko groaned, "I can't do anything on this computer. I need the head computer." We all looked around to the surrounding computers. "Which one is it?" He asked.

"Probably that one." Hideto said, pointing through a window into a private office space. We were all crowded around the window looking into the office where a large computer sat on a beautiful mahogany desk. On the desk there was a gold plated name tag that read 'Director Arnold.' And there was a painted portrait on the wall of Arnold looking sternly down through the window to intimidate the workers. "Just a guess."

Kiyoko had already gone to the door, but he let out a sound of frustration. "It's locked. Now what are we going to do?"

"Oh, move over." I rolled my eyes at his dramatics and pulled a bobby pin from my hair and a paper clip from one of the desks. I pushed him out of the way and knelt down, working away at the lock. I had to take my gloves off to work on it, but after a moment there was a click and I pushed the door open. "Voila."

Kiyoko looked to me with amazement, and then hurried into the room. It took all of three seconds to hit another snag in the plan. Thankfully there didn't seem to be anyone around, because the timing of the plan was now completely off. There were too many snags already. "I need a password."

"Even someone in a head office would write his password down somewhere," I said, "Look around. But make sure everything goes back where it was." With the gloves on again, I had no grip on anything and kept dropping random things, like Arnolds cup of pens, which thankfully did not break. Hideto was going through the filing cabinet, and Kiyoko was looking through the drawers in the desk. I lifted some weird bottled ship thing and looked it over, but there was no password inside. But as I tried to set it down, it slipped from my hand and fell to the floor where it smashed into a million pieces.

Both Hideto and Kiyoko looked sharply toward me and I tried to smile, but I was just panicking. It had been loud, what if someone heard it? I spun toward the door, and my hand hit the golden name plate, which fell to the ground with a series of clanging noises. I panicked even more and picked it up as quickly as I could.

Hideto had left the room to make sure no one was outside and Kiyoko was helping clean up the mess, both of our hands were shaking as we swept the broken glass onto a sheet of paper to throw out. "What's that?" Kiyoko asked, catching sight of the name plate.

"His name, I know, English letters are weird." I told him.

"No, I know English," Kiyoko said, "I mean on the bottom." I looked to the name plate where there was a series of numbers and letters engraved into the inside of the golden triangle shaped name plate. "Is that the password?"

"Try it," I said, hastily shoving it into his hands, "I'll clean this up."

Kiyoko was gone and replaced by Hideto who helped me finish up the cleaning, and Kiyoko let out a triumphant "A-ha!" And we were by his side a moment later. "Okay," He said, "I can erase the footage, and replace it with a still frame of the office being empty. So I'll do that. But first I'll check for any security measures, and take them down."

"How long will that take?" Hideto asked.

"Too long..." I muttered.

"I'll stay up here," Kiyoko said, "Use your digivices to talk to me." He held up his own and dropped it again, already getting to work. "I'll be careful, I promise. Just go find Willis and let's get out of here." Hideto looked unsure, but Kiyoko glared at him and he nodded, grabbing my hand and setting off again.

It was here that the plan became impossible to complete without trial and error. We'd have to find him somewhere, but he could be anywhere at all in this enormous building.

"Guys?" Kiyoko's voice came loudly through the digivices. "Is this working?"

"Yes," Hideto whispered, "But be quieter!"

"Sorry!" Kiyoko whispered back, "I'm checking the camera footage from every floor, and I can't find him anywhere. There are people sleeping on the ground floor though. Maybe four? None of them are Willis though—ignore them."

"Okay," Hideto and I said together.

So we checked the offices first, since they didn't all have cameras, but the entire floor was empty, and a lot of the computers had been moved out into the open space where we'd come from originally. So with the okay from Kiyoko we moved down a floor.

"There's a room directly to the right that doesn't have a camera." Kiyoko warned us in the elevator. "Be careful."

When the elevator silently opened we crept out and poked our heads quickly in and out of the room that Kiyoko had mentioned. It appeared to be a kitchen of sorts, but what had caught my eye was the woman with blonde hair, looking down the streets laughing. The digimon distraction was working.

We moved quickly and quietly through the hallways, looking into every room, and in every closet and under every desk. Willis was somewhere in this building dead or alive, and that meant we'd be finding him whether we liked what we saw or not.

He wasn't on that floor so, sneaking past the blonde woman again, we were back in the elevator. There was no sign of Willis on the next four floors either, and we were nearing the main floor of the building. How many other places could there be?

It was on the second floor that Kiyoko finally got back to us again, "There's laser security somewhere in the building, and I shut it off, but there's no sign of it on any of the cameras."

"Laser security?" Hideto asked. "How cliché?"

When the elevator opened and we were faced with the back of a man. He was just outside the elevator, talking on the telephone angrily. Even without seeing his face I recognized him as Director Arnold. Hideto and I both backed against the walls as he spun to enter the elevator. We acted the only way we could, and took our chance, slipping through the door as he entered, and slammed ourselves against the walls just outside.

Arnold's ranting through the telephone did not falter for a moment, so I knew we had gone unseen. "Yes, I'm telling you, I will go check it out! It is in my office, and I will get right back to you." Hideto looked to me like someone had just stabbed me, panic shooting across his face. "And, yes. Tomorrow in the basement. As always."

_Basement_?

Here? Was there a basement here?

The door to the elevator had shut and Hideto was already pulling his digivice to his face.

"Good save guys," Kiyoko said with a nervous laugh, "Didn't see him there. I'll be more—"

"Kiyoko, get out." Hideto interrupted sharply. "He's going up to his office."

"For how long?" Kiyoko asked. "I'm busy here."

"Just get out!" I said sharply into the device.

"But there's all kinds of information here!" Kiyoko hissed. "I'm learning all kinds of things."

"Too bad." Hideto argued as a flash of violet light caught my attention. My eyes shot to the window right behind him, and I pushed him aside and looked down to the ground one story below. My fears had been proven true as two people dressed in ragged clothing used the same guns Kiyoko and I had seen in the Digital World to shoot toward Omnimon and Piedmon.

I grabbed Hideto and pulled him toward the window, "...You could be killed!" He was saying, but his attention faded away from Kiyoko momentarily as he saw another jet of light shoot toward Omnimon. "Trackers?" He asked nervously.

I shook my head, "It burned a hole through the trees in the Digital World." Omnimon used his Supreme Cannon to melt the paved streets in front of their attackers and motioned for Piedmon to run the other way. "Kiyoko, Piedmon is in danger." Hideto said into the digivice, his voice breaking.

"What?" Kiyoko asked, "Oh crap! Don't talk to me anymore, someone's coming."

"Dammit!" Hideto shouted, smashing his fist into the wall as one of the tiny people below shot at Piedmon, who dodged expertly. Omnimon had already fled, and was running through the streets toward Michael's father's house. Piedmon was panicking though, and with a jump into the air had landed on a building behind him, just as another violet stream of light shot toward him.

I was unable to watch, but Hideto gasped loudly and I risked a glance to see Piedmon falling off the building in the back. "Did that hit him?" Hideto asked breathlessly, "That... it... dammit!" He yelled again. "Let's just go." He said as if it was a very hard decision to make.

"I'll go," I told him. "You go help Kiyoko... or-or Piedmon. W-whoever you think is st-still..."

"He's still alive." Hideto said firmly, but even he didn't believe himself. "I'll be back." He said, "Meet us back by the computers."

"Okay." I nodded, "Okay." He hugged me quickly and slammed his fist into the elevator's call button. "Good luck." I told him.

"You too." He nodded, and then I was rushing toward the stairs. I knew exactly where Willis was now. Providing there really was a basement. Kiyoko hadn't mentioned one... I slowly pushed through the door at the bottom of the stairs and saw the sleeping people Kiyoko had mentioned. They were each either snoring or breathing heavily, the blankets around them rising and falling as they slept on the pull out couches in what appeared to be a lobby. The front desk sat in the corner serving no one, and there were small tables piled high with magazines as if this were a place of frequent use and not Government owned secret property.

My eyes scanned the room for more stairs, or the elevator which I hoped Hideto was done using now, but instead they landed on the woman standing through the glass doorway squinting her eyes to look into the room. She was holding one of the guns—she was one of the people who had hit Piedmon!

With my heart beating loudly in my ears, and my eyes threatening to cry, I stormed directly over to the door and opened threw it open.

"Hey, what's up?" I said, my voice shaking as I swung my fist into her face, hitting her head on. She fell back with a scream of pain, and I was walking confidently over to the elevator ignoring the gasps and strangled sounds of the people waking up. The elevator was quick to open, and I had a feeling Hideto had sent it down to me. I stepped inside as the lady I'd punched got to her feet and aimed her gun to me, firing without hesitation.

Once again I slammed myself against the wall as the violet light intruded my space and the girl ran toward me at top speeds.

I pressed the basement button that I'd not noticed before again and again with my eyes clenched shut and finally the sensational sound of the elevator closing relaxed my entire body. I was wary when opening my eyes in case she'd managed to get on board, but I was thankfully alone.

Not for long though.

The door was sliding open and letting a faint fluorescent light pour inside. I was staring to the pristine white tiled flooring and I swallowed thickly, looking up nervously.

There was a wooden table with a matching chair sitting in the middle of the wide hallway that was lined with glass. Behind each glass panel, which were each accompanied by a thin slot in the middle, and a door that was also glass, there was a white wall at the back and two similar glass walls created bulletproof cases. And inside each glass case was a creature unlike any I'd ever seen.

The one immediately to my left was long and twisted like a snake-like fox. The creature looked to me with hungry eyes and I tried to ignore the sly look it was giving me with its eyes that looked far too human to be coincidental. As I moved down the hallway my pace quickened. If Willis was here I wanted to get him and get out.

One of the creatures started with a low growl, and I turned toward him. It was basically a large fluffy ball with teeth. There were no visible eyes, just sharp, glistening teeth. And when it opened its mouth, it let out a mangled bellow that did not fit the description. The sound came out like a woman's scream—like a banshee, and suddenly every one of the creatures was screaming in strange human-ish manners.

All except the slender one at the end of the hallway. The enormous jaw was wide open making the slender snout look anything but gentle. The long slippery tongue was flopping around as the squelching sounds echoed around the room. His golden eyes locked with mine and he didn't seem to be planning to look away—not that I would either. I was horrified and transfixed by what I saw.

And then finally, standing right in front of his case, I tore my eyes away, looking to the right.

I froze, staring down into the quietest case in the room. In the center of the perfectly white space, there was a fragile looking man, curled up in a sleeping position. Or one that was meant to be a sleeping position. There was no way he could be asleep through this sound. And sure enough, his ears were covered by his dirty hands that were tangled in his greasy hair.

I fell to my knees and placed my hands up to the glass.

It was Willis.

Everything we'd just done seemed somehow worth it, seeing him like that. Seeing him in a state of pure solitude and starvation. We were going to help him. And even though Kiyoko and Hideto could be in danger right now, or that Kiyoko and I had almost been killed, or that my hand ached from punching someone in the face... even though we'd gone through a series of unfortunate events leading up to this... it was all worth it because we'd save him.

And then we'd get out, and we'd save Piedmon. Because he was_ not_ dead.

I stood up slowly and turned to the table in the middle of the room, ignoring the frustrated and angry yells from everyone around me. Sitting amongst unorganized papers sat a ring of keys. I grabbed them quickly. There were only two, so it would go smoothly I hoped.

The first key I tried opened the door to Willis' case, which almost never was the case in movies, so I took that as a good sign.

I pulled open the glass wall and stepped inside, smiling down to Willis who had still not moved. I panicked for a moment thinking he could be dead, but I could see the gentle movements of his chest as he breathed slowly.

I cleared my throat and his eyes shot open in a panic. "Oh Willis, you're here?" I said as casually as I could, tossing my hair over my shoulder. "I totally didn't know." He was quick to sit up, his eyes scanning me to ensure I was real. "Did you miss me?"

"You—" He stopped to clear his throat from not having used it, "You have no idea." He said finally, pulling himself to his feet quickly. I hugged him but he froze, "Head rush!" he groaned.

"Let's get out of here." I told him.

"And go to McDonald's?" He begged, "Please, I'm so hungry."

I couldn't help but laugh. Only Willis would be thinking about a greasy hamburger in a situation like this. "Alright." I agreed. "But first we have to save the rest of the idiots who got themselves all trapped in this building."

"Who?" Willis asked as I pulled him from his case and into the noisy hallway.

"Alias III." I said.

"That's you though," He said nervously.

"Right you are, Willis." I said as confidently as I could. I called the elevator since there seemed to be no stairs, and we waited impatiently. When the doors finally opened I groaned loudly when I caught sight of the girl who had shot at me.

Lucky for me, I was pumped full of adrenaline after finding Willis and I reached forward before she could react and grabbed her shooting arm to twist it behind her back. She dropped the gun swiftly and screamed. I pushed her out of the elevator, kicking the gun after her, where it skidded to a halt next to Willis' open prison case.

She scrambled to her feet and raced Willis to the prize—or so I thought. She was faster, but Willis barely noticed, and he slammed her with the side of his body, pushing her inside. He quickly locked the door and pulled the keys out, dropping them on the ground.

"That was fun." He said joining me in the elevator. I removed my hand from the doors so they could close and Willis let out an exasperated laugh. "Oh my god. I can't believe I got her!"

"Don't like her?" I asked.

"She's the one who fed me." Willis admitted. "She gave me a piece of bread a day and ate the rest in front of me."

"Well then I'd say she had that coming." I grinned.

The elevator opened once again, this time on the top floor where I had agreed I would meet up with Hideto. The hallways were filled with Director Arnold's angry voice. At first I thought he may be screaming at Kiyoko and Hideto, but nothing he was saying made any sense. "I told you we had a deal, and we do!" He insisted, "Just trust me. Give me more time! I'll pull through. We're nearly there!"

I pressed my fingers to my lips and slowly peeked around the corner, and nearly died of a heart attack at the sight of Hideto standing, his back pressed against the wall. He turned toward me and his face lit up. "Find him?" He asked quietly.

"Who, me?" Willis asked.

Hideto grinned. "Excellent. Kiyoko is still in there."

"Why?" I asked both elated and nervous. Who was going to tell Kiyoko about Piedmon?

"Idiot hasn't noticed him." Hideto said, "Take a look." He slipped out of the way so I could see. I poked my head in the room to see Arnold's chair turned toward the windows. Kiyoko was perched underneath his desk looking pleased with himself and scared at the same time. I turned back to Hideto with one eyebrow raised. "Cliché, I know." He said, "Hiding under the desk."

"Well then," Willis said, "Allow me to spice it up for you." He cleared his throat and without warning stepped into the doorway. "Director Arnold." He said firmly. "I believe your prisoner has escaped."

There was a mangled yell from within as Hideto and I stepped into view as well. Willis was rash and stupid, but how were we supposed to get Kiyoko out without waiting all night? "How did—what?" Arnold spluttered as he got to his feet. Then with a yelp he was falling face first into the carpet. Kiyoko giggled and bolted from underneath the desk.

"Tied his shoe laces together!" He laughed, "Let's go!"

He was the first one to the computer, using his digivice to activate it, and soon we were sucked through, into the Digital World. We all landed outside Taichi's house again, and I swallowed thickly. Maybe using the Digimon wasn't such a good idea after all... what would Kiyoko say? How would he react?

It was my fault after all...

"And on to Michael's dad's house!" Kiyoko grinned, using the computer again.

We landed in the beautifully decorated living room of Michael's father, and were greeted by a loud frightened scream.

"Oh, hey Mom." Willis laughed nervously. Willis' mother, who had lost a lot of weight jumped to her feet and sighed.

"I thought you were an intruder!" She proclaimed. "Anyone want cookies?"

"All of them," Willis said ravenously, "I would like them all."

"Well that won't be entirely possible," Mary said slowly, pointing to the kitchen, "Your friends arrived just a few moments before you did, and they've eaten quite a few." All four of us turned to see three digimon sitting around the kitchen island eating cookies.

"Tapirmon!" Kiyoko beamed, rushing to his partner. Hideto and I looked to one another and smiled.

Saved Willis, Piedmon didn't die, Kiyoko may have learned something about what Director Arnold was doing—_and_ we got cookies. Today wasn't such a bad day.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Hideto and Takeru both prepare for The Long Haul in their own ways, trying to keep everything under control while everything around them spins further and further into chaos.


	24. The Long Haul

**Y/N: **Hideto's was random and ridiculous. But it was fun too. So yeah.

**U/N: **I don't exactly remember writing this chapter, but I do remember Yolei is involved, and that I have to edit something. So I'mma do that riiight now. Okay, also TK, while one of my favourite characters, is the hardest to write I would say because he's not a whole lot like me. I guess? He's just hard. So every time a Tk chapter comes up it's more difficult than the rest for me, so yay. It's good to write a challenge though, I suppose. Anyway, review :D

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 3: Ignorance**

**Chapter 24: The Long Haul**

_**Takeru Takaishi:**_

"Well, yeah, I guess." I said to Tatum, setting the computer down on the metal table we'd found in one of the lower chambers of the Coliseum. She was using video chat to contact us—mostly me though. She was instructed by Taichi to ask me how things were going, and there was really not a whole lot to comment on.

"I don't know," She said, shrugging her shoulders, her eyes flicking toward the right of the screen, "He's just worried I think." She said.

"Well there's no need to worry," I told her with a bright grin that felt fake, even to me. "Daisuke stopped by this morning with another load of our things, and we're nearly moved out of our apartment, so that's good news. There's also Kae Ichijouji and Yoshie Izumi here now as well."

The sound of wheels sliding across a concrete floor interrupted whatever Tatum was about to say and with a sudden turn of the computer Koushiro was on the screen in front of me. "My mother?" He asked. "She's there in the Coliseum?"

I nodded and moved my head aside so he could be granted full access to Kae and Yoshie laughing with one another, scrubbing the walls with thick yellow sponges. For three days Patamon, Gabumon, Gatomon, Agumon and of course Hikari had been cleaning the entrance chamber of the Coliseum. With that done we'd moved on to the first few cells but it seemed pointless without first removing the bars. Luckily Koushiro had fired off an email to us about not digivolving because apparently the enemies could now track that kind of activity. Angewoman and Angemon would have been perfect digimon to employ to tear down some walls, and we'd definitely have thought of that.

Instead we'd gotten Ogremon and Leomon to tear a few down, and now there was an enormous pile of dented, rusted and otherwise useless metal in the corner of our previously spotless entrance chamber. Aside from that, it was great to have the bars gone.

Kae and Yoshie were here simply because my mother had asked them if they'd wanted to. I'd been on the phone with her last night talking about what we were doing and she'd just happened to be with Kae at the time, so she brought Yoshie along with her. With Hikari gone I was glad to have more help—especially human help. Not that the digimon weren't awesome, but without digivolving Agumon, Gabumon and Gatomon could only reach so high. Patamon had cleaned most of the walls himself since he was the only one able to fly.

After tearing out a lot of the cage doors Ogremon and Leomon set off, back toward the Temple claiming that Taichi could use their assistance, but I was pretty sure they had just searched for an excuse to get away from Babamon. It was evident to anyone with a brain that they had been getting annoyed with her, even before their arrival late the previous night.

Babamon just went on and on about how no one respected her, and as annoying as it was—because respect was earned, not given blindly—I felt bad for her. Gennai was kind of in the same boat when he died. Everyone was mad or frustrated with him, but he had a reason behind all of his insane madness. Sure it was a dumb reason, but to him it made sense. And then he died and we were all left dumbfounded because we couldn't thank him for sparing Iori's life, or for doing all he'd done for us in the past—or even apologize for treating him like crap.

And that was why I was not going to treat Babamon poorly, no matter how annoying she got. Sure she'd never done anything explicitly helpful for me, or anyone that I knew of, but I wanted to make sure that if she spontaneously died after sacrificing herself for someone who jumped in front of a flying axe or something that was about to hit my girlfriend that I treated her as kindly as possible leading to that moment.

Not that I thought Hikari was going to be targeted again. The Cycle of the Crests was over really. The crest of light was now nothing more than a tool for balance of darkness and emotion. Plus, Gatomon had it. If anyone was in trouble it was her.

My eyes flicked toward her and I smiled; she laughed loudly balancing atop Agumon's head as he bounced her as high as possible up the wall to reach more of the wall.

"Takeru?" I looked back to the computer and saw Tatum and Koushiro's faces squished into view. "Can I speak to her?" I nodded and hopped to my feet.

Yoshie and Kae were speaking to each other in very nurturing tones, each on their knees, scrubbing the floor of the cell across the hall from my own. "Mrs Izumi?" I interrupted as politely as possible, "Koushiro would like to talk to you."

"Is he here?" She asked, looking around me as if he would be hiding there.

"No," I said, "On the computer." She looked a little put out but smiled anyway, dropping the sponge into the bucket and rushing off to the computer to speak with her son. Her place was filled instantly as if the violet haired girl who now sat on the dirty ground was spying, just waiting to get her hands dirty to take part in the activities. Miyako had an enormous grin on her face, shoving her whole arm into the tin bucket, taking Yoshie's forgotten sponge. "Miyako? Are you sure you should be doing like... labour?"

"What?" She asked, looking up to me? "Why wouldn't I?"

_Because you're not fooling anyone with your 'I ate the biggest taco this morning' story because we were all with you. We know you have a baby inside of you._

I didn't actually know how to respond—and even if she'd told us all about the baby I wouldn't want to say anything. Was it offensive to assume that a girl with a baby inside of her was unable to do anything? Was that sexist, or just naive? I didn't know, and I didn't have to, because Wormmon, who was apparently on the ceiling, cleaning away grime, had just pressed a square bit of stone that was sticking out, and the entire ceiling opened up revealing arrows pointed directly to the ground.

I reached forward and grabbed both Kae and Miyako, pulling them sharply from the cell as they both screamed. Arrows rained down, clanging against the floor.

When the sound stopped I noticed everyone was watching and Wormmon was on the ceiling cowering as the ceiling closed up again.

"That would be why." I told her flatly.

"Is everybody alright?" Yoshie asked hastily rushing toward us. "What's going on?"

"Neo had this place rigged," I explained, "It's really dangerous." Poking my head into the cell and looking up at Wormmon I added, "So let's not press any suspicious looking buttons, okay?"

"Yes, sir!" Wormmon saluted, upside down.

Being in charge was fun. I rarely got the chance to show my leadership abilities, but honestly I was a pretty nice guy so leading wasn't a foreign concept to me. It was easy enough to rally everyone together against one cause because they all sort of agreed with me whenever I started a dramatic speech about something.

I'd even convinced Daisuke and Kurayami to clean my bedroom once by convincing them it was their civil duty or something random like that.

Okay, so I wasn't a model citizen, but I had just had a really bad day at work and—yeah okay, there's no excuse there.

"Takeru, sir!" Rei shouted, rushing down the hallway with a grin, she was playing into the whole concept and just loved that she got to do something more than knit or roll around in the leaves like she usually did. She didn't actually roll around in leaves, but when I pictured living in the Digital World, I figured I'd do that a lot. Because leaves are fun. Rei saluted to me, just as Wormmon had done and Pal and Pul came to a halt in the air above Rei, hovering over either shoulder. "I found a secret door leading to more cells."

"Be careful," I warned, "They could be dangerous. Remember, in the Eastern wing there's a false floor that if you step on you'll fall right through."

"Well this one goes West," She told me. "Should I venture in?"

"If you're brave enough, I can't see why not," I told her.

"Thank you sir, you won't regret this!" She saluted me again and then was running back off the other direction.

I turned to Patamon and Agumon who were both now eavesdropping in on the conversation and I motioned for them to follow after Rei, "It could be dangerous, keep an eye on her please?"

"No problem!" Agumon shouted, rushing off immediately.

Patamon nodded as well, but fluttered over to me first, "Thank you," He said quietly, "I know we had our differences about safety in the past, and although this isn't exactly what I had in mind, it's a good halfway point."

"Of course," I said. And he was gone, flying quickly down the hallway toward Agumon, Rei, Pal and Pul.

I was returning to the computer where Yoshie and Koushiro were talking to make sure everything was alright—I had promised Hikari I wouldn't let any harm befall her computer, and I was going to keep that promise. She loved that thing. It was the first computer she'd found that would fit the floral casing she had bought. Yeah, she bought the case before the computer.

Silly, silly girlfriend.

"Tatum's quite upset actually." Koushiro said nervously, looking over his shoulder.

"Because we're taking up her computer?" Yoshie asked.

Koushiro shook his head, "No, not that at all." He said, "Every day she gets angrier over what is happening in the Digital World. A large percentage of the dialect in her rants pertains to the enemies' technology. She is, understandably, frustrated at their ability to create such pieces of work."

"What kind of technology?" I asked, kneeling down next to Yoshie. "What are they doing? I've yet to see anything really."

"Well," Koushiro said, holding his finger up as he slid out of the screen for a moment. He was back a second later with a piece of paper in his hand. "They have at least two separate projectile weapons which each have a unique function. One fires tiny red tracking devices that I've yet to understand. They attach themselves to the digimon and cannot be removed."

"Sounds sticky," Yoshie said nervously. Both Koushiro and I looked to her, "I didn't mean to make a joke—it's just what came out, I swear!"

Koushiro ignored her and continued, "The other appears to fire violet blasts of light, and I'm not sure at all what this one does."

"Oh," Miyako said, startling me. She had apparently decided that she too wanted to hear whatever this conversation was about. "I have one of them. One second." She rushed off and Koushiro looked impressed.

"Well," He continued, "According to Michael's younger sister the enemies have a force field of sorts that can prevent digimon from coming into the area in which it protects. They also have," He said, dropping his sheet of paper. "A flying saucer that can swim and move great distances in little time."

"Now you're pulling my leg," Yoshie said, laughing, but Tatum quickly took the computer and pointed it her way.

"Yeah, no." Tatum shook her head, "Nope. They have it. It's real apparently. How is this possible? Good question. There's no way they could have gotten it into the Digital World without us knowing, right? Every access point leads to the Temple. Everyone who wants to enter the Digital World _has_ to go straight through _this_ building. They've got more up their sleeves, if only we knew what it was."

"Well, I'm sure we can—" I started

"And when will someone give me a straight answer as to when we're going to save Willis?" She interrupted me. I didn't have any time to respond because Miyako had returned and gently pushed Yoshie and I aside to show Koushiro the gleaming gun she held in her hand. If it wasn't being used for nefarious purposes I would have wanted one. They were cool, sleek and looked like they could be from some sci fi movie.

Koushiro looked it over with a concentrated look on his face, but eventually gave up. "Would it be at all possible for you to bring that over to me at the Temple?" he asked her. "I can't look at it from there."

Miyako looked nervous but nodded, "Of course I can." She said, "I'll be right over."

"Well that's not true," Koushiro scoffed, "You make the journey sound short. It is exactly—"

"A six point two hour walk if I cut straight through the river, or seven and a half precisely if I use the bridge to the west." Miyako interrupted. "This is all assuming of course—"

"That there is no wind." Koushiro and I finished for her. She blushed and got to her feet.

"Right, well... I'll be there as soon as I can." She promised. She turned to me and looked like she was begging me to ask her to stay. "Take care of Wormmon, alright? I'll be back whenever I can be."

"Of course," I told her, "But, you know, if you don't want to go, I can go."

"No no," She said, shaking her head, "I'll do it. I have to do something. It's my duty as a—" She was cut off by the loud sound of the heavy doorway to the Coliseum being pushed open. We exchanged looks of confusion and then stepped into the hallway to look toward the doorway. The entrance chamber was clear aside from Katsue who was sitting in the corner opposite the piled metal with Monimon, working on something she deemed "Super important."

The doorway was being pushed open though, and soon a tall figure stepped inside. "Hideto?" Miyako asked, pushing past me quickly causing me to get a face full of her long hair. Hideto smiled to her but kept pushing the heavy door revealing Kiyoko, and then Mari and finally—

"Willis?" Miyako said, shocked. He grinned nervously and Miyako threw her arms around him.

"Tatum!" I shouted, stepping backwards excitedly, back toward Hikari's computer. "Koushiro!" I said to his hopeful and nervous face on the computer, "Tell Tatum Willis is here."

"How?" Koushiro wanted to know.

"He is?" Tatum excitedly stole the computers camera again. "I have to tell Michael! I have to tell Terriermon and Lopmon!" There was a blur across the screen as she had dropped the camera she had evidentially attached to her computer. Yoshie looked nervous, but Koushiro picked it up and apologized, placing the camera back on top of the computer itself.

I was back in the entrance hallway where Hideto was finishing up a story to Miyako, "And we high tailed it out of there," Miyako laughed and hugged Kiyoko, and then she was hugging Willis again.

"I wanna know the story!" I wasn't proud, but I had whined. "I need to write about it!"

"I'll tell you another time," Kiyoko promised.

I smiled to him and then found myself staring awkwardly to Willis whose lips were tightened as his eyes expressed total awkward, just as I felt mine surely were doing. "I'm happy you're safe?" I tried.

"Well... okay." He said, "Thanks."

Willis and I didn't interact much. Especially since he and Hikari had broken up—and then even less when Hikari and I had gotten together. Hikari and Willis still hung out sometimes. "If not for Willis, then for Lopmon. She's my friend too," Hikari would say. But I wasn't even jealous for some reason. I just trusted her blindly. I could only hope that wasn't for naught.

"Okay," Mari said, clapping her hands together, "Well Neo told us this was where we might find the Digidestined."

"Just us," Miyako said, pointing to me. "Jou's coming later though, maybe with Emiko."

"Oh joy," Hideto said, not bothering to hide the sarcasm.

"And Koushiro's on the computer," I said with a shrug. "Oh, and Daisuke comes and goes—Kurayami should be here soon."

"So everyone will be meeting here?" Hideto asked.

"Yeah eventually." I promised as Yoshie tapped my shoulder. I spun to face her. "What's up?"

"Taichi would like a word with you."

"Oh well you'd better hurry!" Babamon snarled from wherever she was exactly, "Don't want to keep Taichi waiting!"

I thanked Yoshie and hurried to the computer once again. This time it was Taichi who was on the screen. I sat down and waited for him to speak, but his head was in his hands so I cleared my throat. "Taichi?"

"Oh," He said, looking up sharply. "Okay, I just received word from Elecmon that Devimon is in the Primary Village."

"Really?" I groaned.

Taichi nodded "Can you and Hikari go check it out?"

"She's working," I told him. He looked frustrated and like his entire world was falling apart, "But I can go alone!" I insisted. He perked up and looked suddenly hopeful. "Yeah, I'll go. I can leave Miyako in charge."

"Miyako is coming to see me," Koushiro's phantom voice reminded me.

"Ah, right. Willis then?" I suggested, "Or Yoshie—Agumon—look, anyone can be in charge here. Maybe I'll let Babamon do it since she feels like everyone's been walking all over her."

"Don't do that," Taichi warned, "Nothing will get done."

"Maybe she'd be more apt to do work if we got Gigimon in here working with her." I suggested. Taichi looked frustrated and confused, and like his fuse was shorter these days, so I just filled him in quickly, "Her husband? Gigimon?"

"She has a husband?" Taichi and Koushiro asked together. "Digimon can do that?" Taichi continued. I wanted to ask how in the world neither of them knew that exactly since they both worked with her and everything, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want Taichi to get annoyed with me. We were on good terms—not that we'd ever not been. But seriously, just working with Babamon for one day I knew she had a husband. He was apparently cranky like her and that's why she loved him.

"Look, I have to go then," I told them, "I'll be going to Primary Village now. Good luck doing whatever you guys do over there."

"Not much." I heard Babamon mutter, apparently from the next cell over. I felt embarrassed knowing she could hear everything I'd said. Would she feel awkward knowing that I was the one who suggested bringing Gigimon? Would we even be able to find him? He seemed elusive. I'd never met him before—and Taichi and Koushiro had yet to even hear of him.

Maybe he was an imaginary husband... like Taichi said, digimon didn't need to feel love. But obviously some did. Patamon had that whole, searching for love thing once. Mummymon clearly loved Arukenimon, and Aimon was literally made of love. So it had to be possible.

I quickly scoped out Patamon who was investigating the dark hallways that Rei had accidentally uncovered with Agumon and the others. He was more than willing to go out into the world. I felt bad anyway having apparently 'come half way' when really I hadn't. This was what I wanted all along. A safe space that I'd never make him leave from. Feeling guilty was not good to have on my conscience as a temporary leader, and since digimon were still roaming free outside, most even without a partner, I didn't think too much harm could come of me bringing him along.

Miyako had already left by the time I was getting ready to leave, and Mari, Kiyoko, Hideto and Willis were somewhere unseen to me. Katsue, Kae and Yoshie were the only humans I could see, and apparently Koushiro and the others were done with the video call, as Yoshie had returned to work.

Stepping outside was wonderful. Even though it was artificial fresh air it was still better than the stuffy Coliseum with all of the grime covered walls and secret compartments. It could take weeks to clean this place out, even with all the incoming residents. Not to mention we still had nothing for them to sleep on. The only two clean sections were occupied by air mattresses and pillows, and piles of clothes. Yoshie, Kae and Miyako each had an air mattress because, well that seemed fair. But how were we supposed to host people like Kurayami's grandfather? We could _not_ bundle up a bunch of clothes, lay them on the floor and say "Here gramps, hope you like the smell of mildew."

We had a lot of work to do.

Patamon and I took Miyako's advice, and took the short cut, straight through the river. If it cut off two hours of walking, I'd take the couple extra minutes it took to take my shoes off and put them back on at the end. The river wasn't deep anyway. Where we were was the narrowed section where it began to shift into the Looking Glass. Hikari and I had gone for a walk yesterday to find it. It was beautiful really, but not nearly as close as I thought it would be. It was quite a far walk actually.

But close enough to be of use if we'd need it.

Patamon was telling me all about the secret tunnels he'd found with Rei during our walk. Apparently they'd found a lot of things. An office space that Neo used during his time as the Jogress King. When he proved his ability to fuse digimon together but did nothing with it. I had sent a text to Rei immediately after hearing that, telling her to put Hikari's computer in there.

I was totally calling dibs on the office until someone with a more legitimate need for it came along.

Apparently there was also a sort of lab that Rei theorized could be turned into a hospital of sorts. Again I messaged her, telling her to direct everyone's attention to that room. If it was going to be the hospital, it would need to be clean. Jou was coming soon and he could make the final call, but that could be important.

As it turned out, even not being there I was still in charge. So that was pretty cool.

I vaguely wondered what Iori had been up to lately. I hadn't seen him in a while, and then I remembered Patamon was talking to me.

"Do you think we should intervene?" he was saying.

"Where?" I asked, confused, "Sorry I blanked out."

"With them." he said, pointing to my right. I turned to see two digimon arguing loudly. And was I surprised to find that it was Ogremon and Leomon? Not in the slightest. I rolled my eyes and motioned for Patamon to come along with me.

"We can't," Leomon was saying, "We can't go without Taichi's permission!"

"But they could really use our help!" Ogremon argued oddly. It kind of surprised me to hear him arguing with Leomon about doing the right thing. "I know we should get Taichi's permission, but I really think we would save a lot of time by just going."

"You might save a lot of time by not arguing too." Patamon said flatly, floating into the middle of their argument. Both of them jumped in surprise at the sight of us, "Look, whatever it is, Leomon is right. You can't go without Taichi's permission. He won't know where you are."

"Patamon's right," I said, nodding, "If he made a plan without knowing where you both went that could be a problem. I suggest asking Taichi."

Ogremon folded his arms in a pout and sighed, "Fine." His shoulders fell and he looked toward the distant Temple that was unable to be seen from where we were. "Should we go now then?"

"Actually," I cut in, "Could you two help me out?" They looked confused, "See Devimon is in Primary Village and I've been asked to whoop his butt, but Patamon can't digivolve."

"I can't?" Patamon asked confused. "You didn't tell me that."

"Oh, right." I told him, "Don't digivolve. The enemies can track the energy somehow." Patamon looked distraught and like he was suddenly useless, so I pulled him from where he was fluttering in the air and hugged him. He'd never be useless. He was the most important thing in the world to me. Tied for first place with potato chips, my awesome girlfriend, and on certain days, my brothers, I wondered again what the crap happened to Iori. But remembered I was having a moment with Patamon. I loved him, and I couldn't have him feel pathetic. "You're alright." I told him.

"I know." He sighed, "I was just looking forward to a rematch."

I smiled to him comfortingly as Ogremon and Leomon both agreed to help. So the four of us set off toward Primary Village where apparently Devimon was wreaking havoc like a freak. What kind of villain attacked babies? I mean, I could understand someone having a diluted mind in dire need of a smack upside the head. Some people had different opinions—and those opinions sometimes sucked and involved hurting other people. But what kind of person thought hurting babies was a good idea? Apparently Devimon. Not that it surprised me. I was only seven when he tried to kill me the first time, and thinking back—I was pretty much a baby, though I'd never have admitted it at the time.

Leomon told me that Ogremon wanted to go to some of the other continents to warn some of the digimon to lay low. We hadn't heard of any uprisings in the Digital countries, only the ones on Earth, so it was an interesting concept. Maybe the digimon over there really did need our help. Maybe Ogremon really was right... He also wanted a moment to return to the dark section of our portion of the Digital World. It was his duty to look over _all_ dark digimon in the entire world. He was their representative. And although _maybe_ the world could do without a few of them, we still had to try to save every last one of them. Patamon didn't even know everything that was going on and he was right in the midst of it all. What if some random digimon digivolved to fight some guy for trying to steal his girl-mon and ended up dead because they were uninformed. Ignorance was quickly spreading around the Digital World and it needed to be stopped.

Huh... Ogremon definitely _was_ right.

"So here we are," Leomon said, looking toward the village as we all took long strides. We couldn't waste any time. The babies stood no chance against Devimon—although if he did kill them, not a whole lot would... change. They'd just reappear exactly where they were.

Was I insensitive to think that way? Miyako had talked about how desensitized we were all becoming, and she was not wrong. She brought up a lot of good points, and it just made me more self aware. She was a good girl, and I wanted to think more like her if she cared so much about everyone around her. Not that I didn't already care. I'd brought up a good point too though. We weren't alone. We had Kae and Yoshie, and Tatum, and Shuu and Mr Takenouchi, whatever his first name was, I couldn't remember—we weren't alone. We could win this with a little help from our friends.

And to do that, we'd have to help our friends first.

Starting with Elecmon and his field of infants.

Coming over the third hill was when we spotted Devimon, but it didn't look nearly as threatening as I'd thought it would have. He was sitting cross legged, chatting up some baby digimon who were all listening intently to what he was saying.

"What the heck?" Patamon laughed, "Is he converting them to the dark side?"

"I think he may be..." Leomon said slowly.

"Do... do we beat him?" Ogremon asked, raising his club tentatively.

"I have an idea!" Patamon exclaimed. He grabbed my hand and dragged me to the side to where a small monitor sat between two building blocks. "Take me to Earth, real quick." I was nervous, and he knew it. "Trust me, real quick!" He assured me. "Real. Quick." He said flatly.

"Fine." I relented, pulling out my digivice. We arrived in a random computer store in what appeared to be Italy to be totally honest. "Now what?"

"**Patamon digivolve to... Angemon!**"

"Patamon!" I gasped, "You rebel angel, you!"

"Now quickly Takeru," Agemon said, "Back to the Digital World."

"Real quick?" I asked, eyebrow raised.

"Yes, that." He smirked.

With a flash of light we had arrived once more at Primary Village and I wondered why we hadn't just done that to begin with. It would have saved a lot of walking. The plan was actually kind of smart too. The bad guys would track us to Italy if anything, and we weren't there anymore. Totally found a loop hole to the plan. "So why did you need to be Angemon?" Leomon asked.

"Way more effective," I told him, understanding Patamon's mind fairly well from the time we'd spent. "A flying pig couldn't convince kids to stop listening to the temptations of sin."

"Takeru," Angemon said, looking to the distance, "Once more I remind you, I am not a pig."

"Yeah, yeah," I laughed, "Let's just go." Angemon led the way, his long legs striding down the hill, with Leomon and Ogremon following closely behind, and me in the back. Devimon didn't even see us coming until one of the Yuramon shouted out in alarm.

"Is that one of the monsters you spoke of?"

Devimon rounded on us and his face twisted up nervously, "Yes that's him—the one in the back." I pointed to myself in confusion and Devimon nodded. "The humans!"

"Oh no!" The Yuramon screamed, "Run! _RUN!_" The babies scattered like nobody's business and Devimon stood, prepared to fight again. Angemon did not bother to raise his fists. He had no intention to fight today, and hopefully it would stay that way. I didn't want to have to kill anymore digimon. Especially after what Miyako had reminded us. Ladydevimon had become a partner to Mimi's mother... maybe the partner Mr Tachikawa was looking for had been under our noses the whole time.

"Don't you dare!" It was Elecmon, rushing onto the scene in a fury, jumping between Angemon and Devimon, "I know how this ends, and I don't want any part of this to go down in this sanctuary. This is a home for baby digimon, and you cannot express violence in front of them at such a young age!"

"Elecmon, relax my friend." Angemon said calmly, "I have no desire to fight Devimon."

"Then why are we here?" Ogremon asked. Leomon placed his massive hand on Ogremon's raised fist and shook his head gently, silencing him. "Well..." Ogremon looked upset.

"No fight needs to take place," I said, stepping forward, "Devimon, if you _do_ decide to fight, we can take you. Need I remind you what happened last time? Without these two as back up?" Devimon looked nervous, "Plus, Angemon here can digivolve three more times." I didn't feel the need to tell him that he'd need Gatomon, or that digivolving was a horrible idea. Devimon fell back into the ground and awkwardly bounced a little until the trampoline floor finally rested. "So how about you leave and we can all go home?"

"No!" Devimon shouted, throwing his hands up in anger, "This little weasel won't give me my friend back!"

Elecmon groaned and rolled his eyes, "How many times do I have to tell you, he's not here?" Elecmon roared with anger, sending what few baby digimon that had braved a look to the action back into hiding. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"He's _lying_." Devimon assured me, pulling himself to his feet again. "My friend died—I watched him die. He should be here right now, and I want his egg so I can assure he digivolves the same way again. I want him to be just the way he was before those monsters destroyed him." My body felt the need to twist into confusion. My heart went out to him, really it did, but my brain was fighting that feeling, reminding my heart in a repetitive manner that Devimon was our enemy. Sympathy was not important here.

Was it?

"Devimon," Leomon said gently, "Tell us what happened to your friend, maybe we can help find him."

"All digimon come here after death—I would know." Devimon said, annoyed, "I know he's here. So I told Elecmon that until he gives him back to me I'm going to make all his babies follow my lead. One of them eventually will turn into an Etemon and I'll know I've found him."

"Etemon?" All four of us asked nervously.

"Devimon," Leomon said again, this time more urgently, "Tell us what happened."

Devimon rounded on us, a glare in his eyes and he sighed, "Fine." He said, "but only because you've threatened to kill me." "We didn't—" I added quickly, but was ignored, "Etemon and I were out walking one day, thinking of a new way to take over the world. Now that the Great Evils are on their way to extinction, someone has to take their place, am I right?"

"Naturally," I said sarcastically.

"Right, well," Devimon said nervously, "Then one of you blasted Digidestined came out and _killed_ him!"

"How?" I asked, my heart taking over when my brain couldn't keep it in check. "What happened? Was it a gun, or what?"

"No," Devimon said. "It was a—well, you know!"

"I don't!" I assured him. "We didn't kill Etemon. We're actually trying to figure out what happened to him, so if you know what happened, you have to tell us. I'm sorry for what happened to you Devimon, but there is nothing I can do if you don't help me."

"It was a machine." Devimon said angrily. "They wrapped him up in this weird net and they used a big metal machine and they... they _killed_ him!" Devimon's voice actually broke in his speech. It actually hurt me to hear too. Somehow I was sad for him. Somehow, the villain that had caused us so much trouble in our first few weeks in the Digital World was so emotionally damaged that it was hurting me to hear. I felt bad for him.

"Why were you around Myotismon's palace?" Leomon asked.

"Looking for anything we could use... wait a moment... I never mentioned where we were!" Devimon raged, "But you knew! It _was_ you!" He stretched out his abnormally long arm and kicked off the ground, soaring quickly toward me. Angemon was quick and stepped in the way though, smacking Devimon's arm out of the way. Devimon fell with a crash into the soft ground and... and he started to cry.

Cautiously I stepped over to him and fell to my knees, "Devimon, we've been doing research. That's how we know where he was. It wasn't us. There are other humans here now. Yggdrasil—you remember him?" Devimon nodded through his tears, "Well... he made humans aware of digimon, and now... now they're doing bad things. It's not the Digidestined. We will always protect the digimon, no matter who they are. So that means you too." He looked up to me, and somehow made his cynical red eyes show so much hurt, "I'm so sorry for what happened to Etemon."

"He was my best friend." Devimon cried. "I miss him."

I placed my hands on my temples and let my mouth hang open stupidly, unsure how to respond. I had certainly not come prepared for something like this when Taichi told me Devimon was wreaking havoc on the babies that was for sure.

"Devimon..." Leomon said gently, "I suggest you find somewhere safe."

"We can't save Etemon now, but we can save _you_." Ogremon said boldly.

"The Coliseum." I suggested. Devimon looked up to me confused. He'd never heard of it. Of course he hadn't. It was a secret, and we were told to tell only those we could trust—but who were we to be making decisions of who we would save and who we wouldn't. And if we had anywhere else to put the digimon for safe keeping, no one had informed me yet, so the Coliseum was the best bet. "It's safe. I want you to be safe."

"I'm going to wait here." Devimon shook his head. "I am going to wait for Etemon. Forever."

I turned to look to Angemon, hoping he had something to say about this. I wasn't cut out for this stuff. I wasn't ready to be a leader. I needed Daisuke, or Taichi. Or Hikari! She was a great leader. Sensitive, emotional and strong. Those were the traits a leader needed. I didn't seem to have those traits refined. I didn't know what to say. But I knew whatever Angemon would come up with had to be pure genius. He was an angel.

"I will stay with you." Angemon declared.

"What?" I said, shaking my head. "You're dumb. No, you're not staying."

"Takeru," Angemon said, gently placing his hand on my shoulder, "As I've said, you have no choice in what I do or say. I am sorry, but someone must stay here to protect the children. Someone must consol Devimon, and someone must ensure the humans do not come within range."

"And someone needs to contrast Devimon's influence on the children..." Elecmon nodded. I was still shaking my head, but Elecmon stepped forward. "Kid, I met you a hundred years ago, give or take."

"'bout sixteen," I corrected.

"Yeah, exactly." Elecmon nodded, "And that's forever ago. You and Patamon were great friends then, and you're great friends now. Do you know how friendship forms? Trust. Do you know how Angemon digivolves? 'Course yeh do! It's hope! Hope that he'll pull through for you. You trust him. So why can't you trust him now? Kid, you humans grow in weird patterns, but maybe this is what you need to learn now? You need to learn to trust him?"

"It did make me really annoyed whenever Yamato or Taichi tried to protect us..." I said slowly, looking up to Angemon, annoyed that Elecmon seemed to have a point. "You serious about this?"

"Of course I am." Angemon nodded firmly, "I promise I'll take care of the children."

"Don't forget to take care of yourself too." I told him, anger coming through where I didn't mean for it to. My emotions were all screwed up thanks to Devimon. "Angemon, you can't die. I need you to promise me that you won't be a dumb kind of hero—not the hero that risks their own lives. Make the right decisions. But don't leave me."

"Takeru," Angemon tried.

"Don't leave me." I said flatly. "Not again. Don't leave me again."

Devimon suddenly broke out into sobs and was wiping his leaking eyes with his forearm, catching all our attention. "I pr-promise boy! I promise you I-I-I won't l-let him d-d-die on you!"

I stood super awkwardly and stared at him, "Gee... thanks... Devimon." I nodded, unsure if I should trust him. I then looked to Angemon and knew Elecmon was right. I had to trust Angemon. He was my partner, and he was my best friend. Trust was important. I had to trust him. "Okay." I agreed, stepping forward to hug my partner. "I love you Angemon."

"I love you too, Takeru." Angemon said, patting my back. "You stay alive as well."

"Aww, do I have to?" I joked. Angemon, Elecmon, Ogremon and Leomon all laughed, and then with a strangled sob mixed in, Devimon burst into laughter as well. "Okay, well I'm gonna go." I laughed. "Good luck with everything." I told Angemon.

"You too Takeru," He said dramatically.

And then Leomon, Ogremon and I were walking away from Angemon for what I certainly hoped wouldn't be the last time. I found myself glancing over my shoulder to where Angemon was standing, surrounded by babies time and time again as we worked our way over the hill. I just didn't want to take my last look at him. The world was dangerous... I couldn't lose him. He was everything.

"I think we'll be off to the Temple now," Leomon informed me. "To ask for that permission."

"Of course," I told them. "Thank you both for your help."

"Uhh, what help?" Ogremon asked, but Leomon elbowed him, "I mean, no problem!"

I waved goodbye to them as they set off, and I found myself heading to the nearest monitor. I definitely did not want to walk all the way back alone. I was going to cheat.

_**Hideto Fujimoto:**_

"What are we doing here?" I asked for clarification. I couldn't imagine what our purpose was. We were standing in the middle of a super-store—you know, the ones that have everything crammed under one roof—looking around. No one met our eyes, no one even glanced our way. I swear the one lady was going to mow us down if we didn't step out of her path.

"You know why we're here," Kiyoko insisted. "We're testing my technology."

"I think we can safely say it works," Mari said. "So can we go back to the Coliseum now?"

I was thinking the same thing. I would much rather be in the grungy Coliseum than to be standing in this place. It was one of the places I'd been thinking of applying to, when I was job hunting. I didn't apply though. Because they had six or seven of those "No Digimon Allowed" signs plastered on their sliding doors. I wouldn't apply to work at an establishment that proudly displayed racist signs like that. And I _had_ vowed never to step foot inside of it again. But I obviously hadn't managed to keep that promise, because Kiyoko dragged me into it without any warning of any kind.

Mari didn't look much happier than me. For a different reason—though she wasn't fond of those signs either. She wanted to be back at the Coliseum taking care of her boyfriend. Yeah, I knew they weren't technically dating. At all. But I stood behind my assessment that they were perfect for each other. They just couldn't see it as clearly as I could. No. That wasn't true. They _both_ knew and acknowledged their mutual feelings. She spent short vacations at his home in New York without even calling for permission. They were _that_ comfortable around each other. And I didn't know many people that would come up with a plan to break into a top secret government facility to break out a guy they didn't care for. I didn't know if I could have done it for Yamato even, and he was my favourite singer of all time—and I was a really dedicated fan. If it was Neo, Mari or Kiyoko? I'd drop everything in an instant. I'd even include Rei in that. And all of our digimon, no questions asked. But I cared for those people more than I cared for myself. They were my family—not those people that chose _now_ of all times to make their grand reappearance—and I loved them. Not that I'd say it out loud or anything. It would just make things awkward. But we all kind of felt the same way—with the exception of Neo, but I had faith that he'd rescue me if I were ever in danger, since we'd been best friends for so long—and we'd do anything for each other.

That was the only reason I was here. Because Kiyoko wanted me to be. So yeah I hated this place with every fiber of my being—even though it used to be my favourite place to get stuff for cheap prices—but I would do anything Kiyoko asked of me. I just couldn't say no to his pleading face.

Like ever.

I went to feed the ducks in the park once because he wanted to try it. I didn't feed them fast enough for their liking, and a swan bit me—though I didn't know if that was the right word, since they had beaks and no teeth—on the knee.

I sighed. I was pretty sure my day was shaping up to be something entirely different when we left our awesome new home this morning. I never wanted to leave that place. Yeah there were a lot of books that I probably would never read—like any of them, I didn't really like reading—but the amount of open space, and the newly furnished kitchen, and the soon-to-be-amazing bathroom would be awesome if it ever got up and running properly. The workers looked at us with wary and suspicious eyes that morning when they came in, their eyes lingering on Willis—who looked more than a little run down. They practically ran for the bathroom when Mari suggested they get to work. I was pretty sure they thought we were crime lords or something. It was hilarious. Point was, I was really excited about just lounging on our new couch—or chairs, I wasn't picky—and just watching a lot of TV, catching up on some shows while munching on something I'd found in our kitchen. That was my other favourite thing. There was actually food in the fridge and cupboards. It was awesome.

But no.

I wasn't allowed to have a lazy day. I had to wake up earlier than I wanted to, because we had to bring Willis to the Coliseum so other people could know that he was alive and safe. It never once occurred to me that I should actually _attend_ my new job at the train station. They'd called and I'd gotten it, but I hadn't actually shown up yet. I was probably fired before I'd even started.

Oh well.

The thing in the Digital World was more important anyway.

_We'd found out Takeru had left by the time we'd returned from our little exploration. We'd been in the Coliseum before—obviously—since it used to be our home base, but it hadn't looked quite so terrible then. Maybe it was because it was in constant use, and the grime hadn't built up to such an overwhelming amount. I slid in one of the hallways because of mysterious goo, and that was enough for me to call it quits. I wasn't much for exploration anyway. I'd rather do something more exciting, like bungee jump, or parasailing. Anything that would get my adrenaline pumping. And it wasn't like _I_ had an office in this creepy place. Neo did, but Rei had already found it. Alias III just used our apartment instead. We were all already there anyway._

_Rei tried to guilt us into cleaning up the lab she found, but she wasn't having much luck. We knew exactly what went on in that place. It was where Neo created the serum we'd pumped our digimon full of. It allowed our digimon to remain in their mega forms without having a crest to use. I couldn't help but think it might've been useful with our current predicaments, but Warg and Melga had begged me never to make them take it again when we'd given them the antidote, so I figured I wouldn't actually voice that opinion. Clearly whatever it did to the digimon themselves wasn't worth the benefit it would bring._

_We wandered back into the antechamber, and saw that Willis was finally done talking with Tatum on the webcam. He was slouched over and looking entirely unhappy. "What's up, Willis?" Mari called as we meandered over to him. He sighed, causing his entire, fragile frame to shake. I winced at the sight. He wasn't as bad as he could have been. I had to keep reminding myself that, because he looked terrible. And this was _after_ the shower Mari made him take when we'd gotten him to our place. At least he somewhat resembled himself now._

_You know, just without the smile._

"_Tatum's too busy doing whatever it is she's working on, so she can't come over to see me," Willis sighed. "And Michael won't come without her. And Terriermon and Lopmon are in training. Apparently they don't want the enemy to get a jump on them again—which Tatum refused to explain to me, by the way—and all of the Knights are working double time."_

"_The Knights went out?" I asked, confused. I was pretty sure my two digimon partners were one of the Knights when they fused. Why would the Knights go out without them? It was totally unfair._

"_Evidently, yeah," Willis said sounding exasperated. "But Tatum wouldn't tell me anything. I didn't think she'd be doing it too. No one ever tells me anything! And they're _my_ digimon. I should be allowed to know if they were in any danger at any point, right? Besides, Tatum told me I look like crap, and that Terriermon and Lopmon would freak out if they saw me. Do I really look that bad?"_

"_Yes," Kiyoko told him._

"_Gee, thanks," Willis said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I'm supposed to wait until I'm 'up to it' before I head over there to see them, since the Knights aren't coming here any time soon. I just want to see them. I haven't seen them in forever!"_

"_I know," Mari said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "And I totally understand. But Lopmon and Terriermon feel the same way. So if they're putting off seeing you, they must feel really strongly about their training. I've never seen two more miserable looking digimon. When they thought you'd never come home... I think the sight of them was one of my main motivations to get you out."_

"_And here I thought it was for my charming personality," Willis teased laughing a little before he was overcome with a coughing fit._

"_What are you doing sitting up, young man?" Yoshie demanded. She'd just been casually walking by us, but did a double take when Willis started coughing. "Look at you. You need to lie down."_

"_I'm fine," Willis assured her, though it didn't sound believable in the slightest. His voice was still raw from the coughing. She helped him to his feet and led him over to her own air mattress, saying that he needed it more than she did. She was a big girl, a couple of nights on the ground wouldn't kill her. Willis tried to protest, but she wasn't having any of it._

_After that, we sat and talked for a bit. Willis was still grumpy that he'd been scolded like a little kid. He was twenty-four years old, he didn't need to be babied by a mother. But there was no real fire in his voice. He really was exhausted. Eventually, everyone just sort of trickled off. Kiyoko was tempted away from us by the idea of working with Yoshie and Kae—both of whom were his fellow Team Mom members—and he was soon elbow deep in a bucket of sudsy water. Tapirmon had drifted upwards, determined to find the source of the dripping green water that was continuously hitting him in the head. Warg and Melga came rushing over with grins on their faces._

"_Mari, Mari," they called. She looked over to them with a patient sort of smile that I didn't see on her face very often. She reserved it entirely for digimon. "Come race us!"_

"_I don't think it's safe to run through these halls in heels," I told them shaking my head._

"_No," Warg insisted. "We're having a clean-off!"_

"_Yeah," Melga said with a giddy laugh. "It's Agumon and Gabumon versus Warg and me, and Gatomon needs a partner so we thought Mari would be good."_

"_Really?" Mari asked, raising her eyebrow at them._

"_Yeah!" Warg grinned. "You're more competitive than Hideto is."_

"_And we want at least _one_ team to be a challenge," Melga said. I laughed loudly at that. They'd already dismissed Taichi's Agumon and Yamato's Gabumon as a team. I mean, I knew Warg and Melga had an advantage. Working together every day to do almost everything had made them a perfect team, instinctually knowing what the other needed. But they were also the clumsiest digimon I'd ever seen. And Agumon and Gabumon? Well they could walk over a flat surface without tripping over each other, so I thought that meant something._

"_Oh, it's on," Mari said with a fierce grin. "Gatomon and I are going to win. You guys don't stand a chance."_

"_That's what _you_ think," Warg and Melga said simultaneously. They turned and ran to the cell they'd chosen to clean. Warg tripped, landing flat on his face and Melga—going too fast to stop—collapsed on top of him in a heap._

"_I'm totally going to win this thing," Mari said, marching off to find Gatomon to discuss battle strategy. Her heels clicked ominously against the stone floor. I had no doubt she was winning this thing. And it had nothing to do with teamwork. She was just so much taller than the other competitors._

_I looked around us, and saw that Coronamon—who I thought was Kae's partner—was jumping around in circles, playing some imaginary game that wasn't helping the cleaning efforts at all. Wormmon was crawling about the ceiling wiping it down with a tiny little rag. He was getting help from the much larger MetalLifeKuwagamon, and they seemed to be having an enjoyable conversation while they worked._

"_You don't suppose they've got anything to eat around here, do you?" Willis asked. "I'd take anything. I don't care. I'm starving."_

"_Fine," I sighed. "I'll see if I can find some soup or something."_

"_I think I'd prefer something more solid..." Willis grumbled._

"_Your stomach will be happier with broth," I reminded him. "Mari gave me the same lecture she gave you. And Kiyoko looked it up. We aren't allowed to give you anything substantial until your body gets used to taking in nutrients again."_

"_I was only in there for four days," Willis muttered. "It wasn't weeks. I think she's overreacting."_

"_I don't know," I said slowly. "You must not have seen yourself. And I'm not risking Mari's wrath. I'll be back with whatever I find."_

"_I hope you don't find soup," Willis mumbled, crossing his arms on his chest like a petulant child. I felt for the guy. Really I did. If I hadn't been fed for days on end the last thing I'd want is broth. I _never_ wanted broth by itself. I totally would've wanted some big fancy meal that Mimi had to cook by herself—because she could do things with food that no one else could. No one I actually _knew_ in any case._

_I wandered around until I found a collection of totes and boxes. Three large blue totes were filled to the brim with boxes of pasta and bags of rice. I dug under those and found a ton of cans. I looked through them carefully, wondering why anyone would even buy some of them—the tin of sardines and the SPAM. There were also no less than eighteen cans of brown beans in sauce. How did someone end up with that many? I didn't know. I didn't really care either though, because I found a can of beef broth and went with it. There was a can opener on the ground that someone must've tossed towards the cans whenever they found it, so I picked it up and hacked away at the dented can lid until I got it open. I found a plastic water bottle that was mostly empty so I poured the broth into it, not finding any pots or stoves—or even a fireplace—anywhere to heat it up._

"_I do believe that food is for the digimon that we'll save."_

"_I do believe that it's here for human consumption too," I said in the same tone. I'll admit I was mocking whoever it was. I turned to see a teeny tiny digimon. She was grey and kind of wrinkled, and wearing green robes with a cowl neck, and a funky sort of addition that kind of reminded me of an apron—though I was sure she never used it as one. She had a chunky pink beaded necklace around her neck, and was holding a staff that reminded me more of a broom with one of her grey, well manicured hands. Her nails were sharp, and she wore finglerless gloves that were a grey only a few shades darker than her skin. Her hair, while also grey, was cool though. It was thick and clearly well taken care of. She had it all piled in a bun on the top of her head which she had a gold pin with a big pink bead stuck into it._

"_I take it you are a digidestined," the small, old digimon drawled._

"_That's what they tell me," I said, shaking the broth in the bottle. It looked gross. I did not envy Willis one bit. "You're that one that's old, or something, right?"_

"_Babamon," she corrected. "Though I _am_ old. I've been here since the creation of the Digital World."_

"_You're serious?" I asked, impressed. "That's cool."_

"_It is," she said proudly. "And you?"_

"_Been around twenty-six years," I said with a shrug. "But I've only been a digidestined for three. I was kinda the villain before. But I was never really into it, you know?"_

"_No," she said bluntly. "Though I suppose I'll get to know. According to Taichi, _I_ am the bane of the Digital World."_

"_Bitter," I noted. I knew bitter. Neo was bitter. Mari was bitter. _I_ was bitter. The only reason Kiyoko wasn't was because he was too thrilled experiencing life without Sigma to let simmer on things the way the rest of us did. "I like it."_

"_You're one of the few," she muttered._

"_Well, good luck with the bitter thing," I said. "I've got to force feed Willis some broth. See you around."_

"_Probably," she said. "It's not like I'll be allowed off of my short leash any time soon."_

_I left after that, tossing the bottle at Willis and laughing at the face he made when he realized I _had_ found broth and that he'd be expected to drink it cold. He refused to talk to me, glaring at his "meal" repulsed, so I left him to it, throwing myself onto the floor by Katsue—the girl who made the totally awesome documentary on us that nobody admitted to liking anymore, since it turned our lives to crap—and leaned against the wall._

"_I'm working on something important you know, so I'm not going to stop doing it," she said._

"_That's cool," I told her. "I don't wanna clean either."_

_She relaxed, and continued playing a game on her phone. I didn't see how she intended to fool anyone with it, but I also didn't care. I was a digidestined and I _should_ be helping. She was one of the people we brought here to protect. Or at least I assumed so. I didn't think she could get here without an invitation, so she must've been. I didn't know though. The only time I'd ever really talked to her was the time that I told her Yamato was thinking of proposing to her so that I could get the pair of them to break up, leaving Yamato single for Sora to date. The plan didn't work out entirely, but I did manage to break Yamato and Katsue up—Neo and Sora too, for that matter. I didn't think Katsue really liked me much._

_I contemplated what I could say to strike up a conversation, but didn't bother, since I found a source of entertainment in the form of Kiyoko. Team Mom had decided to take a break from their cleaning, since they'd actually finished the cell they'd been working on. Yoshie reached into a box and pulled out an electric kettle that I hadn't noticed and probably could have used to make Willis' meal more enjoyable. Kae pulled out the specialized tea cups I'd watched Kiyoko agonize over for days. Kiyoko just sat on the floor cross legged, looking just peachy. He was always completely at ease around his friends. You know, the group of maternal women that were all at least thirty years older than him or whatever. Yeah. He could be himself around them. But he still freaked out when put in a situation where he'd have to talk with a digidestined that wasn't related to Alias III in any way at all. Even Koushiro, and _he_ was his cousin._

"_I just find it so exciting," Kae bubbled. "We're invisible right now. Or at least the Coliseum is. It's like we're in a movie!"_

"_I feel like we've invaded the super-villain's creepy, dingy, evil lair," Yoshie told her. "It makes my skin crawl."_

"_That's exactly what this is," Kiyoko said with a laugh. "It's Neo's evil lair. I do think it's cool though, being invisible, though I think it would be cooler if we could go invisible by ourselves, not just in this place."_

"_Oh, that _would_ be interesting," Yoshie commented._

"_It would be so much fun," Kae trilled. "We could go on secret missions and spy on the enemies!"_

"_But they do have guns," Yoshie reminded her. "Scary weapons that would probably rip us to pieces if they shot us, even if we were invisible. It would still be far too dangerous. Just because we're invisible doesn't mean we're invincible."_

_Kiyoko quirked his head to the side the way he always did when he got an idea. I knew there would be a lot of tinkering in the days to come. He shook his head, filing the idea away for later. He jumped to his feet and scrambled over to his messenger bag—which he'd discarded when we left for our exploration—and pulled out his little laptop. "I've got an idea," he announced. "I developed the technology that Sigma used to make this place. So I should be able to configure another shield of sorts that could render a person invisible. I would just need to redesign the shield's parameters. And I'll need something to work off of. Something small that I can program..."_

"_What about our digivices," Kae suggested enthusiastically._

"_Maybe later," Kiyoko agreed. "But I'm going to need a prototype. I can't risk messing up something as important as that. We need those, and I don't know if I'll be able to fix it."_

"_Use my phone," Yoshie decided, walking over to her purse and pulling what had to be the oldest flip phone in the history of the world, and handed it to Kiyoko. "It's not precious to me, so you can ruin it if you want."_

_And then Kiyoko got that look in his eye. The one that always reminded me of when Sigma thought up an evil plan._

"We're on a mission, remember?" Kiyoko said. He had his little laptop open in front of him, and I could see he had the codes for Mask Square on the screen. Mari and I both waited for him to fill us in on whatever this mission entailed. He realized this and sighed. I guess he was hoping we'd just catch on immediately or something. "I've been feeling like maybe the Coliseum needs a bit of a makeover. And we need some new cleaning supplies, because I _know_ there's better stuff available than sponges and buckets. All that bending down isn't good for Kae and Yoshie's backs. They won't complain, but I know it bothers them."

"That's all well and good," Mari said. "But what are we doing here standing in the middle of a store _invisible_." And that's really all we _were_ doing: testing the technology Kiyoko had put together. He had rigged our cell phones in addition to Yoshie and Kae's, and we were the guinea pigs.

"This store is against digimon," Kiyoko said simply. "And if they're against digimon, then they're technically against our cause. And we're the good guys, therefore this is the enemy. I don't know about you guys, but I don't have a problem with liberating from the enemy."

A smirk spread its way across my face, and I knew it was mirrored on Mari's. It was so unlike Kiyoko to suggest a plan so very suitable to Alias III's abilities. We weren't evil anymore. And we did have morals. Those morals were just questionable at best. Mari and I headed directly to the carts, hesitating when we got there, because it would obviously look stupid to have carts making their way across the store without anyone pushing them, but Kiyoko had made a plan for this too. He pulled out the ancient flip-phone of Yoshie's and the much more modern touch-screen of Kae's and put them in the top basket of two carts, causing the carts to turn invisible too.

"Cool, right?" he said with a grin. "I have a list of things. I know what we're doing is stealing. And I know it's wrong. So we're going to keep it to the basics of survival." He pulled out a piece of paper, unfolding it until his list could be seen. Mari and I glanced over his shoulder, reading it. A dehydrator, bedding, a stove, and so many more things were listed there.

"Does that say a cow?" Mari asked with a snort.

"We'll need it for stew," Kiyoko said with a pout. We looked to him with wide eyes. "No, not for meat. For milk. Because we need milk, and it goes bad so fast, so I thought just getting a cow would work best. And I already know where to get one too, I looked it up. There's a couple other places I have lined up after this one. It's best to get everything today, because I'm sure the mysterious disappearances will make the news by tonight."

"Oh, like an appliance store," I suggested.

"And a place for furniture," Kiyoko added. "And I found a warehouse of mattresses that's not too far away."

"Seriously," Mari said, rolling her eyes. "Food's probably the better starting point."

"And I know _just_ the grocery store to go to," I said excitedly, remembering that my now ex-favourite grocers was sporting a racist sign too.

We didn't debate anymore, since we had so much work to do. And it was work too, it took a lot of energy to do things that were against the law! We knew that Kiyoko was going to stick to his list pretty closely, and would be angry if we didn't try to do the same, so we headed to the kitchen section. Dishes and silverware were one of the items he'd decided were important. I spent a good three minutes finding the cheapest _cool_ looking plate pattern before loading all the dishes sporting it into my cart. Mari snorted, rolling her eyes.

"There's going to be more people than that," she said, looking at my dishes. I thought it was a decent amount. There were like thirty of each in my cart, but she just loaded all of the other dishes available on the shelves on top of them, half-heartedly organizing them by shape. In retaliation, I loaded all of the pots and pans that I wanted into her cart, way more than strictly necessary, but they were the ones I'd always wanted, but could never justify spending rent money on. And I went a little overboard.

And then I spotted a rice cooker, and Mari noticed a bright red mixer and blender that matched, and then we were kind of gone. There was no way we were going to stick the list. We hunted Kiyoko down, and made him send our first cartfuls to Mask Square, before rushing off and grabbing anything and everything our hearts desired.

Only we knew we needed to give Kiyoko a decent reason as to why they were needed.

I grabbed an ice cream maker—because little digimon probably would love it, and not just because I loved ice cream so much—and I used the same excuse for the cotton candy machine I'd found. Mari got any kitchen appliance that was available in that bright red colour, including—but not limited to—the mixer, the blender, a Crockpot, a s'mores machine—because it would save a lot of time and wood, since we wouldn't have to make a bonfire!—a toaster and a coffee pot. I grabbed about a dozen sets of red salt and pepper shakers—for Mari (my reasoning was pitiful at best)—and two waffle makers—because who doesn't like waffles?

Kiyoko stopped asking for our reasons by that point. He just shook his head and continued his quest in the small grocers that the store offered—where Mari promptly loaded him up with powdered milk, and threw a bunch of bagged milk at him, promising to steal him a freezer so they could keep it fresh—and left us to our own devices. That was probably the biggest mistake he could make, because Mari and I went a tad bit overboard.

We hit up the electronics section, getting cameras—both of the digital and video variety—to document our future struggles, in case Katsue wanted to make another documentary on our behalves. We got video game consoles—that I'd never had, again for rent reasons—and a lot of games we'd never even heard of. I got pretty much any animated movie available because Wormmon liked them apparently, and picked out all of my favourite movies that I thought everyone else should watch. Mari picked out a bunch of lame movies that she said were beautiful demonstrations of the art of film making, whatever she meant by that. I loaded us up on music, because we'd need a bunch of that to keep us entertained while we were in the Coliseum—which led me to hunting down stereos and portable music devices (and a boatload of headphones). There was no way I _wouldn't_ go insane without it. I needed music to live. And in a moment of unselfishness on our part, we got as many computers and tablets as we could find because they were actually really useful with the legitimate work that Koushiro and his team were doing.

While dropping all of that off with Kiyoko, Mari suggested he start sending entire racks of clothing to Mask Square, since we were probably all going to need them at some point. He sighed, but did as she bid. I lost Mari for half an hour when we were walking past the shoe section, while I picked out a bunch of posters I wanted to decorate my future cell with. By the time I hunted her down, there were a bunch of empty shoeboxes littering the floor—because shoes took up less space without them. She was grinning like the cat that caught the canary. She also attacked the corner of the store dedicated to books.

"I know it's ridiculous," she said when I quirked my eyebrow at her. She had an entire library as a house. She didn't need to steal books. "But I don't have these ones, and I want to read them. And you know, there are probably a lot of other people that _actually_ like reading. It won't just be me."

I started thinking of the digimon and other people by that point, having collected everything I wanted for myself, and grabbed some picture frames for craft purposes—also doubling back to the electronics to get a printer, all the corresponding paper they had in stock and a scanner—and emptied out their craft shelf entirely. Rei loved crafts, and this was a way she could keep digimon entertained. She also loved knitting, and Mari liberated the store of their supplies of yarn and needles as well. I also raided the baby section, since I knew Haruki would be there and Miyako was pregnant. How long were we going to be living in the Coliseum? I didn't know, but I thought it would be best if we were prepared for anything.

After ditching all of that stuff in Mask Square, we sort of wandered around aimlessly, ending up in the kids department, stacking our carts high with board games and dinky cars. Mari found a few large bins of Lego, and some wooden blocks too.

"We're going to need shelves and bins to sort this stuff out," Mari muttered, throwing a couple of baby dolls in her cart, though she wasn't thrilled with them. "Cupboards for the games, a bookcase for the books, maybe another for the movies. We'll need a TV too, or those are useless. Also a DVD player. There's so much stuff."

"It sounds exhausting. Stop listing it all," I moaned. This mission had lost a bit of its flair, and we were now just going through the motions.

"Curtains could be good too," Mari added, ignoring me. "So we can make a sort of door for all of the cells. Bed frames would be nice, if Kiyoko's going to steal a bunch of mattresses. Bunk beds obviously would be the most logical. I wonder how many beds we can safely stack on top of each other..."

"Do you know how many refrigerators and freezers we're going to need for the kitchen?" I asked with a sigh. "And that's not including the stoves and whatever tables we can find to pose as counters. And a dishwasher—or at the very least a sink. Have we thought of sewage issues? This place isn't sounding all that inviting anymore."

"Not to mention all the cans and clothes we've got already," Mari added.

"Do you think we can talk Kiyoko into getting a bunch of couches for the antechamber? Just cram it full of seating space," I suggested.

"Hideto?"

I whirled around thinking someone had seen me—though I still had my phone in my pocket. It was Izumi standing there with that silly purple cat hat that she loved so much. She was looking around, brows furrowed in confusion.

"I know I heard him," she insisted to her friend. A man with a white v-neck t-shirt with green trim. He had suspenders on, strapped to his deep yellow pants. His orange hat was puffy, and enormous, but it sort of suited him.

"Izumi, you're just imagining things," he said.

"I don't imagine things Tomoki!" she hissed.

I snickered, leaving my cart, sneaking up behind her and lifting her hat off of her head. She let out a shriek and whirled around. I laughed and Mari glared at me for messing up our secret mission. But I couldn't help it! It was the perfect opportunity to mess with Izumi. And I missed hanging around her all day every day. I hadn't seen her since the restaurant went up in smoke.

"Hideto," she scolded looking in entirely the wrong direction, making me laugh again. "Give me my hat back."

"Fine," I said, heaving a huge, dramatic sigh. "You're no fun. What're you even doing here? You know this place hates digimon, right?"

"They also have the cheapest prices for everything," she said. "I don't have a job right now. It's either here or the 100 yen shop, and they only have _almost_ everything."

"Oh, let's go there too!" I told Mari, rediscovering my excitement.

"I want to hit up a greenhouse too," Mari decided. "We could make a little garden inside and grow our own food, make us a bit more self-sustaining."

"Hideto, Mari," Izumi said. "This is Tomoki. Tomoki, I suggest you act like you never heard what they're saying, because it doesn't sound very good."

"Oh it's totally illegal," Mari assured her. Tomoki shrugged, not really knowing where to look.

"We're decking out the Coliseum. It's gonna be awesome," I told her. "Hey, you should totally come and stay there. You're a digimon supporter. That means you're one of the ones we're supposed to collect."

"Don't I feel special," Izumi joked. "Tomoki was actually with me when I went on _my_ journey in the Digital World."

"Then he can come too," I offered.

"I'll think about it," Izumi agreed.

"Guys!" Kiyoko called, rushing over to us. "I think we should leave soon, because some of the employees went to the manager, and he's prowling the aisles right now, looking for all of the disappearing merchandise. I'm afraid he's going to call the police soon."

"Right, well, I guess we're finished up here then," I told him. "It was great seeing you, Izumi."

"I wish I could say the same," she joked. "I'll let you know about the Coliseum thing."

"You better," I said with a grin. Kiyoko sent the final items to Mask Square, and we took off down the aisles, grabbing the phones out of the carts and sending them flying through the area that _used_ to have clothing racks in it. Then we bolted out the front doors laughing all the way.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06**: Mimi and Matt go door to door in order to find some sense of the fleeting safety feeling they once felt in their "everlasting peace".


	25. Knock Knock

**Y/N: **Mimi's felt random to me when I got to it, but it was quick and fun to write. I hope you enjoy it!

**U/N: **I believe I wrote Matt here, and it was pretty easy. Matt for some reason is easy to write, and while that may be because I developed him into someone who would be that easy, it's still nice. Anyway, I hope you like the chapter :D And this is the half-way point of part 1, so that's pretty cool.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 3: Ignorance**

**Chapter 25: Knock Knock**

_**Mimi Tachikawa:**_

Activists were rallying in the parks, egging store windows that didn't play host to one of their slogan stickers. They were harassing known digimon supports—I got phone calls at all times of the night telling me that I was a traitor to my own kind, and didn't deserve to call myself a human being—and sending whatever digimon they found back to the Digital World hurt, scared and alone. The police force was worse. They used to be shooting tracking devices at the digimon they spotted. They decided it wasn't enough. They needed an upgrade.

Now they shot to kill.

We still didn't know exactly who the puppet master in this situation was. I knew it wasn't the guy standing on benches in the park waxing poetically about how humans need to take care of all other humans and _pets_ before bringing a new species to our world. It wasn't that girl in America that had taken Jenna unwittingly into her fold. Was it Morestuna, the police chief? He seemed a likely candidate, since it was those under his employ that were shooting those stupid violet blasts at any digimon they spotted. Koushiro also said he was the man at their home base both times Koushiro had infiltrated it.

Koushiro.

He was trapped at the Temple now. He was working around the clock, desperate to get to the bottom of everything. He never came home anymore—hadn't really for awhile. He wanted to be there in case the enemy managed to get inside. I hadn't exactly_ seen_ the vehicles of choice, but I'd heard they were very much like tanks, and it just scared me more. Koushiro was in there. Taichi and Sora were in there, with Biyomon and Tentomon. Michael, Tatum, Jenna and Monodromon, Betamon, and Kudamon. Veemon. A large portion of the council was there, all of the digimon the activists "returned" and the Knights. It was horrible. Because they couldn't escape to the safe house now. They were stuck in that stupid Temple, and there was nothing I could do about it.

We were supposed to be out collecting people, warn them of what's coming, and then take them to the Coliseum where they can wait out the storm that's coming without getting hurt. Without being able to become the leverage that the enemy can use against us. I couldn't handle it if they took Mom or Dad. I'd probably turn myself in immediately, even though I knew that was the _last_ thing Mom and Dad wanted. I wouldn't let them hurt anybody!

But I also didn't want to fight.

I was so sick of fighting. I wanted to bask in the peace that we'd created. Only it didn't last long enough, and things were worse now than they'd ever been. When was life going to give us a break? When would I be able to walk down the street without worrying so damn much about every person that I came across? Because I didn't just want the digimon to be safe. There were a ton of people whose eyes shifted, searching their surroundings, there were people that were jumpy and afraid, nervous people whose minds were preoccupied with the digimon they were hiding at home. These were the good guys. And they were dragged into this just as much as we were and it was our fault. I didn't know how, but it was _always _our fault. Everything came down to us.

I wished I was being self-centred and dramatic.

But the fate of the world always rested on our shoulders. Because the digimon were always involved, and it was _our_ job to protect them and their world. But just because I'd been drafted into all of the fights, and supported my fellow digidestined...it didn't mean I didn't care about my own home.

Earth deserved some attention too. It wasn't as beautiful as the Digital World, and it wasn't nearly as exciting. But it was home. And I worried about it all the time. The Digital World wasn't the only place being targeted during this onslaught against digimon. I thanked the stars that whoever this enemy was didn't seem to know about the other worlds. We had our hands full just dealing with the two. We'd never be able to handle protecting all nine.

I just wanted to cry all the time.

But I couldn't. Because Jou and I were on a mission. We were the recruitment team. We were tasked with the job of finding people to bring to the Coliseum—even though we didn't know how to _get_ them there just yet—and were given this job by Daisuke. He'd been canvassing the streets, looking for that girl—woman?—Amai, hoping to get her and bring her to the Coliseum too, so she and DemiDevimon could be happy together there. He was also responsible for sending Ken and Koushiro's parents to the Digital World, an Sora's mom.

Poor Toshiko.

It was day two of the siege. Her husband and daughter were both trapped in the Temple. Shuu and Haruhiko had been there when the enemy surrounded them. I was fairly certain they were the only ones that ever dared to leave the Temple at all. They didn't go outside or anything, but they headed home after work. They were really the only ones that could leave. The people at the Temple. The people at the Coliseum had to stay in the Digital World, or else they'd end up back at the Temple. I'd never hated Taichi's hallway of gates more than I did at that moment. That one hallway in the Temple had the main gateways to all of the other worlds—except Heaven, the Dark Ocean and the Tunnel of Time for obvious reasons—and any tourists from any of the worlds were sent through the Temple. We couldn't just appear anywhere in the Digital World like we used to. Nope. We'd be at the Temple—one of the most dangerous locations ever.

Okay, so it wasn't dangerous _yet_. It was still really scary though, being surrounded like that, never knowing when the enemy might break through the natural defenses. All those poor digimon that were at work in the marketplace were probably still trapped inside. That meant Veemon was still there, trying to inspire hope into the hearts of his rival venders. I was just thankful that Yoshie had shut down her tea house before they got there. It was probably in the range of fire. Maybe it would be one of the first places our new enemies destroyed.

I worried for Ken, who was posing as one of them through his job at the police station. I worried about Daisuke and Kurayami, who were both on Earth with their baby. All three of them were separated from their digimon partner. I couldn't do that. I needed to have Palmon with me at all times. I couldn't bear the thought of her getting hurt when I wasn't there to put my all into stopping it. Not again. Not like the fire. She wasn't wearing bandages anymore, and she'd fought of the slight infection with brilliant bravery. Jou was pleased with her recovery. I wasn't pleased that she had to recover at all. I should have been in front of her the entire time. She should've _known_ I would do that for her. She didn't need to jump in front of me against fire of all things. I couldn't let her be in that situation again. She wouldn't need to protect me from everything. It was so ingrained in her memory banks that she didn't even think about it anymore. She didn't realize it was wrong for her to put my life before her own. I wanted her to survive no matter what, and if that meant I had to take her with me everywhere I went, then so be it.

Which was why I found myself pushing a baby carriage down the bumpy sidewalk of downtown Odaiba. Palmon had been excited about the idea, dressing up in an oversized baby bonnet and a frilly pink dress with matching booties. She was clutching my favourite doll from my childhood—a raggedy thing that had lost most of its stuffing and about half of the long red strands of yarn that made up its hair—and had put a soother in her mouth. She was ecstatic about her character, and was cooing and crying with scarily precise imitations. Of course I couldn't _see_ her. She was dressed as a baby, but she was still green, so there was a baby blanket—one of Emiko's—over the top of the carriage, supposedly to keep the chill wind off of my poor baby's face.

The sun was bright, and beating down. It would have been an amazing day had it not been for the wind. It was hard and fast and bit at my face, making me clutch my spring jacket closer to me, and leaving me wishing for a pair of gloves to protect my fingers from the chill.

Jou was at my side, taking turns pushing Palmon's buggy. I couldn't even count the number of times people looked to us and smiled. I knew what they were thinking. They though Jou and I were a couple and we were going out for a stroll with our new baby. I didn't stop those assumptions, even though they were laughably false. I could just imagine the looks on their faces if they realized just what "our baby" looked like. Jou also had a large backpack hung over both shoulders. It looked heavy, and it kept squirming. Gomamon was tucked inside it. He refused to let Jou leave without him, especially if Palmon got to go. Jou couldn't come up with a winning argument, so he came up with his own disguise. I was pretty sure Gomamon wished he'd stayed at home.

"We should cut through the park," Jou said. "It'll get us there faster."

"Do they know we're coming?" I questioned.

"Knowing Miyako? Probably not," Jou said with a laugh. "But I promised they'd be one of our first stops. And I keep my promises."

"I hope they don't think we're crazy," I muttered.

"Have you seen their kids?" he joked. "We'll be fine. But I don't think even _they_ can ignore what's going on around them. Chiziru and Mantarou both have"—he looked around and lowered his voice to a whisper—"digimon partners. They're bound to understand the severity of the situation."

"I hope you're right," I said anxiously. I never knew what to expect from them. Anyone really. I knew that the digidestined would do anything for their partners, and I wanted to think the best of all other people who had been blessed to meet their own, but I just _couldn't_. I was always worried that someone would hurt them. Emotionally, physically. Even if they didn't mean to. And some people _did_ mean to. The digimon at the Temple were proof enough of that.

"I'm sure I am. Besides, their little sister is already there," Jou said comfortingly. "And Momoe's going to be there again soon. We've been talking about it at lot. We're thinking that's it'll be safest if we take Emiko out of school. We can't keep going to and from"—another glance—"you know where. And we want what's best for our daughter. We need to keep her safe. The bad guys have already come after her twice before. I couldn't handle a third."

"Me either," I said thinking about my little goddaughter. She'd been kidnapped by two of the sin digimon at Jou and Momoe's original wedding, and then she was taken by Sigma _right_ before my restaurant had been destroyed for the first time. In all actuality, he'd actually saved her life. Not for the right reasons, but he still saved her. And so no matter how horrible he was, and all the bad things he did to the people I care about, I will always thank him for Emiko. It was hard being her godfather—and not just because she demanded an explanation as to how I could be a girl if I was her god_father_, asking me to _prove_ it. She wasn't my daughter, so I couldn't make any decisions, but I worried about her just the same as if she was my own. And I was so thankful that Jou had _finally_ mentioned taking her to safety. "But how are you going to get here there?"

"I don't know. But I'm going to," he declared. "Even if I have to take out those damn tanks in the process."

"I don't think taking out the tanks will solve our problems. They know where the Temple is. They'll just send more. Only they might not just stand guard when they do. There are so many people in that place. We can't risk them attacking," I said worriedly.

"Taichi knows what he's doing," Jou said—though he didn't sound so sure. "He's got a plan. He and Koushiro are trying to solve the problem I'm sure. They might even have a solution already."

"That would be nice," I said, though I doubted they did. Koushiro would have told me the last time I'd called. Yeah. I had to call _him_, not the other way around. He just got so caught up in his research all the time, and it never occurred to him that I might want reassurances that he was still alive. _Sora_ had called me four times already since the tanks arrived. Just to check in on his behalf. She texted me more often. She wanted to make sure the rest of the digidestined knew that everyone was still alive. That they were all okay. And that made Sora my favourite person of the day. Maybe even the year. She was responsible for loosening the knot of fear and anguish that was constantly attacking my chest. It was a constant ache, and only the quick messages from Sora could help relieve the pain, and to hear her voice meant I was granted a few minutes free of all worry. And I knew she'd been doing the same for as many people as she could. She didn't have any projects to work on there, so she dedicated all of her time to keeping in touch with everybody, gathering whatever Intel she could and sharing whatever Koushiro told her about.

But she hadn't sent any messages saying they'd found a way to sneak past the enemy defense line, and that just wasn't the sort of thing that Sora would keep to herself.

Jou and I entered the park, intending to cut through it and knock fifteen minutes off of our journey. I had a little difficulty with turning the carriage, and I nearly dumped Palmon onto the street. I mumbled an apology and hoped that I'd get better at it before I ever had kids. If I ever had them. I hoped I'd be alive long enough to make that decision. If the DWD had their say, I probably wouldn't be. They wanted to get rid of all the digimon in the world. Both worlds—if they knew about anymore, they'd want to destroy them there as well. And that meant they wanted to destroy Palmon and Tentomon. And Gomamon, Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, Patamon, Gatomon, Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon, Wormmon, Betamon, Terriermon, Lopmon, Labramon, Dracomon, Warg, Melga and Tapirmon. They'd kill Mom's Minervamon, and Jou's dad's Unimon. And Wizardmon, Andromon, Centarumon. Digitamamon. Dorumon. Pal and Pul. All of them. All of my friends. And I just wouldn't let them do it. They'd have to kill me first. I might not like fighting. I actually hated it. But I would do _anything _to keep Palmon safe.

I'd even thought through my ideal scenario. It was a morbid thought, and I cried even _thinking_ about Palmon being in danger. But if she was, and they were going to kill her, I'd make sure we were in the most public of settings, and I'd jump in front of her—no hesitation at all, because I loved her so darn much—and then a lot of people would see it. My death would _mean_ something. They would see that the people that wanted digimon dead were freaks, and they didn't care about whoever got in their way. They'd do _anything_ to get to their goal. I couldn't think about after that though. When I'd already died. Because I knew that they wouldn't hesitate to kill Palmon anyway, despite my sacrifice. But it would've been worth it, just so that Palmon could live even _that_ much longer.

I looked to the left, away from Jou, discreetly wiping away the tears I couldn't hold back. I was just so scared all the time. I felt Jou's hand on my back, sliding across to my shoulder. He pulled me against his side and rubbed his hand up and down my arm.

"We've got to stay positive, Mimi," he said thickly. I felt bad, knowing that I'd ruined our somewhat hopeful mood. He was just as stressed and scared as me. More even, since he had a daughter. A whole family really. The six of them, Bearmon, Gomamon, Momoe, Emiko, Monmon and Jou. They were a real family. It didn't matter to any of them that three of them were a different species. They were just as important as Emiko in Jou and Momoe's eyes. And it was a beautiful thing. I was sure I was crying more now, scared that their family could get broken, both thankful and regretful that I didn't have the same thing. Thankful because I had less to worry about, but I regretted that I might never have that chance. Koushiro and I hadn't even _mentioned _the word marriage, let alone discussed it.

"I'm trying," I promised him. "It's just so hard."

"I know," he said. "Emiko's been a wreck, because we can't find Monmon anywhere. And she won't take her monkey suit off until he comes home. And I'm freaking out. But I know that Monmon's okay. He has to be, because he's my baby girl's partner, and he's supposed to be around for her entire life. And he made that promise when he gave her his digivice."

"What if it's not his fault though," I said, sniffling. "What if someone else made the choice for him?"

"He's coming back," Jou said firmly. "He is."

"I believe you," I told him. "You've never steered me wrong before."

"I'm sure that's not entirely true," he said sheepishly. I smiled at him and we looked away, trying to get a grasp on our rapidly fluctuating emotions. I was almost positive he was scanning the park for any signs of his daughter's green monkey. I should have been doing the same. But I wasn't. I was just looking at the trees and flower beds, trying to distract myself with the natural beauty. It didn't work. But at least my eyes got to see something pretty while I worried myself to death.

The path through the park was winding. We walked through some trees, and alongside a soccer field where a group of children were playing a game. I had to look away. It reminded me of simpler times, back when Daisuke and Ken were rivals on the field, and when soccer was Taichi and Sora's whole lives. Now there was work and love and children and this thing with the digimon. I missed being a kid without responsibilities. We weren't expected to save the world, to be the deciding factor of whether an entire race lived or died.

"Mimi!"

I stopped, clenching the handlebar of Palmon's carriage within my fists. I tried to school my thoughts, and forced a bright look onto my face. In my peripheral vision, I could see that Jou was doing the same. I turned and flashed my winning smile at the man that called my name, whoever he was. It was wiped away a second later, replaced with an awed shock. There was Tadao Akiyama. I hadn't seen him in ages. He was standing there, cleanly shaved, still wearing his captain's hat and a navy blazer. He had a stroller in front of him, but it was empty. I glanced around and saw a few toddlers playing together on the grass just off of the path. There were three other parents scattered across the path, and I assumed the other toddlers belonged to them.

"Wow," I said with a smile. "You don't have any more keys to give me do you? Because the last one was enough."

"No," he said with a laugh. "I just had the one."

"Which one is yours?" I asked, motioning to the kids.

"None of them," he said, grinning. "Ryou's my brother's kid. I'm just watching him for the day. But look at you! You're a mom. That's crazy."

"I'm not a mom," I said nervously.

"Then it's your boyfriend's kid?" Tadao asked, looking to Jou questioningly.

"Not dating," Jou said, slowly removing his arm from my shoulder.

"Did you..._kidnap_ someone?" he asked looking between us like he might have to fight us for the custody of the baby he thought we stole.

"It's me!" Palmon said, peeking out of the carriage. "Shh! I'm a secret agent. Don't tell anybody you saw me, okay?"

"You got it," Tadao said grinning, giving her two thumbs up. "Hey, Ryou! Come and meet Mimi and..."

"Jou," I supplied.

"Right, Mimi and Jou!" he called to his nephew. Ryou came toddling over to us, catching himself just before he fell to the ground. He had a big smile and chubby little hands. There was something familiar about him. His jaw line, the colour of his hair. The blue of his eyes.

"He looks like him," I murmured. I looked back to Tadao. "He looks like Hiraga."

"Don't tell his dad that," Tadao said. "But he does. It's nice. I miss him, you know?"

"Me too," I said. And I really meant it. I wished more than anything that I _could_ have saved Gennai that day. But he was right. I couldn't do that. Not with how much we all would've lost. He didn't want that. And I knew it, because he _told_ me he didn't. "You know, we've set up a safe house. You're welcome to join us there. You're Gennai's family. If there was ever anyone more deserving—"

"Thanks," Tadao said. "But I don't think I will. I'm good here. And my brother would never _dream_ of bringing Ryou to a world infested with monsters. He's a jerk, but as far as I know, he's not part of the anti-digimon movement, and that's all I can hope for. Besides, Whamon's out in the bay. He's safe out there. People just assume he's a regular whale. He's not being threatened. If something changes, I'll be in touch, but for now... I don't want to leave my family. They don't care about the Digital World. They think it took Dad from us. And he wasn't always around, mentally you know. He thought about the Digital World so often. Thinking about his mom, about the copies of himself, wondering if any one of them ever found her."

"That's not fair," I said. "He was traumatized as a kid, that's why he was so desperate. If I lost _my_ mom I don't know what—"

"Mimi," Tadao interrupted. "I didn't fault him for it. We had that in common. And now that I've got Whamon... I get it. My brother doesn't. But that doesn't mean I'll abandon him."

I nodded, but looked to Ryou sadly. I wanted to save him. I wanted it so badly. He was so small, so innocent. He was adorable, and I couldn't help worry. What if something happened to him? It would be my fault for not convincing Tadao. But I also couldn't be too pushy. I didn't want to become a kidnapper. I didn't want to force people into the safe house against their will.

So I let them go. Jou took over pushing Palmon's buggy, and I followed behind them, lost in thought, worrying about everything under the sun. I didn't even notice when Jou came to a stop until I bumped into his back. I snapped back to attention, noting that he manoeuvred the buggy with ease into the Inoue family's apartment building. I'd almost forgotten that's what we were doing today. Momoe and Miyako had teamed up on Jou, asking if he'd go and collect their family for the Coliseum. He caved of course, as they were his in-laws, and he didn't want anything to happen to them. I joined him because I didn't have anything to do. No one ever gave me missions and I was no help at the Temple. I wasn't even invited to join the cleaning party at the Coliseum. I was just wallowing in self-pity over the state of my restaurant. I also spent six hours trying to figure out why I hadn't been able to transfer my mortgage payment—only to find that it was mysteriously paid in full—but that was even more boring than the restaurant's paperwork.

Jou crammed the buggy into the elevator, and then he opened his backpack. Gomamon flopped into the carriage taking big gulps of fresh air. Palmon shifted over to give him room, and they started up a never-ending stream of chatter that simply did _not_ sound like a baby. They were totally blowing the cover. I knocked on the door while Jou got the carriage out of the elevator—the wheel got stuck, but he got it free in no time.

"Hello!" Mrs Inoue said happily, only to frown upon seeing my face. "Who are you?"

"I'm Miyako and Momoe's friend Mimi," I said with a forced smile. I'd been warned profusely about how difficult she was. "I'm here to offer your family a proposition of safety."

"We aren't interesting in whatever you're selling dear," Mrs Inoue said, preparing to close the door on me when Jou showed up. She looked even more confused, but couldn't exactly slam the door in her son-in-law's face and still seem polite. So she let us. "You're not here to announce the birth of your second child, are you?"

"No," Jou assured her. "Ignore the buggy. Mimi and I need to talk to everybody."

"What's up?" Chiziru called from the couch. I could see her from our spot by the door. Her boyfriend was seated with her, and Mantarou was on the floor rolling a ball back and forth with Gotsumon. Pumpkinmon was racing around with Masa—who was wearing his underwear over his pants and had a cape around his neck.

I wondered if this was a family dinner that Jou, Momoe, Miyako and Ken simply weren't invited to. Judging by the scrunched nose on Mrs Inoue's face, I was right. She didn't want the digimon to ruin her perfect family day. Half of her children were neck deep in the digimon issue so they weren't worth inviting. The other two though? They were _just_ as involved, whether they knew it or not. Their partners were in trouble, and they had to start doing their part to fix it! Their little sisters—and their partners—needed them to.

"We're here to cordially invite you to the digimon safe house," I said, ignoring the glare Mrs Inoue sent my way. I knew she didn't approve of digimon, but she couldn't want them dead. I just wouldn't believe it. She was petty and judgmental, but I knew she wasn't heartless. She couldn't be. She raised four kids that had the biggest hearts I knew. "It's getting increasingly dangerous here on Earth and Taichi set up a safe house that the enemy can't locate to house all those that want to go there. Apparently it's awesome, though I've never got to go there."

"It's cool," Jou said. "Lots of toys and games for the kids. There's plenty of entertainment and the rooms offer a lot of privacy all things considered. Momoe and I are taking Emiko there. And our partners. And then Momoe's going to stay there too, whenever she decides she's done with her job."

"You're making my daughter quit her job, just to join you in some silly clubhouse?" Mrs Inoue asked slowly. She was mad.

"No. Your daughter chose to quit her job before all of this happened. She just hasn't gotten around to it yet. We want our daughter safe, and Momoe wants to be with her the entire time to ensure that she stays that way. We're going to protect her from the dangers all around us," Jou growled, struggling to keep his temper. "I'm her husband. I'm not her dictator."

"Take Gotsumon," Mantarou said. "I need him safe. I want him safe. He likes puzzles. I can send some."

"No," I said shaking my head. "We've got just about every puzzle available at the local super store. From the local 100 yen shop too. We're good on puzzles. And we'd love to have Gotsumon join us. But aren't you coming?"

"I can't," he said. "Yorokobi... I love her. But she doesn't like digimon. She hasn't said anything against them, but... she's never opposed the beliefs those people are spreading either. But I love her. And I don't want to lose her because I go into hiding. But I _won't_ lose Gotsumon just because I wanted him here with me."

"That's a very mature decision," Jou complimented. "Even though I know Momoe and Miyako were hoping for something a little different."

"I want to be there for them. They're my kid sisters. It's my job to protect them. But they're both married to guys that are just as capable as I am to do that job. And they've got digimon partners to help too. I'm not needed," Mantarou said, shrugging. "It doesn't mean I love them any less. Besides, without Gotsumon, I won't be a target. I'll be fine. It's him I'm worried about."

Gotsumon had abandoned the ball he'd been playing with and was openly sobbing. He was touched by Mantarou's protective streak, but I knew he was mostly just bawling about being separated by him. He loved Mantarou. And it was heartbreaking to see him this way. Mantarou wrapped him in his arms, rocking him back and forth. To be honest, I was feeling really awkward intruding on their moment.

"I want to stay too," Chiziru declared. "I have a job. I'm going to school. I'm trying to balance those things with being a girlfriend and being a good mother and a good partner. I've been responsible. I'm making good choices. I'm becoming an adult, and not a wild teenager. I can't lose the progress I've made. I can't go back to the way I was."

"I understand," Jou said thickly. This wasn't going the way we wanted it to at all!

"No you don't," she said with a small smile. "You've always been the mature one. You were made for being a responsible parent. I don't even know who Masa's dad is. We're really different, you and me, Jou. And that's why I'm going to ask you the biggest, most heart wrenching question of my entire life. Because I know I can trust you, and Momoe, and Miyako and Ken. I need you to take Masa. I need you to take my son and keep him safe." Her eyes were so full of tears that they were spilling down her cheeks. This was hard for her to ask, it looked like it was ripping her apart. I knew that it had been her and Masa versus the world for years. She had Pumpkinmon, and that was all the two of them needed to get by. She'd met her boyfriend, and things had been looking up for them, but she had depended on Masa for so long. "Please. Take care of my baby."

"Chiziru, you can't be serious," Mrs Inoue snapped.

"Sayuri," Mr Inoue scolded. "This is the best choice. You know how Masa is. He's always talking about his favourite babysitter. And you _know_ that babysitter is Pumpkinmon. They could target our grandson just because he likes a digimon. This will keep him safe."

"Staying away from digimon will keep him safe!" Mrs Inoue shouted.

"With all due respect, Mother," Chiziru said coldly. "Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon are in the room. Need I remind you of that pact Mantarou, Momoe, Miyako and I made three years ago? Do you remember that we all agreed we'd pick our digimon over you? Because I still will. I don't need your negative influence. My therapist says so. I only come back because I thought you were trying."

"Sayuri," Mr Inoue said firmly. "You should apologize to the digimon."

"I won't," she hissed. "They're tearing the family apart. We're losing our grandchildren to them. We've lost our children. There are people out there that are against the digimon supporters. They could get hurt! Our family is a target. And it's entirely their fault!"

"I'll watch Masa," Jou declared. "And Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon. Gomamon and I will take care of them. Nothing will happen. And if any of you—yes_, any_ of you—change your mind, just call me. I'll come and get you no questions asked. Because you're Momoe's family, which makes you mine. And I don't care how you feel about digimon. Because I _know_ the truth. And I know you're wrong. But you've got your own views."

"You don't have to like family to care about their safety," Chiziru agreed. She stood then, and hunted down her partner and son. I watched—but couldn't here—as she explained the situation to them. Masa looked thrilled at first, but when he realized his mother wasn't coming with him he started crying. Pumpkinmon was more reserved. He knew he had to be strong for _both_ Masa and Gotsumon. I'd have to keep an eye on him though, for when he broke down later.

Mrs Inoue was constantly watching the clock. She was waiting for someone. It wasn't Momoe, Miyako or Ken. And it sure wasn't Jou. I glanced around the room, my eyes narrowing in on Mantarou. Yorokobi was coming—whoever she was. I'd never met her, and I didn't think I wanted to. She wasn't a digimon supporter, and until I knew that she _wasn't_ a member of the DWD group, I wanted to keep my distance.

"Jou," I called. "We should head out."

"Right," he said. "How are we going to do this?"

Oh, right. We couldn't just walk around downtown with a bunch of digimon. I looked at his backpack, wondering if we could maybe cram Gotsumon in there, but his head was too big. Then there was a light knocking at the door. I dived at the apron on the kitchen counter and scrambled to put it on Gotsumon. It was a flimsy plan at best, but it was a plan.

We were officially taking the "kids" to a costume party.

Yeah, Gotsumon looked like a pile of rocks, but maybe that was all the rage with children this year, okay? The apron really didn't help things at all. Mrs Inoue was opening the door. I hesitated. This plan sucked.

"Yorokobi, darling, it's so good to see you," she said in a charming tone of voice. I wondered why she wasn't _that_ cordial with all of her guests.

"It's wonderful to see you again too, Mrs Inoue," the blonde girl replied. Her hair was curled up in an old fashion style, and her dress was sleek and classy, whilst still appearing business-casual. Her glasses only added to the overall ensemble. She looked sweet, intelligent and beautiful all at once. And I didn't trust her for a second.

"Oh please," Mrs Inoue said. "I thought I asked you to call me Sayuri."

"Sayuri," Yorokobi said with a soft smile, as if she was absolutely honoured to call her by her name. It was so sickeningly sweet that I wanted to gouge my eyes out. It was so fake! "Am I interrupting something?"

"Heyyyyyyy," Jou and I chorused awkwardly.

"Hey," she said looking at us strangely before narrowing her eyes in on the digimon.

"Heyyyy..." Jou and I both repeated.

"We're going to a costume party," I rambled. "We're just here to pick up Masa. It's my daughter's birthday, you know? And they're friends. We're going to have to wait to pick up Emiko until school lets out, but it was nice meeting you. Bye!"

And then I hightailed it out of there, ushering Pumpkinmon, Gotsumon and Masa into the hallway, and shoving the baby carriage out into the open. Jou was directly behind me, slamming the door after us. We started running down the hall into the elevator. Jou pressed the wrong button though. He was only taking us down one floor, instead of to the ground level. I looked to him, confused.

"Ms Takaishi lives in this building," Jou explained. "We can get her while we're here, and she's got a computer, so we can access the Digital World. We'll head right to the Temple without having to step outside with so many digimon."

"You're brilliant, did you know that?" I told him heaving a sigh of relief.

"One of us has to be," he joked. "Seriously, you grabbed an apron!"

"I panicked!" I cried out. "I saw you didn't do anything at all."

We knocked frantically at Ms Takaishi's door, and practically ran inside the second she opened it. She was panicked at first, thinking something horrible had happened to Takeru or Yamato, but we quickly put her mind at ease. She agreed to join us on our trip and graciously offered us the use of her computer. Soon enough we were standing in the Temple. We walked down the hallway until we found Taichi in the Council room. He grinned at us, laughing at Palmon's disguise, until he caught sight of Masa. He just looked concerned after that. I felt the same. Jou might've been the one to make the promise, but I was going to help him keep it. We brought Masa into this, and we were going to make sure he got out on the other side.

"I know who's going first, then," Taichi said randomly, not bothering to explain anything no matter how intense my questioning look got. "Iori, Yamato, in here." Iori and Yamato came into the Council room then looking to Taichi for instructions. "You guys said you have three phones, right. You're taking the kid first. Make sure he gets there safe, and see if Kiyoko hasn't outfitted more phones with this program. It's awesome, and it's the only plan we've got."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"We're moving people out of the Temple," Yamato explained. "Kiyoko's imbedded a program in some cell phones. We can walk around invisible. But there's only a limited number available. Not everyone's willing to part with their phone."

"Take mine," I said instantly. Yes, I needed it to keep in contact with Sora and Koushiro and all of the others. But this was life or death. I could always just use email or video chatting. My phone could mean another living being could be brought to safety. And I would not be selfish enough to prevent it.

"Thanks," Yamato said. "He's working on mine and Iori's right now. They still work with the program, I don't know what the problem is. I've got Taichi's and Koushiro's and Tatum's as well. Michael needs his for media purposes or whatever. It's part of his plan."

"It's stupid," Iori said. "We need a better plan."

"We don't have one though," Jou said. "And we don't really have time to waste."

"Exactly," Taichi said. "So take the kid. He needs to go now."

"We've got three available spots," Iori said. "Two are empty."

"Take some of the digimon from the marketplace," I suggested. "Or the ones D'Arcmon's been teaching."

"We'll figure it out," Yamato agreed. "We'll get them all out."

"We have to," Iori said firmly.

_**Yamato Ishida:**_

"This is great!" Takeru exclaimed happily. "It's like brotherly bonding time."

Of course he said that. I knew he was doing it on purpose too. Just because he wanted Iori and I to get along the way I did with Takeru didn't mean it would ever happen. I genuinely did care about Iori, but in the way that I cared for Jou, or Koushiro. Like a friend. Of course I knew better than most people that you didn't have to grow up in the same house to be brothers, but we were adults. We'd already gone through the part of our lives where sibling rivalries and bonding was supposed to happen. Iori was not one of my brothers, and I didn't feel guilty saying that.

Whether that was because Iori was just as bitter as I was, or because I was missing the real point, I didn't care. The point was that I had an opinion and it was rude to not give me the right to stick to that. Everything in life was always one sided. There were rules, but a person would only follow those rules if they allowed them the freedom _they_ wanted. Or if there was something in it for them. Or if they were right.

This was not an argument though, and there was no right or wrong. The truth was a difficult concept anyway. Never could one person be totally submerged in what the truth was offering. There was always a bias, and there was always an opinion, both of which acted as a rope, tying a person to a post as far away from the real truth as possible. The truth was foreign territory and no one could ever truly understand what it meant.

That was my opinion anyway.

Which was why I was not entirely proud of what happened next.

"Takeru," Iori said, rolling his eyes. "Can you please stop with that?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Takeru lied through his teeth.

"Takeru, cut it out." I said flatly, "You're being annoying and childish. We're allowed to have an opinion if you are. And you are. You're entitled to your own wrong opinion—and that's fine with me." Iori laughed.

"Guys, who is to say whose opinion is right?" Takeru asked, crossing his arms, upset.

"Me," I smiled to him, "I just did." It was Takeru's turn to roll his eyes this time, and I did my best to ignore him. I tried very hard to not be immature or childish, but that became increasingly harder whenever Takeru was around. He brought the child out in me, and I was hardly even ashamed. I just didn't understand what the big deal was anyway. I promised my dad I'd try to not yell about my displeasure during dinner's any longer, and Iori did the same. They couldn't force us to be happy with what the circumstances were, and frankly, I was not. I did not appreciate how my father treated Fumiko as if she were more important than I was, or than Takeru was. More important than Mom ever was.

But then again, it was a bit hypocritical, because I'd also been pretty peeved when he and Mom dated again a few years back. So maybe I was just petty and jealous. Maybe I wanted others to suffer in the misery of solitude with me. But that didn't make sense because I was happy for Reichi, and Koumi, and Joumoe, and Takari, and Daiyami, and Natsori, and Miyaken, and Kideto, and... whatever Michael and Tatum called themselves.

It was just my dad. Maybe I just wanted him to be unhappy... maybe I was a horrible person?

That couldn't be true, because I was headed toward the Coliseum to help my ex girlfriend who hated me. If I was a horrible person that wasn't something I'd be doing. Iori had been cornered by Takeru in the Temple when I'd arrived, and I tried to slip past, but in a last ditch effort to escape himself, Iori had pointed me out. Takeru hadn't taken the bait though, and now the three of us were walking together.

We _had_ however stopped to talk with Wizardmon and the other Knights. Two of them now had tracking devices attached to themselves, and neither was very pleased with it. Wizardmon wanted us to contact our dad to tell him why he was unable to rejoin him at home, and I made a promise to do so later.

After that, we'd set out on the _obnoxiously_ long walk from the Temple to the Coliseum. I heard Iori mutter something about bringing our own vehicles into the Digital World, and I kind of agreed with him. If the enemies could do it, why couldn't we? It would save on time, that's for sure. Instead, we were walking through the rain—as if it needed to rain in the Digital World—and the dirt that was steadily making its change into mud. The rain was light, and not terribly disorienting, but the sky was darkening and it looked like the storm could only get worse. I didn't want to be out in a total downpour, but it didn't look like we had much choice. We'd never get to the Coliseum before it worsened.

It was quite a while before Takeru spoke again, "I wonder how the cleaning is going in the Coliseum..." He said, his voice less buoyant than before. "I've been gone a couple days."

"Why?" Iori asked, his voice completely vacant of emotion.

"Well, when I dealt with Devimon, I thought it was a good idea to use the portals to return to the Coliseum." Takeru started explaining, his voice perking up, "But it didn't work. I forgot that all access points lead to the Temple. Which got me thinking though... Patamon and I went to Italy—"

"Uhm, when?" I asked.

"Long story." Takeru waved it off, "And then came straight back to the Primary Village. Koushiro's theory was that we had left traces through the portal, you know? Which explains how the Chosen from other countries can go back to places in their country. And since that made enough sense I had to go check on Angemon again, to make sure no one tracked us from Italy, and then I realized he'd need some things from home, so I went to help Kurayami finish packing. Then I had to deal with our landlord who was super angry for us not paying rent, so that was no good. And then I went back to Angemon and he assured me he was fine, so now I'm on my way back to the Coliseum." It was painfully obvious that his optimism was a mask created to conceal his nerves. "Maybe I should go ask him if he's eating his vegetables. You know how he gets..."

"Takeru," I said, "I'm sure he's fine."

"There are healthy foods all around the Digital World," Iori reminded him, wiping a layer of water from his bare forehead. "Just let him be. At least for now." Takeru seemed to be pleased with that answer, at least for now, so the three of us continued in silence. I found it impossible to not focus on the fact that my hair was deflating. Any volume or style I'd attempted had become meaningless under the tyranny of the rain.

I pulled my jacket tighter around myself and fought off the shiver that was threatening to overcome me. The rain wasn't a nice summer shower. It was a bitterly cold spring torture attempt sent by the gods. And as the distant roar of thunder rolled across the skies I knew it had to be true. The gods hated me.

"What is that?" Iori asked, stopping in his tracks. He was looking to the sky, looking for signs of lightning, but it appeared there was none. He had a point. Thunder could sometimes become unbearable in length, but never like that. The noise was coming from the distance, so I lowered my sights, and squinted through the rain toward what I was seeing.

Something big was sitting on the horizon making the noises we'd been subjected to. I pointed subconsciously and both Takeru and Iori followed my finger to the oncoming... whatever it was. After my eyes had time to adjust it became clear that we were looking at a series of somethings, and not one thing in particular, though what exactly it was I did not know.

Takeru dropped his heavy looking green backpack and began digging around inside. He finally pulled out a pair of binoculars and held them up to his eyes. I didn't want to know why he had binoculars, because really, who had a pair of them laying around anymore aside from birdwatchers? Takeru scrunched up his nose and handed the binoculars to Iori who stepped forward, squinting through the lenses.

"Uh..." he handed them to me. "What do you think?" He asked. I pulled the binoculars to my eyes, and found myself staring into the sky somewhere random. "I'm just hoping it isn't what I think I saw."

"I'm with you." Takeru said as my sights finally fell on the black covered horizon.

It was easy to see what they were, but harder to grasp. It was as if my mind wanted desperately to believe that what I was seeing had to be an illusion. It seemed impossible that it was happening. There was no lead up, no warnings, there was no _reason_ for it to be happening. The machines that were coming seemed to be war tanks of some kind, and if there was any other way to describe them I would have been happy to use that instead. There weren't many necessarily—not in comparison to what we'd dealt with before. Maybe a dozen or so. But they looked big. What was the point of them?

I cleared my throat, handing the binoculars back to Takeru nervously, "Did you guys see massive enemy machines coming our way?" Both of them nodded tentatively. "Right." I said, nodding. "Let's go then. We can't let them see us, or we'll lead them straight to the Coliseum."

"Who says we're going to the Coliseum still?" Takeru gasped, "We have to warn the Temple, I think it's pretty obvious that's where they're going!"

"And that's what we'll do," I nodded, "But we're closer to the Coliseum." I didn't wait for an argument to break out any further. I set off running, knowing Takeru wouldn't go back alone. I noticed that they weren't heading in the direction of the Primary Village at _all_ which was good news. I knew Takeru would be pleased by that, and thus not panicking. We couldn't have anyone panic. Miyako was sure to cover that for the rest of us. I heard two sets of footfalls following behind me and relaxed knowing they were coming too.

I didn't know how much longer I could run really, but the rain was already starting to fall harder, and we couldn't waste time, but we were still too far from the Temple. We'd never run the whole way, already I was running out of breath and trying to hide that from myself by taking sharp breaths.

I was right, we couldn't make it. We'd had to slow down, but did not stop. Even though we needed the break, we couldn't take it. It was impossible to be sure what was going with the oncoming enemies and machines moved faster than we did. We had to keep moving. When it looked like they were too close for comfort we decided it was time to run again, and this time, through the burning sensation coursing through my entire body we made it to the Coliseum. Somehow we'd run way off to the West though, and found the main entry instead. Rushing through the open, outside section of the Coliseum we pushed through the doorways that led into the basement areas and rushed down the stone steps, slipping only once.

Well Iori only slipped once, I'd rather not say how many times I'd slipped.

We all emerged from the side door and startled Katsue who was sitting in the corner where I'd left her. She looked up in shock for a moment, then amusement at seeing us wet, and then she shrugged and was sporting a sour expression. I wanted to ask her what was wrong, but Takeru interrupted.

"What the heck?" He asked, confused. I looked where was looking and saw that curtains had been put up over the cells we could see.

"Yeah, they've made progress." Katsue said. "You've even got a cozy little home, Takeru. Me? Nah, I don't need one. I'm here, you weren't, but you got a home first. They're working on mine now."

"Maybe if you helped?" Iori asked, raising an eyebrow.

Katsue shrugged and held up her phone. "I'm about to beat my high score." She said with a triumphant grin.

"Who cares," I said maybe a little too sharply, "Who else is here? I need to speak with someone."

"Loads of people." Katsue said with a roll of her eyes, "Be more specific?" I ignored her and headed off down the hallway of cells, or homes as they now would be. I wanted to knock on the doors, but there weren't any—just different coloured curtains, draped over the entrance way held up by metal bars that had somehow been infused to the stone archways. I awkwardly knocked on the wall of the first cell and gave up quickly.

"Any digidestined who are here, can you step out now?" I asked awkwardly.

No one responded.

"Meeting in the entrance hall!" Iori bellowed loudly. "Right now!" Immediately there was a response. The curtains all flung open and people and digimon alike were flooding past us, each of them looking to us nervously. Gabumon stopped at my feet and looked up to me, scared. I patted his head and turned to follow everyone else into the entrance room.

Katsue was still with Monimon in the corner. Ken's mother and father were both here now, as were Koushiro's parents. Hideto, Mari, Kiyoko and Willis were all here too. I tried to smile to him since I knew he'd been saved, but hadn't come to see him yet, but he was looking to Tapirmon who was talking with Wormmon worriedly. Warg and Melga were sitting at Hideto's feet with Kae's partner Coronamon. Momoe was holding Bearmon's hand and standing next to Jou and Gomamon, though Emiko was nowhere to be seen. School, I figured. Rei was holding Pal and Pul in her arms, curious, though not as inherently nervous as the rest. Sora's mother was here as well with her Mushroomon. Takeru hadn't mentioned her before. Agumon was the last for my eyes to fall on as he had just pushed past me gently to stand with Gabumon.

"What's going on?" Kae asked nervously, "Do we have to leave?"

"No," Takeru said, taking charge, "We need to know what's going on here. Where are the computers? We need to talk to Taichi right now."

"Use my phone." Rei said, startled by Takeru's intensity. She pulled the phone from her pocket and tossed it to Iori who was the closest of us three. There was a lot of murmuring spreading through the crowd as everyone asked quiet questions. Gabumon was included in that, as he pulled on the bottom of my jacket to get my attention, but I silenced him apologetically.

"Taichi?" Iori said finally, "This _is_ the time actually, so listen. There are people headed to the Temple." Iori shut his eyes as if his head was aching and he nodded silently, the crowd was now silent. "Taichi, look outside, and tell me what's going on. There are machines coming to the Temple. I'd come help but Armadillomon's not here and quite frankly I'd rather he didn't die. Okay, just call us back." Iori pulled the phone away and turned to Rei, "Is it okay if I hold onto this?" She nodded, now more nervous than many of the others as she glanced over her shoulder.

"Rei, calm down." I said before I knew what was happening. "Everything will be okay." She looked to me with daring eyes, begging me to give her proof, but I had none, so I silenced myself. After a couple minutes, all of us staring at the phone, waiting for it to ring again and everyone's questions becoming too unbearable I stepped forward, "There are a bunch of machines coming for the Temple." I told them. "The digimon can take them, they'll be fine." I said it with enough certainty that people actually stopped questioning me. I was jealous of how calm they had all become.

Well, not all of them. Jou was suspicious. As were Rei and Alias III. I was pretty sure the only reason Willis wasn't was because he wasn't aware of everything that was happening yet.

Takeru told everyone to go back to what they were doing, except the digidestined, and so they all did, including the digimon who were not our partners. Rei didn't though. She stood still, staring toward her phone, waiting for Taichi to get back to her.

When it seemed like that wasn't going to happen Takeru spoke up. "So where did the curtains come from?"

Hideto's face lit up and he went into an explanation of what they'd done. Apparently the world did have reason to think those who supported the digimon were up to no good. Because we were. I was surprised that everyone else was okay with it so blindly, but then again, they'd had a few days to get used to the idea. Even with Hideto's insistence that the places they'd robbed had been against the digimon it still felt wrong to me.

He then showed us to the 'Living Space' he had called it. There was a really big cell down a separate hallway, and Iori remembered it as the one Neo had kept Daemon in. The space looked like a modern living room, and actually felt cozy. There was a rug, and two curtains to close off the space if necessary. There was a television in a large wooden casing with many shelves for movies, games and consoles. Takeru's face lit up like he was really going to enjoy living here, apparently he too had gotten over the evilness of it all.

Hideto was about to show us to where they'd found room for a spacious kitchen when Rei's phone had finally rung. The four of us hurried back to the entrance hall where Agumon, Gabumon, Wormmon, Tapirmon, Mari, Kiyoko, Jou, Gomamon, Rei, Pal, Pul, Warg and Melga were waiting for us.

"What's going on?" Iori asked sharply, "Taichi?"

Rei tore the phone from Iori's hand and put it on speaker phone, holding it up as Taichi began to speak. "They're guarding." He said nervously. "A messenger came to tell us. Koushiro thinks they used the tracking devices on Wizardmon and the others. But they found Temple." I was kind of confused for a moment as to how he had thought they might _not_ find the giant majestic building, but remembered what it really was. There was only one way into the Temple, and again, you could only see it having been there before. Similar to that of the Coliseum. But knowing the exact location would make it easy enough for them to find it. "Basically we can't leave the Temple or they're going to kill whoever leaves."

"What?" Takeru gasped as Rei dropped the phone, her hand flying to her head. Hideto was quick to comfort her as she fell into his arms. Kiyoko grabbed the phone from the floor and held it up. "Why?"

"They're freaks?" Taichi said quietly. "I don't know what to do anymore. I don't have any plans."

"How are they even getting here?" Takeru asked. "I don't understand why they're not just going through the Temple like everyone else. It doesn't make any sense."

"The door." Taichi and Rei said together.

"Sorry?" Mari said, "What door?"

"Myotismon's door." Taichi explained, "I thought I told everyone! Dammit there are too many of us I can't keep track of who knows what."

"Taichi, it's not your fault!" Agumon insisted, "Just relax okay? We're going to help you out."

"Don't you dare." Taichi snarled. "No one is setting foot inside the Temple. Not through the front door anyway, and we're certainly not leaving in the traditional way either. We might just wait it out."

"Change the location of the door," Iori said, his mind trying desperately to find a way to solve the issue, "Change the place the door lets out? Then when you come back from Earth you'll all be out and they'll be none the wiser."

"Sure, that works temporarily." Taichi said flatly, "But we still need inside this Temple, Iori. We can't leave this stuff to the enemy. It's important."

"If they had the capability to enter, they would." Takeru declared, "You all standing there isn't stopping them."

"Actually I think it is." Taichi responded quickly, "They can kill the digimon easily now, but that isn't going to stop them from getting hurt in the process. They're smart, Takeru. These people know digimon are strong. I think that's what this all boils down to. Humans are arrogant and they're scared the digimon are stronger or smarter. We can't leave or the Temple is screwed."

"Is Miyako there?" Wormmon's timid voice piped up.

"Yeah she is." Taichi said. "So many digimon are here too... and Koushiro and Sora... we need to protect the Temple. If only there was a way to ensure they couldn't harm us at all."

"You need a shield." Kiyoko said quietly. I could practically hear all the eyes shifting from the phone in Kiyoko's hand up to his face.

"That'd be great." Taichi said sarcastically. "I'll just call Shields R' Us and order me up a shield fit for a Temple."

"Don't be mean, Taichi," Sora scolded from through the phone. My stomach lurched hearing her so calm. She was okay, and she was there for Taichi. She was awesome... always helping people. I wasn't helping anyone, but I needed to be. I needed to do _something_. What could I do? I was somewhat aware of Kiyoko rushing off through the tunnels. I wasn't the person with all the good ideas. I was never going to get anything done for the Temple... but what else could I do?

"Look, I think we're okay for now." Taichi said interrupting whatever Iori was saying. "Where's Rei?"

"Here!" She called, her voice weak.

"I love you," He said quietly.

"Love you too." She said.

"I'll call you guys if anything major happens." He said, his voice breaking. "This might mean war, and it might be my fault."

"Oh stop that." Sora hushed him up before the line went dead.

There was silence following the buzz that Iori nervously stopped by pressing the flashing red button on Rei's phone. We were all thinking wildly, and the silence felt strange, like we should be hearing the thoughts fire at the walls, but just seeing their expressions I knew they were unsuccessful.

"I'm confused..." Kae Ichijouji's quiet voice said from behind us. We turned to see everyone we'd sent off standing, having listened in on the conversation. "What... what is going on?"

"The enemies are taking it to a whole other level," Iori answered her as kindly as possible.

"I thought everything was okay?" Yoshie said, hopeful.

"Sora seemed optimistic," Toshiko nodded, trying for her friends' sake to keep a happy outlook. How could we be happy when the enemies could come and go without us knowing? They could sneak in through the darkness of night time and destroy digimon wherever they saw fit...

"I have an idea." I said loudly. "Gabumon, I need you to come with me, and it could be dangerous."

Gabumon didn't hesitate for a moment, and had already begun rushing to the door, "Let's go!" He declared. It killed me to see how desperate he was to help out. How useless he obviously felt _cleaning_ while digimon were dying. But he couldn't be this excited to get out. I needed him to be comfortable in safety. I needed him to not try to leave... and that meant I was probably going to be moving to the Coliseum with him full time.

I was already making plans to pack when Katsue stopped me from leaving. "I'm coming with you." She told me. "I think I have a plan of my own."

"It's dangerous," I told her.

"Oh and I'd just get in your way, huh?" She asked sharply, "Well fine. I'll go all alone. Out into the scary world without any protection. How ever will I survive?" She threw her hand over her head like some damsel in distress and gasped dramatically.

"Fine," I groaned, "Come with me."

"I'll come too," Iori said, "I want to be a part of something."

"You coming?" I asked Takeru as he stood, watching us.

He shook his head, "Taichi left me in charge here, and I've been slacking on that. I think I should stay here." Willis rolled his eyes and turned to head down the hallway where Kiyoko had gone, pushing through the small grouping of parents. "Though I could go... if..."

"If?" I asked impatiently.

"You and Iori admit you're brothers?" He finished.

I didn't even think about the response, it just sort of flew out of my mouth, "Takeru, look, I'm sorry you're not happy with how everything has worked out. I know you always wanted a perfectly put together family and you don't like when things fall apart. Mom and Dad broke up _again_ and you were hurt and you pretended you weren't—that's fine. That's your business. But just because Mom and Dad are both in a relationship now doesn't mean that Iori and I are in that same relationship. I didn't marry Fumiko when Dad did. Iori didn't marry Dad either—can't imagine Natsuni would be too pleased about that if he did. So you want us to pretend we're a happy family just to make you happy and settled into your new life? I'm not going to do that. Saying the word brother doesn't make it so. I'm not going to lie to you, and I'm not so big into labels." I took a breath and winced at Takeru's furrowed, angry brows. "When I look at a digimon I see a person, okay? I see a person with feelings. When I look at Kiyoko, I say 'he's adorable.' And when I look at Miyako, I don't say 'hey, she's bisexual' even though I'm pretty freaking sure she is. When I look at _you_ I don't say 'that's my brother', either. I say 'that's Takeru, a wonderful kind human being who cares too much for his own good. He's the person you should go to if you're sad, or if you're having trouble. If he cares about you he's going to wipe the floor with whoever hurt you. Because he's that kind of guy.' So when I look to Iori, I see his personality. Not some floating golden word over his head that reads 'brother' because that's not who he is. He's just Iori. Labels are what is keeping the world apart and what spreads hate in this world, Takeru. Labels are the little boxes separating digimon and human kind. Labels are evil."

"Oh dear." Kae gasped, looking to the blue label maker in her hand, "I—I..."

Takeru stared at me for a bit and then bit his lip, looking like he wanted to say something in return, but instead he turned and walked away.

And I didn't really blame him. I'd just exploded in front of everyone. I was embarrassed as it was, and I knew he'd feel worse—I hadn't actually _meant_ to scream at him, but once it started coming out it wouldn't stop... And I felt so guilty about how good it felt to finally get it off my chest.

"Well, are we going?" Katsue asked.

I ignored her, but opened the door, and threw up the hood of the dark blue sweater I was wearing underneath my jacket. Yoshie Izumi called out after us about an umbrella, but each of us ignored her and walked through the rain. We were soaked in a matter of minutes, partially because of the rain and partially because we'd gone through the river. We had to get far enough away from the Coliseum so Gabumon could digivolve. I knew they'd track us to that location... but I wasn't about to let them find the Coliseum just because I was in a hurry.

Katsue, Iori and Gabumon were all silent as we walked. It was Monimon that filled most of the silence as he sat annoyed in Katsue's arms. I hadn't noticed her bring him, and honestly thought she wouldn't have done so. She was so nervous about his safety, bringing him out right now was maybe not the best idea.

After an hour and a half of walking to the South-West Iori finally asked what the plan was.

"Well," I said, "We're going to Myotismon's door. And to do that, I need you to warp digivolve Gabumon." He looked up to me, this time nervous, and asked if I was serious just with his eyes. I nodded and he swallowed thickly, shaking his fur a little and sending drops of rain to the ground of the muddy field we'd stopped in.

"**Gabumon warp-digivolve to... MetalGarurumon!**"

As he was finishing his transformation I jumped onto his back, pulling Katsue up after me. Iori was last up and immediately MetalGarurumon was off. Running as fast as he could through the field.

It was startling even if I knew it was coming. The violet light shot past us and Katsue wrapped her arms tightly around me, Monimon pressing into my back painfully. I looked over my shoulder and saw a tear hovering above the ground. A tear in... like the world. Like a portal. It was closing as three people filed out, each holding a silver gun.

"Hold on!" MetalGarurumon shouted, but it was too late, he had jumped and my grip wasn't solid. I managed to grip his neck firmly, and Katsue held me tighter, but Iori fell directly off of his back.

"Iori!" I shouted. "Go back!" I screamed. "Get him!"

MetalGarurumon had only just landed atop the hill he had jumped to, and slid to a stop rushing back down quickly. The people in black clothing were nearing Iori who had gotten to his feet, rushing toward us, slipping and sliding in the muddy earth. MetalGarurumon began his turn already and I knew I had only one chance to get Iori. Reaching out my hand, stretching toward where his outstretched arm was—I missed him.

I cursed loudly before I caught sight of Katsue's arm gripping Iori's tightly. "Got him!" She screamed in surprise. Apparently she hadn't had any faith in herself. Iori and Katsue worked together to swing him up and onto the back of MetalGarurumon and then we were off again.

This time there was no chance for them to catch us. MetalGarurumon was way too fast for them. Soaring and running through the trees. After a while my heart slowed down and I didn't fear imminent death so passionately catching up to me. It was a long ride, and even if the others had tried to strike up a conversation I had no way of hearing them over the roaring wind. I did check over my shoulder every now and then for them to ensure they were still with us.

And finally, we came to a stop behind a series of bushes. One of the bushes sounded oddly... un-bush-like. More like a tent, but I ignored that. I knew Rei had been camping out here, so I assumed it had to be hers. Though I probably should have been more careful.

MetalGarurumon caught his breath and then stepped out to where, in the mangled and destructive mess of Myotismon's old castle, there sat an enormous metal door. "Now what?" MetalGarurumon asked.

"Melt it." I told him, even though it seemed pointless now. "Don't let them leave."

"Isn't that what we want?" Katsue asked, "For them to leave?"

"But if we control their movements, we control them." Iori filled in, understanding my point. It was a good point too if they hadn't proved that they had the ability to break the fabric of the Digital World and freaking teleport to wherever someone Digivolved... MetalGarurumon shrugged his shoulders so I slid off of him, and Katsue and Iori did the same, watching as he walked through the rain and the flashes of lightning toward the door, ready to tear it to pieces.

But in one swift movement the door had opened. Iori shoved Katsue and I behind the bush-tent and MetalGarurumon vanished faster than my eyes could follow. "What horrible timing!" Katsue gasped, looking around nervously. Iori had poked his head out to take a look at who was coming through, so I joined him.

It was just two men, it seemed. One was a round man, with long white hair. He looked content with life like if you were good all year he'd put presents under your tree, but like if you crossed him he would tear you to pieces. He was shorter than his companion, and much more frightening. The second man was tall and had a mess of curly hair that was quickly deflating in the rain, and sly looking glasses. His face was pointed and angry looking. But he looked crazy. His eyes were wide and mad looking, like he wanted to blow something up.

And then a third man came into our sights, but not from the door. He had been sitting in the rubble of the castle, waiting for the door to open. If MetalGarurumon had gone in there he could have been killed... The man was wearing green from head to toe. His hair was cropped short, and even from here, the scar running down his cheek was visible. That was the man Takeru had been speaking of. He was enormous, so I knew it had to be true. I was pretty sure he could pick me up and throw me back to the Coliseum. I might've asked too if he wasn't so obviously evil judging by the cold look in his eyes.

"Bitoru," The enormous man said to the mad-man. "When will the others be joining us?"

"Soon, sir." Mr Crazy-Eyed Bitoru said curtly. "Aesop has come to request more time."

"Is this true?" The man in charge asked Scary-Santa, who had to be Aesop.

Aesop nodded. "Yes sir," He said, "We are in the midst of closing another deal that I think you will find most delicious."

The man in charge was silent for a moment, giving Katsue to add quietly, "Why are all the bad guys always men?"

Iori and I both ignored her as the man finally gave his response. "Very well." He said, "Two extra weeks." He decided. "That's all I will grant to you."

"That should be more than enough, sir," Aesop said.

"Now, now." The man said, throwing his arms around his two colleagues, "I think we've known each other for the two of you to stop referring to me as 'sir'" he said with his dirty, and low voice. "Call me by my name, my friends. Call me Maugrim."

"Maugrim." Iori said again, memorizing the name.

"More grim?" Katsue asked, "Is that what he said? What an evil name!"

"Shh!" Iori and I hissed.

Looking back, none of the men seemed to notice our voices, and had actually set off together. We waited until they were gone, until they had travelled into the trees, and even longer. Just to be safe. Then, when MetalGarurumon had reappeared we knew it had to be safe. He had noticed the man's location as well and had flown swiftly around the building to ensure no one was waiting for any others to come through the door.

"Ready then?" He asked me.

"Go for it."

And then he was shooting fire from his mouth in a frenzy of heat. The rain around his attack evaporated before it even came near. The fire itself was welding the door shut at the very least. The metal was thick and strong and we could be here for a while, but I knew it would work. We could make this happen.

"So what's your plan?" Iori asked Katsue.

"Well nothing this heroic," She said, looking to me in a way that said she was impressed. "I want to make a video."

"Didn't your first one cause enough trouble?" Iori asked her.

"Yeah, that's the point." She told him. "I want to show that digimon _are_ the good guys. Starting with the footage of those creepy guys coming from the magical door... I just wish they'd said something good... something evil. But they didn't."

"You might want to tell him to stop recording," I said, pointing to Monimon with a smirk. "A giant metal dog destroying things isn't going to help."

"Oh, right." Monimon said, shutting off his recording device. "Whoops. It's just really cool."

"It is..." I said slowly, watching the top of the door liquefy and pour slowly down the frame. I was coming to the conclusion that I should likely have asked Taichi for permission before doing this, but Iori also thought it was a good idea, so... it couldn't be a horrible idea. And if it was, Iori and I would take the fall together. Because that's the kind of guy Iori was, he was a little spiteful, but kind and honorable. He was a good guy, and I really did like him.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Miyako and Hikari work with their own strengths to right some wrongs they find that simply won't be put to rest.


	26. Righting Wrongs

**Y/N: **...Yolei's was fun. I got to use a minor character introduced in the last arc, and it was fun to bring him back, even if he's still minor. He's cute.

**U/N: **Originally Kari's part here was supposed to go later and be about something completely different, but it just didn't make sense, so I just kind of played with nothing and came up with her part. I actually really liked it, and I love Emiko, sooo... :P It's also nice to see that _someone_ is still living their dream job, whether she has a crappy boss or not.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 3: Ignorance**

**Chapter 26: Righting Wrongs**

_**Miyako Ichijouji:**_

"There isn't anything else?" Taichi pleaded.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "But Ken doesn't like to talk about him at home. He says it's his Morestuna-free zone. I called him last night, and he said he'd compile a list today, of all the things he thinks are suspicious. He's going to do a little recon at work and see if he can't work out a schedule or something too. I can't help anymore right now."

"It's fine, it's okay," Taichi said shaking his head. "I don't mean to bite your head off."

"You're stressed," I said, understanding. "I don't blame you. I'm worried about Ken though. He's determined to stay at work as long as you need him too. He wants to be as helpful as possible. But I'm so worried about him. He's getting so good at acting, it's scary. I _know_ he doesn't think the way they do, but he's gotten so into character that he's starting to sound like the Digimon Kaiser again. Not the things he says, they're still sweet and considerate and smart. It's the _tone_ of his voice."

"He doesn't need to stay there," Taichi said. "It's going to provide invaluable information that we might not be able to collect in any other way, but he doesn't need to risk himself. We can find another way."

"I told him that to," I admitted. "But I think he's just thrilled to be able to do something. He went to school for so long to become an officer of the law, but it's not shaping up anything like he expected it to."

"He's helping catch the bad guys," Taichi pointed out. "He's just not working for the people he thought he would be."

"Yeah," I said with a sigh. "Do you have anything else you need me to do?"

"Can you go tell Mr Ogremon that we're going to need nine more of his students for transportation today?" he asked.

"Can do," I said saluting him. He looked thankful, before rushing off, back to the lab in the basement. And I headed out into the Temple. It had surprised me to find out just how big this place was. I mean, I obviously knew it was huge, just by looking at it from the outside, but there was so much here that I'd never known about. There was more to the Temple than the training grounds, the hallway of gates, the lab and the Council room. There was the marketplace that I'd been to hundreds of times, but that was the first thing I'd seen when I'd first walked through the doors. What I hadn't realized was that this walled courtyard actually led to other areas. The training grounds weren't the only grassy plains in the Temple. There were parks for the digimon to play in; there was even a community garden that was the size of a soccer field. It was glorious. And way more beautiful than the herb garden I'd planted in my window box. I was very jealous.

I'd been shocked to find that the Temple had a sort of motel service available for long-term visitors. I only learned about it when Sora sent me to fetch Michael's sister Jenna for a brief meeting. They wanted to know everything about this Veronica girl that Jenna had been interacting with in America. And I discovered that the Temple was a far cooler place than I'd ever imagined it could be.

There were large arches in the walls around the courtyard, and each of the four arches were the gateway to a path, two going left and the others going right. The motel area was at the beginning of one of these paths, and the rest led to the residential areas. Yeah. It turned out that not all of the digimon I'd seen in the courtyard market were actually visitors. There were hundreds of digimon, though it could be thousands, since I'd heard it both ways—though Koushiro told me there were more than a thousand, and I was inclined to believe him. They all called the Temple home. There were larger houses for larger digimon, though it was all very much like one large apartment building. They were each given a building number and a room number. There were so many that it made my head spin. Taichi had set up guest housing for the digimon that had been abandoned, and those of the fight club—there'd been a fuss about leaving them here, but Taichi talked their partners into doing it for their digimon's safety—within the motel that Michael, Tatum, Betamon, Jenna, Monodramon and Kudamon were staying in. There were also temporary rooms being used for those of us that stayed at the Temple day in and day out, like Taichi, Koushiro and myself. A little bird—namely Koushiro—had told me that Gennai's library was out there somewhere, and that the entire history of the Digital World could be found within it, if someone was brave enough to try.

I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of digimon that needed evacuation. These tanks—should they attack—could mean the deletion of a thousand digimon. That was a staggering number, and I couldn't bear the thought.

But we were evacuating. Slowly but surely. It would take years to evacuate at the rate we were doing so, but maybe the tanks would hold off until then, since they just seemed inclined to sit there and wait us out. I wasn't even sure there were people _in_ the tanks anymore, but I wasn't about to test that theory. Kiyoko had developed a smaller scaled version of the technology he'd used on the Coliseum. He embedded the program into people's cellular phones, and rendered people invisible. Iori and Yamato were the delivery service. They came together, with as many as cell phones they could, and brought groups back with them to the Coliseum. It was approximately a ten hour walk though. So it couldn't be done often. Once during the day, and once at night. Only, Iori and Yamato couldn't physically take two shifts. I was surprised to hear that Masami Izumi—Koushiro's father—and Kazuya Ichijouji—my own father-in-law—volunteered to take the night shift. They wanted to feel like they were _doing_ something. And Masami enjoyed the brief visits with his partner, Andromon.

Andromon couldn't leave the Temple. Neither could Wizardmon or any of the fight club digimon. They all wore red tracers, and they were also the reason the Temple was surrounded like it was. I didn't blame them though, and while some digimon that called the Temple home _did_, Taichi didn't either, and that was good enough for me. Taichi kept them close to a digidestined at all times, because he was worried about them. I wasn't sure what he was worried about specifically, but I knew there were a couple of options. Either they were so ashamed of what had happened that they would go and surrender themselves to make up for it—meaning Andromon and Wizardmon—or the other digimon of the Temple were waiting for the opportune moment to pounce on them—meaning the fight club digimon. The fight club digimon hadn't exactly made any friends since they'd been here. They were always fighting with one another, scaring the other digimon. And they were never intimidated by the bigger, _stronger_ digimon of the Temple either. They just thought of them as a challenge.

The Knights were watched by whoever happened to be in the Council building—because that was all it was really used for after all—so it was mostly the fight club digimon that were the problem.

I skipped down the steps of the Council building, and headed for the school. Mr Ogremon—called as such specifically because there were two Ogremon and it was confusing otherwise—taught all of the young digimon of the Temple. There were some babies that decided to try and make it in the world outside of Primary Village, but for the most part, he taught the in-training level digimon. We'd sent the majority of the babies out already, along with Masa, Lunamon, Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon. We had only managed to save thirty-one so far. Total, meaning Masa and the rest of them were included in that number. I'd given Kazuya my phone the previous night though, and convinced him to donate his own, so by tonight's shift we'd be able to send eleven at once, which was an improvement.

I glanced at my watch and picked up my pace. I knocked on the doorway of the classroom, and Mr Ogremon called me inside. "I'm here for more of your students," I said with a smile. Some of the little digimon shook with fear, and others cheered. I was confused, until I heard one whisper that she didn't want to disappear. My heart ached. "We're bringing you somewhere safer. You're not disappearing," I explained. "We can't bring everybody at once though, so we have to take only a few at a time."

"Can I go next?" she asked hesitantly. She was an in-training...I'd been asked to get the last of the babies. I quickly counted them and there were only six. I did a mental happy dance before nodding. "Sure."

That of course caused a bit of a problem, because everybody was volunteering at once, and I looked to Mr Ogremon for assistance. He pointed to a Yokomon and a Pagumon, and everyone else sighed in disappointment. I hated seeing their faces fall. I wanted them all to be safe. But there were just so many of them. And they clearly didn't realize they'd be walking—or bouncing?—for ten straight hours without rest, or else they wouldn't be that thrilled.

I'd made that journey.

It wasn't fun.

I led the selected nine digimon up the stairs to the Council room where I thought they were going to be waiting for Yamato and Iori to arrive. But when I got there, I heard yelling. I told them to wait in the hall before entering the Council chamber.

"I don't care, Yamato," Natsuko yelled at her son. "I'm not going next. I refuse. There are so many digimon here. I'm not important enough to go first. I can always go home and act like I don't have a partner. I'd still be safe. These guys don't have that opportunity. So you take them first."

"Mom," Yamato growled. "Takeru wants you there. He's freaking out."

"And he can do that all he likes," Natsuko said. "He's a big boy. He knows how these things work."

"Women and children first," Yamato said. "Isn't that how it goes?"

"But when there are this many children, Yamato, you take the kids. You take them first and you're going to damn well like it," she said. "I will not go only to find out that something happened here. Not when I know I can give my place to a child. I will always defer my place for a child. I am your mother. And you will do what I say."

"I'm the digidestined in this relationship," Yamato insisted. "Why don't you have to listen to me? Besides, we brought a way to bring more digimon this time. Hideto suggested it actually, so there's room for you."

"What did I _just_ say?" Natsuko said.

"Come on Miyako," Iori said, startling me. I hadn't realized he was leaning against the wall next to the door. I was too busy watching the two blondes do battle at the foot of the table. I let Iori lead me out of the room. I heard Taichi yelling at them to shut up and let him concentrate just as Iori closed the door behind us. "So," he said. "I bet you want to hear our new plan."

"You bet I do," I said. "There's a classroom of kids that want their turn. Tell me, what did Hideto suggest?"

"He gave us a shopping cart. Apparently he'd always wanted to steal one, he said something about it being on his bucket list," Iori explained, evidently not approving of Alias III's methods. "He said that when they went..._shopping_...they just put a phone in the basket of the cart and that it rendered all of its contents invisible. So we brought it. It was a little tricky with the terrain and the water, but if we can even get four digimon in the cart, then that's three extras that we can save with one phone."

"Okay," I said. "Let's go kids, we're going to see how many of you we can fit in a cart."

"Will it be a comfy cart?" Yokomon asked excitedly.

"Probably not," I admitted.

"Do we have to?" Pagumon asked.

"Yes," Iori told him.

Punimon blew bubbles at him, upset by the news. But we couldn't afford comfort when the chance at safety was there. With the six baby digimon—three Poyomon, a Punimon and two Yuramon—there was plenty of room for the three in-training. Iori looked at the cart with renewed hope. They had nine phones available today, and would have eleven by tonight. If a cart could carry nine—though I was sure there would be fewer with only in-training and even less with anything larger—things were sort of looking up. They could bring seventeen digimon today alone. That was more than half of our previous total. We grinned at each other, and I ran to the classroom to get another eight digimon. I brought them all back to Iori, and decided it would be better if _I_ went up to collect Yamato, since both he and Iori tended to have a short fuse—and we didn't have time for them to start yelling at each other.

"Please take us?" Terriermon pleaded, sending Yamato pouts that looked like a wounded puppy. Lopmon nodded quickly, also looking absolutely distraught. "We miss Willis. Doesn't he want us anymore? Doesn't he want to see us?"

"Stop trying to guilt Yamato into sending you to the Coliseum," Taichi told them, rolling his eyes. His words caused an instant effect on the twin digimon. They glared at him angrily, muttering about how it would've worked if he didn't ruin it. "You guys are rookies, and we're sending the smaller digimon right now. We'll work our way up to you. Besides, you two are a Knight. It's your duty to stay and protect the digimon of the Temple."

"We'd be so much better at protecting the Coliseum though," Lopmon told him with a sugary voice. "Don't you think there needs to be some big, _strong_ digimon there to keep everyone safe?"

"They've got MetaLifeKuwagamon, and have access to Omnimon and Piedmon with Alias III there," Taichi said dismissively. "Not to mention the absolute invisibility thing they've got going on. I think they're good. I'm not trying to punish you two. I just really think you're the most helpful where you are. Willis wants you guys to help. You know that, don't you?"

"Fine," they sighed, their shoulders slumping. They walked past me out the door, letting their ears drag sadly along the floor behind them.

"Yamato," I said brightly. "There are seventeen digimon downstairs waiting for you and Iori to bring them to the Coliseum."

"Seventeen?" Taichi asked, perking up. "That's better than expected."

"I know, right?" I said with a grin. "With numbers like this, the classroom could be empty of kids by tomorrow night."

"Then we can start on the thousand or so others," Yamato said with a sigh. "On the bright side, I've never gotten so much exercise in my entire life."

I walked with Yamato for a little bit, but ended up saying my farewells sooner than expected, because I wanted to take a peek in at the Knights in their training grounds. Lopmon and Terriermon seemed to have recovered, because they were pretending to be ninjas and attacking each other, though they kept giggling before they got a hit in. Kotemon was practicing with a kendo stick by himself and Veemon was practicing against Dorumon in a heated battle. They weren't using any techniques, strictly hand to hand combat, and it was hypnotising. I watched them for a few minutes, before noticing that Wizardmon was sitting by himself. He was cross-legged, and his eyes were closed. I took one last lingering look at Veemon and Dorumon's fight before I went over to him and sank to the ground at his side.

"You holding out okay?" I asked him gently, so as not to scare him. He opened one eye and looked to me nonchalantly before closing his eye again. "It's not your fault."

"Is it not?" he said bitterly. "I'm a marked digimon. It is because of me that they've found the Temple. I am a disgrace as a Knight."

"But the fight club digimon had tracking devices long before you ever did, and they've been here since they got caught," I reasoned.

"But it was by following me that they found us," he said simply.

"How do you know it wasn't Andromon they followed?" I asked gently. "Taichi was with Andromon, so were Sora and Koushiro. They had Andromon in their grasps. I'm not entirely convinced they didn't _mean_ for us to get Andromon back. It would make sense from a strategic view point, wouldn't it? Find someone that the enemy values and when it draws the enemy to you, let them have it back."

"And then follow them home," Wizardmon concluded. "I am still not convinced. I was there too, they could have followed me."

"They _could_ have, but they could have followed any of you," I said shrugging my shoulders. "I won't lie. The situation sucks. I'm supposed to be at the Coliseum, but I haven't been there in ages. Because of a stupid gun. I'm supposed to be taking care of Wormmon for Ken, but I'm not doing that. But I was also offered one of the first spots. I could've gone any time I wanted to. But I haven't. Because I believe in our cause, and I am willing to stand by it. To stand by _you_. I don't care what anyone else says. You are a good and just digimon, and you fought for your life that day. Your _life_. None of them can say that, so they have no right to judge you. You're still alive. You're being granted one miracle after another. Be _proud_ of that. I know I am. And I know Taichi is. He's proud of all of you. He also blames himself."

"But he did nothing," Wizardmon said fiercely. "He holds no blame."

"Sounds to me like you two have something in common," I said with a wink before pulling myself to my feet. "Let me know if you need anything. I'm here to run errands for everybody." He nodded to me solemnly, and I left, knowing I'd given him something to think about.

I wandered through the hallway of gates, glancing out the one window when I passed, spotting Jenna and Michael laughing and goofing around. My heart ached for that same camaraderie. Momoe was still on Earth for now, and my two oldest siblings decided to stay there permanently. Yeah, they sent their digimon—smart thinking—and Chiziru even sent Masa, but it wasn't the same as knowing my siblings were safe. How was I supposed to handle the mystery? Didn't they know how susceptible to panic attacks I really was? Didn't they care about my wellbeing at all?

But I couldn't be selfish.

They had their reasons. And I agreed with Chiziru's reasons. She did think it through. Mantarou? Not so much. There was a time when I would have thought it was the most romantic gesture in the entire world, risking his life just to spend more time with the woman he loved. That time was over. It ended when I met Yorokobi. I hated her, and I hated what she did to my brother. I hated what she did to _Hideto_. I still hadn't told anyone, and I knew Jou and Momoe had kept the secret as well. They didn't want anyone to pry into his business. But it just added more fuel to my fire. I didn't like Yorokobi, and now she could've cost me my brother.

Did he really think that she would just magically accept Gotsumon whenever he got around to introducing the two of them? She didn't like digimon, he said so himself. Whether that meant she was DWD or just irritating, didn't matter. She didn't like digimon, and Gotsumon was one. Was he going to wait until he was hopelessly in love with the girl before telling her about Gotsumon? Because that wouldn't end well. But I didn't know who for. Maybe Yorokobi wouldn't make the cut after all, or maybe Mantarou would decide he wanted her more than his partner, and give Gotsumon the boot. I didn't think he was as heartless as that, but I couldn't be sure. Not anymore. Yorokobi had changed him so much.

And if it came down to it, if he gave up Gotsumon, I knew I'd take Gotsumon over him. Because he wouldn't be _my_ brother anymore.

Mom and Dad I expected to stay on Earth. Dad probably would've come if it weren't for Mom. She hated digimon though, so there wasn't really a doubt in my mind that she would refuse the offer. I hoped she'd take it though, even if it was just because I'd asked her to.

But I was alone.

I didn't even have my husband here, since he refused to give up his self-imposed mission. I worried about him all the time, and I added to that all the worry I felt for the entire Inoue family, and all the digimon in the Temple and out of the Temple and on Earth. The only ones I didn't have to worry about were the ones that were at the Coliseum already. I wanted to be at the Coliseum again. But I knew I couldn't do that. In my heart I knew that I would always make sure the digimon go first, because I was the digidestined of honour, and it was my duty to stay here and protect the digimon.

But I also knew that I had that same duty for my baby.

I was always conflicted. Do I or don't I? Should I stay or should I go?

I was at the top of the stairs when I noticed there was a commotion in the courtyard. There was a dancing mushroom digimon, and a tiny robot. They were standing at the door and projecting some sort of energy field at it. I smiled, knowing who they had to be. Shinsetsumon—the crest digimon of kindness—and Shinramon—the digimon of trust. Meiyomon's brothers. I hadn't seen them around since the battle against Yggdrasil's robots. They had a tendency of wandering off to explore the world. I grinned and rushed down to greet them.

I stopped short though, when I saw that Meiyomon had come and was closer. He also had a really mean look on his face. I got closer, and heard what Taichi was saying to him.

"Please, Meiyomon, help us," he pleaded.

"I am helping," he said. "I brought my brothers, didn't I? They're making a shield to protect you."

"Meiyomon, you saw those tanks, I know you did. They're making it so we can't bring these digimon to safety. All of the digimon in the Temple are at risk. I need your help. I'm begging you, use your data streams and take them to the Coliseum. Use different routes, if they want to try and follow us make it so they can't find it," Taichi said, practically dropping to his knees in front of Meiyomon. The digimon sighed and looked Taichi right in the eye.

"I can't find my brothers and sisters. I've got Shinramon and Shinsetsumon but that's it. There are so many missing. I need to find them, Taichi. I have to make sure _they_ are safe too," Meiyomon said. "I can't spend who knows how long here. I've got to go."

"I'll get people out looking for them," Taichi promised. "I can't do that though, if everyone is stuck here. I've got people in the Coliseum already that can try and find them though. And Leomon is out with Ogremon, searching the world finding any digimon they can, and finding other safe zones. They're out there right now sending the smaller digimon to the Primary Village, and the biggest digimon to Piximon's home. Maybe some of your brothers and sisters are there already. I've even got Whamon sending word across the ocean to the continents. Ogremon and Leomon are recruiting friends to help spread the word. We're going to get all the digimon we can. They'll be out there somewhere. We'll find them. But _please_ help me help these digimon."

"Fine," Meiyomon agreed. "But only because you're begging."

"Not because it's the honourable thing to do?" I questioned with a teasing tone. A grin formed across his face and he laughed. Taichi called for the rest of the school kids to be brought to the courtyard, because he'd be sending them off first, and he sent Shuu and Haruhiko to start spreading the word throughout the residential areas.

I hadn't realized it, having been preoccupied with Meiyomon and all, but pretty much everyone that had been in the Council building was out here too. Not the Knights, but the rest of them, all the research team, the remains of the Council members. Ilya, Jose, Benjamin, Hogan and Jackie—Gennai's clones—were among the crowd. The mood was lightening in the Temple, and I was grinning like a fool.

"You can't come!" Meiyomon shouted, cutting into my good mood. I turned and saw him yelling at Mr Ogremon, causing all of his remaining students to cry. "You're evil and I won't show evil people where the secret base is."

"Meiyomon," I scolded. "I don't care how upset you are, don't take it out on strangers. He's my friend, and you will bring him."

"We can't tell _everyone_," he protested.

"Watch us," I dared him. He pouted, but realized he'd lost when he caught sight of everyone else's face. He sighed and raised his hands.

"Once I start they're going to be on high alert," Meiyomon warned Taichi. Taichi nodded, and looked to the rest of the people gathered.

"I want you to start spreading the word," he said. "Like Shuu and Haruhiko. We need as many digimon gone as possible in as short of time as we can. Okay? Let's move out! You know what to do Meiyomon."

And he did. Meiyomon summoned a pillar of pink light that scooped up all of the school kids and Mr Ogremon, and then they were gone. I grinned. They'd beat Iori and Yamato back. Wouldn't those two be surprised to see how many digimon were at the Coliseum when they got back? I laughed.

"Miyako," Koushiro called. I whirled around, embarrassed to be caught laughing instead of working. He was holding out the silver and black gun I'd given him to research—handle towards me. "Don't mess around with that. I've done extensive tests," he told me. "That thing is lethal to any digimon. I don't know what effect it would have on humans. But it targets the very pixels in the digimon's code. It rips them apart piece by piece in the most painful and excruciating way possible. They mean to kill the digimon. All of them." I'd assumed as much already, but it was worse hearing it confirmed like that. "Don't shoot that gun."

"I won't," I promised. I had never intended on shooting it in the first place. I tucked it into my ever-so-stylish fanny-pack and started running. I spotted Sora talking to Michael, Tatum and Jenna, explaining the new mission, and laughed when I saw Biyomon mimicking Sora exactly as she told Betamon, Monodromon and Kudamon the same thing. I kept running, wanting to get a bit of a distance before I started, since Sora and all the others were still behind me, but I stopped sooner than I'd planned. Candlemon was sitting on a step, looking at all the excitement and crying. "What's wrong?"

"I can't go," he said sadly. "I don't want to be here anymore. I want to go home, but I can't. And now I can't go with everybody else either."

"You have to stay for now," I agreed. "But only until Koushiro figures out the tracking devices. And then you'll get to go to the safe house with everybody else."

"He's not even working on them," he pouted. "I asked. He was working on a gun."

I flinched, knowing exactly what he was talking about. It was tucked in a pouch at my waist. "How about you come with me?" I asked him. "You can't leave _yet_, but you can help me get these guys out of here. It'll give you something to do at least."

He sighed, but hopped to his foot—candlestick holder?—and started hopping down the street at my side. We hooted and hollered and sent tons of digimon running for the courtyard. They were all so excited that it made me feel even worse for Candlemon. He just wanted to leave. He wanted his partner. I wondered if Daisuke even remembered about the fight club members—or if he had any way to contact them. They deserved a chance to go to the Coliseum too.

"Get to the courtyard, get to the courtyard!" Candlemon yelled.

"You heard him folks!" I shouted. "Your ride is here!"

We ran through street after street until I couldn't run anymore, and then we continued anyway, just at a much slower pace. I saw bakeries, and exercise studios, there was an art gallery and a spa—no doubt Tinkermon's new addition. There were big digimon, little digimon, flying digimon, digimon of different shapes, textures, temperatures. It was amazing to see them all. I didn't know if I'd ever seen so many different digimon in all my life.

And then I saw _it_.

The library._ Gennai's_ library. I wanted to go in so badly. I wanted to see what Gennai saw, read the books that Gennai wrote. I wanted to experience something that Gennai had before. But I couldn't. There were still digimon to be called for.

"There's someone in there," Candlemon said, interrupting my thoughts. "We should check it out. We don't want to leave him behind."

"You're right," I said, trying to hold my excitement at bay. We were working, not browsing. It looked as though the library would have to be underground. There was no way this small building could be what Koushiro feared. I pushed through the ivory doors, and saw nothing aside from a set of stairs leading down. Of course. So we set off down the stairs and found a down a dark, entirely unlit hallway. I was so glad that my companion was a Candlemon, and had a built in light source on the top of his head. At first, I supposed it was a trick of the light making the floors look twisted, slanted downwards and uneven, but after a few minutes I realized I was getting sea sick, and I knew they had to be real. The ceiling was getting shorter too, and the walls closer. I wasn't having a claustrophobic problem either for two reasons. A) I wasn't claustrophobic, and B) I reached up with my hands to check and it was definitely smaller. Suddenly the hallway ended, and there was door at the end. I quirked my ears, making sure Candlemon had actually heard something from in here and not the next building over, but I heard it too. A scuttling noise. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

The room we met was beautiful and strange, and had marginally better lighting than the hallway. There were candles burning on fixtures attached at every column. There were also three or four candles on each table in the centre of the room, depending on the size. There was a table small enough for a Chuumon with three tiny tea lights on it, and a table as wide as a Whamon with candles the size of a spaghetti pot. Stairs spiraled their way up the very centre of the room, and there were ladders going every which direction on the walls. The room was set up like a tiered wedding cake, with each layer getting smaller than the last.

"Where are we?" Candlemon asked in awe.

"Under the Temple."

"Who said that?" I asked, whirling around but not seeing anyone.

"I did."

"Who're you?" Candlemon asked.

"I am the head bookworm. Gennai's trusted librarian."

"You've just been in here the entire time?" I asked.

"Of course. What else would I do?"

"Why don't you come into the light?" Candlemon suggested, unsure of himself. If this librarian was a threat, then he was going to protect me. I thought it was sweet, until I remembered Candlemon was part of a fight club and would probably enjoy destroying this guy.

But I was more shocked than scared when the librarian stepped into view. He scuttled when he walked, and I was suddenly aware of all of the scuttling going on around us. He wasn't the only librarian. What had he called himself? The head bookworm? So there were more like him. He looked so familiar yet so different. He was old, his green a lighter shade—probably due to the darkness he surrounded himself with. He was a Wormmon.

"I thought you were extinct," I blurted without thinking.

"We never were, my dear," the elderly Wormmon said. "We're simply not fit for fighting. We prefer the peaceful life of book keeping."

"My husband's partner, he's a Wormmon too," I said. "He'd love to meet you all. I know he would. Actually you can go see him now. We're evacuating the Temple. We're surrounded, and we've finally got an exit strategy."

"Yeah," Candlemon said. "Call your other non-extinct buddies and let's get rolling! We've got a bunch more digimon to save."

"I will send the others along," the elderly Wormmon promised. "But I cannot go. There's much work I've yet to complete."

"You don't have to go now," I told him quickly. "The digidestined are staying for awhile longer yet. Taichi still has to make sure nothing important can fall into enemy hands should they breach the Temple walls. You can have until he's done before you have to go. But when he goes, time's up. There won't be any other chances, and with these guys, death doesn't mean recycling. It means you're gone."

"I understand," the Wormmon told me. "I will be sure to go when the time comes. You!" I looked up to see he was shouting at a much younger Wormmon who was dangling from the ceiling using his Sticky Net. He was rocking back and forth, trying to get the string to stretch. "Alert the others to the evacuation. Get them out and to the courtyard immediately. Understood?" The silly little Wormmon nodded eagerly and climbed back up his net, crawling along the ceiling and down the walls. "I will see you again."

"I'll be waiting," I told him.

Candlemon and I raced out of the library. It was a little too strange for me—also the hallway we'd come in was entirely uphill now, and it was killer on my legs. But we made it to the top and back into the open air. We looked at each other and started racing down the street again, laughing.

When I looked to the sky, I saw a pink pillar with a Gazimon floating inside, along with two Pagumon, a Kiwimon, a Deramon, two Woodmon, a Scorpiomon, a Tortmon, a Shellmon and a Blossomon. They were all heading to safety, and I couldn't help but feel ecstatic about it. The digimon of honour did this, he was saving us again, and soon we'd have all the digimon out of the Temple, and the DWD were powerless to stop it from happening. I let out another joyous laugh and started calling for digimon again.

_**Hikari Yagami:**_

"Mother said I will be leaving school soon." Emiko said curtly and it possibly the cutest thing I'd seen in my life because she was dressed as a monkey. Momoe had begged me to get to the bottom of the monkey costume so she could put an end to it. She had to do laundry constantly with Emiko wearing the same outfit every single day, and now that people were gathering in the Coliseum it was becoming harder to do that. But the only thing Emiko would talk about was that she was angry with her mother for pulling her from school. Every time I tried to change the subject she would bring it right back to that. Kids had a very one track mind sometimes, and Emiko was no exception.

"I know," I told her kindly, "It's because she loves you."

"I literally want to stay here." Emiko argued from her place in the back of my car. It wasn't a nice car by any means, and it made a very horrible sound whenever I went anywhere and I couldn't understand what was wrong with it no matter how many times Daisuke told me, but at least it drove. As long as it could get me to work, it would do until I was more financially secure to buy a better one. "At school I mean."

"I know," I told her again, "But it will be safer for you at the Coliseum. And your cousin Masa is there! You two can play whenever you want now."

"I don't want to play with him." She pouted, crossing her arms angrily, the floppy tan coloured ears on the hood of her costume flapping around. "I literally hate him."

"You can't mean that," I told her firmly, "He's your cousin, you have to love him."

"I literally don't have to." She said, "I don't like him and he's stupid."

"That's mean, Emiko." I sighed, pulling into the school parking lot.

"Too bad." She said snidely. "I don't love him." She had unbuckled herself before the car was even in park and she threw the door open the second I'd turned the engine off. "I literally, _literally_ don't like him."

"You like that word, huh?" I asked, getting out of the car to walk with her to the front door. "Literally?"

"Bearmon taught me." She told me with a huge toothy smile. "He's the smartest one." I smiled at her before she ran off, the tail of her costume dragging across the dirty ground.

"Emiko!" I called, motioning for her to come back.

"Miss Yagami!" She called back, imitating my hand gestures. She'd forgotten her backpack, but didn't seem to mind me carrying it back for her. I did so without any reprimanding because she was already having such a tough time. Her partner was missing, her parents were now both out of a job it seemed, and all of her family friends were facing an enormous moral dilemma. Plus she was told she was being taken from school only a month and a half into her first year, and being relocated to a place that was not her home. I could understand why Jou and Momoe wanted to do that, but I felt sad for Emiko who was finally getting used to her new routine. She didn't want _everything_ to be turned upside down.

I pulled the door open for her and she hopped inside and then all around the kids' boot room. She continued to hop in circles as some other children came in around her, flinging their shoes off hastily and throwing them into a corner. She smiled after them and did the same, taking her toes out of each shoe and flinging it through the room by kicking them. She laughed loudly, her voice high as ever as she watched her shoes light up as they bounced off the ceiling.

"Emiko," I said, pointing my finger at her, "I know your dad doesn't like it when you make a mess of things. Can you—" No, that wasn't the way to parent Emiko. Don't ask her to do things. Make her figure it out. It was the first time I'd caught myself, "What do you think you should do with my shoes?"

"See how far you can kick 'em?" She asked.

"I could!" I smiled, "Very good, what else could I do? I just forget is all. Something your dad always says to you, and I think you could help me remember."

She sighed dramatically and flopped her arms around, storming toward her fallen shoes. "Place them neatly in a pile; that would make my daddy smile." She shot off sarcastically, placing the shoes under the sticker that had her name written on it. She took her backpack from me and hung it up as well as a girl in a frilly dress emerged from the classroom to the right of the hooks.

The wooden door was left open, so the girl closed it on her way out, and her eyes fell on Emiko, and she laughed, "Still coming to school naked?" The girl laughed in a weird way—kind of like a guffaw, which I'd never heard before. "Emiko you have to put clothes on, so people don't know you're gross." The girl patted Emiko's shoulder in a way that made it look like she thought she was being helpful.

"Excuse me," I said sharply, causing the girl to jump in alarm.

"Miss Y-Yagami!" She stuttered, bowing courteously, "I didn't know you were there."

"Please apologize," I said as simply as I could. I'd forgotten how mean children could be. The mean girl apologized to Emiko and then ran off toward the bathroom. There was hardly any reason for her to be at school already anyway. She was quite early.

Emiko looked to me, biting her lip and then away again quickly. "Don't tell Daddy..." She said, sounding defeated.

"Tell him what?" I asked, closing the gap between us. I knelt down to her eye level, but she blatantly avoided eye contact.

She scratched behind her costumes ear and grabbed the tail nervously with her grubby hands, kind of swaying on the spot. "That I'm bullied."

"Emiko," I told her, my shoulders dropping. I suddenly felt as defeated as she looked. "Emiko, Sweetie, there's nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone is bullied. That doesn't make it right though."

"Were... you bullied?" She asked, looking up to me finally, her eyes glossed over with tears.

I nodded and tried to smile, but as stupid as it was, it still hurt. Being bullied was a horrible experience, and here Emiko was going through the same fate right under my nose. "Yes," I told her finally, "When I was young I was called Sickari."

"That's silly," Emiko giggled.

"Yeah," I told her, smiling at her brightened expression. "Do you know why?" She shook her head. "When I was young I was really, _really_ sick and no one knew if I was going to even live." She gasped, her mouth hanging open.

"What happened?" She gasped.

"I lived," I told her, unable to hold my laughter in. She slapped her forehead and laughed with me, realizing her mistake. "But one day, I passed out in the middle of class, and the boy who sat at the same desk as me helped me up, and guess what I did?"

"Hit him?" Emiko guessed.

"Well, no," I smiled to her again, "I threw up on him. All sorts of chunks of vibrant foods, and stomach acid. And after that day I had a horrible nickname and, well, no one wanted to talk to me." Emiko looked horrified that the same would happen to her, "But, there was one boy in the class who made things better, and now he's one of my closest friends."

"Daddy?"

"No," I told her, "It was Daisuke."

"The one with the baby?" She asked, and I nodded. "There's no one like that in my class. The only boy who doesn't make fun of me is a creepy, creepy boy. He follows me home sometimes. Literally every day."

"Literally?" I asked with a smile.

"Every day," She assured me.

"Well," I said, ignoring that for now, "Whenever I think back to those mean names I remember that I ended up okay. I have some wonderful friends, I'm not sick anymore, and karma came around, crashing through my life like a wrecking ball."

"Karma?" She asked.

"Exactly," I said, poking her nose resulting in more giggles, "That means that good people are rewarded, and bad people are punished by the universe. In other words, when a person is bad, the universe feels that person needs to be punished."

"Oh..." Emiko said weakly, turning away nervously.

At first I was confused, but glancing over my shoulder I saw that Professor Ikeda was standing over me, his arms crossed eyeing me up like a mouldy sandwich. I got to my feet, sighing, and tightening my lips before turning to face him with a big smile. "Good morning, Sir," I said politely, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"I noticed you speaking with this student," Professor Ikeda said, his eyebrows raised in near disgust, "Outside of the classroom, teachers are not permitted to interact with the students."

"Pardon me?" I asked, shocked. "That's part of being an instructor, Sir."

"I do not care for your backtalk, Miss Yagami." Professor Ikeda said sharply, "As I am in charge in this institution, you are required by law to ensure my rules are followed exactly as specified." That simply wasn't true. It was not _law_ that I followed his rules, and he was not in charge of the rules either, but I did not speak up this time. I did not want to set a bad example for Emiko. "I noticed also that you arrived with this student, though you are not in her emergency contact information."

"Oh," I said, "I'm sorry, her parents can't come to school every day so I take her. They're close friends of mine that I've known for more than fifteen years."

"It is no interest of mine how long you have been acquainted with Miss Kido's parents," Professor Ikeda said sharply, stepping around me, his arms behind his back. He smelled of cheese, or some kind of dairy product. "I am not asking much of you, just that you follow the rules I provide."

"I'm sorry," I found myself saying again though it was a lie, "I don't understand. Which rule this time?"

"You are not permitted to touch this student," He told me sharply, rounding on me, a big vein on his forehead bulging as he tried to keep his voice controlled. He paused and turned to Emiko, "Dear, would you step aside for a moment?"

"Kay." Emiko said annoyed, but not daring to defy the intensity in his voice. She dragged her book bag into the classroom that the mean girl had come out of.

"Miss Yagami," He said loudly, "With permission by this girl's parents I could have you arrested, do you realize that?"

"Yes, Sir, but—"

"Do not interrupt me!" He said, his anger slipping for just a moment. He took a deep breath as another head popped out of the room Emiko had gone to. It was Noriko, Emiko's teacher. She looked to me apologetically as Professor Ikeda started again, "Miss Yagami, I hired you against my better judgement three months ago when school let out and poor, sweet Ms Nagano retired. I knew when I looked at you that you were not right for this position, and yet I hired you anyway. Do _not_ make me regret this decision." I didn't say anything, so he just continued, his face turning an unhealthy shade of purple, "If I catch you with this child again I will have no choice but to fire you."

"Sir, if you would just listen—"

"I do not have time for your petulant excuses today, Miss Yagami." He said, his chest inflating like he'd won some great war. "I am a busy man, and I have many things to accomplish." And then he was walking off, leaving me alone with my sweaty palms and stinging chest as my teeth bit hard against my tongue to stop myself from responding. But he wasn't finished just yet, "And ask Miss Kawada to speak with Miss Kido about her attire. It is not school appropriate."

"Does it break any of the school's dress codes?" I heard myself ask against my restraints. Noriko quickly ducked her head back inside the classroom in front of me and I knew Professor Ikeda had turned back around.

"Miss Yagami, what did I just—?"

I spun to face him and smiled, "Sorry, sir." I told him, "I'll talk to her about it."

"Good to hear." He said proudly before walking off. I ran my fingers through my hair and adjusted my dress until I had calmed enough to continue my day. The mean girl in the pink dress pushed past me on her way into her classroom again, and I followed her inside.

"Is he gone?" Emiko asked the moment I'd entered the room. "Karma literally needs to go get him."

"That's true." Noriko nodded, her face tight and upset. "That man has _no_ right to say those things to you, and it's not against the rules at all to talk to Emiko."

"I know," I said slowly, but even though I knew it was the case it felt amazing to know someone was backing me up. Noriko and I had gotten closer over our time working together.

"And, _and_!" Noriko insisted, "He's lying. In the staff meeting the week after he hired you he went on and on to us about how he found the perfect replacement. He said you were a 'shining star among the field of coal.'" She put air quotes around his supposed words, and even though I thought she might be exaggerating, my entire body felt lighter, like everything would be fine because I had Noriko. Which was a very weird thing to be thinking. "Listen, what if Emiko meets me on the streets, and I drive her down the road, and you can pick her up there?"

"Thanks," I said, shrugging. "She could just walk home and I could meet her there though."

"Not with that weirdo literally following me." Emiko said, shaking her head.

"Why don't you go play?" I laughed, patting her head, before quickly retracting my hand realizing the girl in the pink dress was watching me suspiciously. Emiko sighed and went to play with the mean girl because there was no one else to play with, and fell to the floor in front of a plastic bin of wooden blocks. I turned to Noriko and smiled, "Thanks by the way."

"For what?" She asked.

"For not hating me." I said, rubbing my temples in frustration. "Everyone here seems to. I guess Professor Ikeda told everyone about Gatomon. Talking to Emiko earlier made me really question why I came back to be a teacher after having a horrible experience in school growing up—but you're the reason. The good parts of school. The part where you find people who are around to support others. I wanted to be that person, but it isn't me. It's you."

"Hey, no problem." Noriko smiled, reaching for her back pocket and pulling out her phone. "If you ever need someone to talk to, I want you to call me." I nodded and pulled out my own phone as laughter filled the room. I couldn't tell if it was positive laughter or not, but Noriko seemed pleased with it, so we exchanged numbers. "Hikari, honestly, I'm sorry you're dealing with this. I should speak up too. I should tell everyone I have Impmon."

"No," I shook my head, "That would do no good." Again laughter shot from the girl in the pink dress, so I turned to see Emiko, frustrated, moving the blocks around, as the girl laughed at her.

"It's right!" Emiko shouted, "I know how to spell it!"

"You're stupid!" The girl laughed, "Gross _and_ stupid. No wonder you don't have any friends." And then Emiko had lunged toward her, pushing her to the ground. The girl screamed bloody murder as she fell and Emiko picked up a red block, whipping it after the girl who was sobbing now.

"Emiko!" I shouted, rushing over to her, "No! You can't hurt people!"

"You said!" Emiko shouted angrily, "You said it! Bad people need to be hurt!"

"That isn't at all what I said_ or_ meant!" I insisted, but Emiko wasn't listening.

"She doesn't know!" Emiko screamed loudly so the girl would hear, "I'm not stupid! I can spell! I promise!" Tears fell from her eyes now and she slammed her fist down into the floor, "And I'm not _gross_! And I heard what that fatso said about me! I-I-I'm not going to take off m-my monkey suit!" She was crying wildly now, tears cascading down her cheeks and splashing onto the muted blue tiles. "I-I'm w-wearing it because-se people are w-wrong! They don't like Mo-Monmon! Or Bearmon or Gomamo-on! I like them th-though! I love them! I-I'm right! And _you_!" Her sadness turned to anger as she jumped to her feet. I turned and saw Noriko's frightened face as Professor Ikeda stood in the doorway. If he hadn't shown up there were many things I would have said to Emiko—starting with name calling—but I had a feeling I wasn't going to be given the chance. "You're a bully! Picking on my friend Hikari! I heard what you said to that ugly m-man! You said you d-don't like dig-gimon! And th-this costume is for y-you! It's to sh-show you that I support them! The digimon! I love them, and I-I-I hope one of them eats you!"

Noriko threw her hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing, but my emotions had taken a different route. I was crying now too, along with Emiko. This small, innocent girl had so much knowledge inside her—amongst the rage—that she was openly admitting to a man she knew to be against her cause that she firmly stood for what she believed in, and would not back down. She was brave.

"I will not stop wearing this monkey clothes!" She screamed at him, "Not until y-you stop being a big JERK! Literally!" She shook her head in frustration and turned away from him, kicking the block she'd thrown earlier.

"Young lady, I think you and I need to have a talk in my office." Professor Ikeda barked loudly to Emiko.

And if I'd had just one second more I would have bitten his head off for yelling at her like that, but unfortunately someone took my chance, "Why?" Noriko asked sharply, "Because she doesn't like that you're a racist ass?" Professor Ikeda turned to Noriko, shocked. "Well, it's true."

"Now I expect this behaviour from the likes of Miss Yagami," Professor Ikeda said loudly, "But not from you Miss Kawada! I thought you were better than this. You've gotten your first warning now."

"A warning for what?" She asked, seemingly unable to keep in the frustration she had with this man any longer. She'd been working with him longer than I had, I was surprised she'd lasted this long. "You're warning me because I told you you're wrong? Well you are, and even this six year old girl know that, so please refrain from using racist words in my classroom." She pointed to the wall where a big yellow sign was plastered, "This is a no bullying-zone, and you are not excused from the rules, Sir."

Professor Ikeda looked positively flabbergasted. He tried to speak many times before he finally spat out, "I will see you in my office after school today Miss Kawada. I am very disappointed in you."

"Okay," Noriko said, shrugging her shoulders as Professor Ikeda stepped out the door. "See you then _Kota_." She used his first name with a smug little smile that made him stop in his tracks for just a moment before storming down the hallway to his office.

I turned to Emiko and smiled, "See Emiko?" I told her, "That's how karma works. You just sit back and eventually they get what's coming to them." She was smiling and ignoring the tracks of tears that were staining her cheeks. "You okay?"

"Great!" Noriko replied misinterpreting who I was speaking to. "This is the turning point." She said, her hand in a confident fist, "I'm going to speak up, starting now. Impmon is my partner and I cannot keep that a secret any longer. I will let the world know the truth. I support the cause of justice." She was being a little dramatic, but I was happy to hear she was on board. "Literally." She added with a wink to Emiko.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Jou tries to fix what has been Broken in his personal life and encounters a little more than he bargained for, while Kiyoko uses his computer knowledge to expand his social network.


	27. Broken

**Y/N: **I honestly don't have to tell you this time...

**U/N: **I don't remember much about this chapter, but I do remember that I used it for a little bit of an explanation advantage with Momoe. I remember Mimi's in it and that's about all :P So I hope you like it though xD

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 3: Ignorance**

**Chapter 27: Broken**

_**Jou Kido:**_

"We should be able to get right in, and be back in the Digital World," I said positively. Mimi nodded, though I knew it wasn't working. When I'd met up with her earlier it was clearer even than now that she'd been crying. Her eyes were puffy and red and her smile was so fake it was hard to look at. Gomamon and Palmon were with us again, this time both of them were simply crammed into the baby stroller, covered by that fleece blanket.

We were on another recruitment mission together, one that I'd put off as long as possible. It had been a full week since we'd gone to Miyako's parents together. Since then Mimi had contacted her own parents and told them the plan, and I'd just gone to the Temple to help with any injured digimon before sending them off to the Coliseum.

It seemed that was our whole lives now. Just standing around helplessly in the Temple as we sent as many digimon to safety as we could. Meiyomon was doing his best, and occasionally got a little carried away, trying to rush the process so he could get back out into the world to find his siblings. There were eighteen missing digimon, and it was stressful to just think about. Finding the digimon all over the world was hard enough without adding specifics to it. We hadn't heard from Leomon or Ogremon in days, so we could only hope their job was going as well as ours was. And going well it was, considering this was our first attempt at taking the defensive route.

Mimi knocked on the door before I'd realized we'd even made it up the front steps. Somehow we'd dragged the digimon up the steps without me noticing at all.

Soon the door would open and I'd be forced to confront the awkwardness that was sure to be hiding behind these doors. With the clicking of a lock the door was pulled open, just as I feared it would be. Standing in the open doorway was my father. He smiled at the sight of us, his hair more grey than the last time I'd seen him. God I hoped it was only the light. He couldn't be getting old—that meant I was getting old. I wasn't ready to be old just yet. "Jou!" He smiled, stepping out and hugging me overtop of Palmon and Gomamon, "Mimi, good to see you too of course. Why don't you both come inside?"

"Thank you, Sir," Mimi said cheerfully as Dad helped her take the buggy over the threshold. I followed behind them, my hands in the pocket of my jacket. I was quickly looking around the corner to the living room, hoping to see no one there. Thankfully we would be alone. It wasn't that I didn't want Dad to safe with us in the Coliseum, I just didn't really want Aimi to be there. She'd be entirely safe here on Earth without a partner, and if I was going to be there as well I didn't want family dinner night to be every night. I didn't dislike Aimi at all to be frank, but she was always so caring and loving—she just moved too fast. Like she thought bonding with dad was the same as bonding with us, and now that she knew Dad's favourite things she must know ours too. But she knew very little about us, not that she'd accept that as the truth though. I'd vented to Iori about it very week for a couple years, and he'd done the same for me, so I always had someone to talk to making the reality less horrible.

Dad looked to the stroller, and pointed, "Yours?" He asked Mimi.

"No," Mimi shook her head.

"Jou?" Dad asked with a smile, "I mean, I didn't think you'd keep the second one a secret too! How did you do this one? I saw Momoe a month ago!"

"Dad!" I said, smiling politely, "Not a baby. Why does everyone think I'm going to keep Momoe's pregnancy a secret?"

"You did it before," Mimi said, removing the blanket to reveal Palmon and Gomamon who were sitting adorably, looking up to my dad. "If you did it again none of us would be surprised. It seems to be in the Inoue bloodline to keep a fetus secret." That was true. Miyako was showing at least twenty different signs that she was pregnant. She wasn't telling us yet, so none of us were allowed to be excited with her yet, even though we all were. Momoe was already ranting about how she would need to set time aside to babysit the child and how she hoped it was a girl because Emiko really didn't like boys.

"So what do I owe this visit to?" Dad asked, moving a fancy looking pillow with words embroidered into its surface aside to make room for Mimi to sit down. She smiled to him and sat down, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "You never come unannounced, Jou sit down."

"No, I can't." I shook my head, "We can't stay long. We're here to tell you to relocate to the Coliseum."

"To tell me what to do?" Dad asked, a little confused, and more than a bit frustrated. "Jou, is everything okay? You seem angry."

"I'm just in a hurry," I said, pulling the curtains aside and checking the driveway for any signs of Aimi, "Where's Aimi?"

"Shopping," Dad said, confused, "Do you want to wait for her?"

"No," Mimi and I said together, I looked to her pleased to see she was on my side, but then she shattered my new vision by saying, "We don't have time, but you tell her. We need you both to come along." I shot her a daring look but she didn't even grace me with a glance. She ignored me completely. "Shin and Shuu are welcome, as are Aimi's daughters, I'm sorry I don't remember their names."

"Eri, Cho and Kazue," Dad filled her in, sitting next to her, "I dare say you'll have to speak with Shuu on your own, I believe he's already in the Digital World. Shin however has been acting very strange lately and I've not seen him in some time."

"That's weird," I said, and Dad nodded with agreement. Shin would never avoid Dad for a long time. He was like a lost puppy who needed guidance. The entire first week he moved out he spent every waking hour back here at home. He was desperate for something to hold on to, and someone to guide his every thought. Not that he wasn't intelligent; he was merely naive and unoriginal. "Is he okay?"

"Oh I think so," Dad said, "I think he's finally getting some wings to fly." Dad repositioned himself and turned to Gomamon to greet him as he pulled himself out of the buggy. Mimi finally looked up to me and apologized without sound, but I ignored her.

"Where is Unimon?" Gomamon asked, "Is he here too?"

"Oh no," Dad shook his head, "He stays in the Digital World most days. There are some friendly people in the next town over who own a ranch, and they let him stay there whenever he wishes to."

Gomamon and I exchanged nervous looks. Was it trustworthy? To leave Unimon in some strangers protection during these times of danger? Neither dared to ask him though, we knew he was fully aware of the happenings and would not take kindly to one of his children questioning his judgement. He was not longer a complete idiot, but he could still be pretty horrible sometimes. "Well, are you coming then?" Palmon asked.

"Of course we'll come." Dad assured her, "First we'll need to pack and of course I'll discuss it with Aimi." While that all made sense, I was hoping she wouldn't talk him out of the trip, it could be very dangerous outside and I didn't know Aimi very well, something I could openly accept. Dad was quick to offer us tea and leftover meatloaf, and anything at all that would keep us longer, but we couldn't stay, and were leaving soon after. "I'll make sure to bring Unimon along." He promised, "Whether Aimi and I come or not, it would be good to keep Unimon safe." That was the last we'd heard from him because he closed the door after that, and we were on our way down the stairs.

We walked in total silence for a while, listening to the distant traffic on the main street somewhere to the West, and to the few birds who were basking in the Spring air. "Do you think they'll come?" Palmon asked from her place in the buggy. I noticed a white arm flying from under the cover of the blankets as Gomamon tried to get comfortable again. Palmon was quick to pull his arm back and hiss at him.

"Of course they will." I told her confidently, "They'll come." Though I wasn't really sure. Mimi nodded to me, thankful to hear that, and then was back into her own world, swimming around the depressing thoughts in her head. I couldn't lie to her and tell her that everything was going to be okay, and I couldn't even attempt to comfort her knowing everything was wrong. I didn't blame her for crying now.

First her restaurant was burned by her supposed friend, and then all of her friends were hurt at a fashion show of all things, and then she was attacked by a person who was trying to kill an entire race that she cared so much about. She was potentially the most emotional person I'd ever met, and all I wanted at that moment was to tell her to stop being sad, because everything was looking up.

But it wasn't looking up.

We hurried back to my house which was not far away to meet up with Momoe. Gomamon and Palmon were happy to get out of the stroller, and both found a nice comfortable place on the couch where they relaxed and sighed. Mimi was in the bathroom before I could even get my shoes off. Momoe popped out of the kitchen with a smile, hurrying toward me. "Hey there!" She said, kissing my cheek, "Have a good day?"

"Hardly," I told her, shaking my head. "It's not over yet though."

"No?" She asked, "What's up next?"

"Back to the Temple." I told her quietly, "And this time I want you to come with us. We'll get Emiko once she comes back from school, and get into the Digital World."

Momoe quickly shook her head, though not confidently. She looked like she had already been planning the trip with all of the boxes she'd packed, though that didn't explain why she was telling me 'no.' She paused momentarily and then sighed, falling into the couch between Gomamon and Palmon. "I'm just worried."

"Of course you are," I said, nodding, moving to sit on the coffee table, taking her hand into my own. "I don't blame you for being worried, but that's all the more reason to go to the safe house."

"I know," She said, looking to me, and then to the front door as someone knocked on it. Mimi called out that she'd get it and burst from the bathroom, almost excitedly. I noticed she had that fake smile on her face again as she strode to the door where Hikari stood, delivering Emiko from school. "Jou," Momoe said as Mimi and Hikari spoke to one another, "If I go to the Coliseum it feels like I'm giving up. I don't want to do that. I want to stay here."

"Then why have you packed everything?" I asked her.

"Because we're sending Emiko now." Momoe said, "Hikari is getting trouble at work because of her, and it's not safe for Emiko to be on Earth anymore, not with how strong she stands behind Monmon. They could easily direct that attention back to us." I wanted to protest, but Momoe knew my mind well, "I know, Emiko will miss me." She added quickly, "But I'll go there every day. I promise." Emiko popped out of the ground suddenly and held up a drawing she'd done of Monmon. She smiled and explained to us what it was, though it was obvious because it was a green monkey. Next to Monmon in the picture was, well, her in her own monkey costume. The picture was titled "I will miss you forever" written in Noriko's writing of course. I looked to Momoe and nodded, she was thankful, and that was that. We didn't need to discuss it anymore.

Mimi bid farewell to Hikari before I had a chance to even say hello and then came back into the house. "So are we going now?" She asked.

"I hope so!" Palmon said, restlessly, "There's a lot we could be doing right now."

"Speaking of things we could be doing," Gomamon said, "We _could_ be helping out the digimon around the world, Jou. Sure, that Snimon that contacts us every week to tell us he's come down with another bug isn't as important right now, but there are digimon dying out there. Isn't it your job to protect them?"

"Yes," I said flatly, I wanted to yell and scream and say I was doing all I could, but that wasn't even true anymore. I had a lot that I _could_ have been doing. A lot that I was _about_ to be doing.

"You can't," Mimi shook her head as if reminding us of something very obvious, "You can't just leave the Temple."

"We won't go to the Temple," Momoe said, confused, "We'll use the linked gateway to our house in the Digital World."

Mimi's eyes widened as if she came up with a brilliant idea. "How did you link the gateway?" She asked excitedly.

"Momoe did it," I shrugged.

"No," Momoe shook her head, "It did that on its own. When a gateway naturally connects in the proper location, and is used it solidifies a companionship. Our computers are basically married. When you go through one, you have to go through the other as well."

"So what if we moved your computer to the Coliseum?" Mimi asked, "Then everyone could have another direct route? We could make this go faster."

There was no more talking at that point. I'd scooped up Emiko, and one of the suitcases Momoe had packed. Palmon picked up a stack of boxes and piled them into the stroller, getting a couple bags ready. Momoe took the final suitcase, and Mimi was left to push the stroller. We'd be heading to the Temple of course. We had to tell everyone. It was not the most convenient plan because we would have to somehow get the digimon to my house on Earth, but luckily, my house was not being guarded by tanks.

The Digital World was colder than Earth, almost bitterly so, like the world was upset and trying to persuade the villains to leave before things got too ugly. Emiko complained about the temperature, so I gave her my jacket to wear, which seemed to please her.

"Are you ever going to quit your job?" Mimi asked Momoe bluntly, as she stared up to the fluffy clouds in the sky, "You said you wanted to, right?"

"I'm holding on," Momoe said, shrugging her shoulders. "I don't want to be there any more obviously but my work is directly linked to the transportation between Earth and the Digital World. We basically monitor what is going on, I figure if I stay I might learn something."

She'd never worded it quite like that before. It made it sound heroic almost, and it could have been too now that she'd shed new light on what it was that she did. She could maybe track the location of where these people were coming in, though I knew if she could she would have by now. She was a smart girl. "Do you know how they track the Digivolutions?" Palmon asked with a heavy hint of sourness to her voice. All the digimon tried to pretend it was not bothering them, but they missed digivolving obviously. They'd been doing it for so long, the unnatural digivolution. With the help of the digivices, so really they were all still rookie level digimon, and just like any other rookie level digimon, they would get used to being small. But taking away something so vital to their normal survival mode could obviously change a big part of their lives.

"Yes," Momoe said, "I spoke with Koushiro about it. That's why he refuses to let anyone move the door as well. They cannot necessarily track the energy because each digimon's energy is different. They simply track the changes. If the door moves, and the main portal to the world is opened, they could easily track that change directly to the Coliseum and they would know exactly where we were hiding."

"Couldn't they see that thousands of digimon are in one location then?" Mimi asked nervously.

"No," Momoe said, shaking her head. "The entire world is mad of similar energy. Forests look the same as a cluster of digimon on the energy graphs. And energy that does not fluctuate does not show on the only programme they could possibly be using to track the evolutions."

"Could they track Meiyomon's beams of light?" Mimi asked, "They're not usually there. So that's a change."

"Yes, they could," Momoe nodded, and Mimi looked panicked for a moment, "_But_ Meiyomon has been sending up to forty separate beams in many different directions with each round of digimon, and he's been making the track they take impossible to trace as well, dropping the digimon off not directly at the Coliseum before making the light continue a random path. It would be extraordinarily unlucky for the enemy to find the Coliseum based on what little information we give them." Mimi relaxed and patted Palmon's head as if she were the one who had been upset.

We had gotten near the Temple before we realized we could not walk through the front doors. How we had all forgotten that, I wasn't sure, so we were left to find a monitor that would take us to Earth, and then the Temple. This magical door business was really getting on my nerves. Sure it was handy to document who was using the world and when, but in reality it was only hindering our abilities to do anything. There had to be a way to return the portals to normal. We were not really the rulers of the world anyway, who were we to say who came in and who didn't? If we really had a say, these horrible people wouldn't be here anyway.

"Look!" Emiko shouted excitedly, pointing through the trees. We all turned to see the pink lights shooting through the skies. She rushed off to get a better look.

"No!" I shouted, and we all rushed after her, dragging our luggage along with us. "We have to stay close together!" I insisted, "If we get hit by that light it would be better that we all do so we can get back together." Everyone listened except for Emiko of course so we were still rushing after her, following her through the trees. It was much simpler for her to maneuver around the trunks being so small and nimble, but eventually she came to a stop, looking out to the field where the tanks were all sitting still and ugly, destroying the serenity of the majestic Temple. The deep pink lights buzzed back and forth and around the enemies like insane flies on a search for food.

"Look, Emiko," Gomamon said, pointing to a distant pillar of light. "That's the one with digimon inside." He was right. From here it was nearly impossible to discover which digimon they were exactly, but it didn't matter. They were gone a second later. "They're going to be safe. Just like you." Emiko nodded, her eyes not leaving the lights. She was in awe of their beauty, and really they were quite pretty, even if they did look a bit chaotic. Especially with the tiny balls of violet shooting toward the sky as the enemy attempted to screw more of the digimon over in their pursuit of power, or whatever it was these guys were after.

"Do it again?" Emiko asked politely up to Momoe who laughed.

"I can't do that!" Momoe insisted, "Meiyomon does it. He won't do it again for a while though. He does them sporadically to catch them of guard. It might be hour—" She was wrong. Meiyomon took the enemies fallen guard for granted and sent out even more lights this time. Emiko laughed loudly as one of them scooped up one of the enemies, and dropped him a hundred yards away from his tank. The lights couldn't pick the tanks up though. Perhaps they were too heavy? Koushiro would know.

The pillar that contained some digimon was headed our way this time, and I could catch sight of a series of bug digimon. The Roachmon brothers were concealed inside along with a Yanmamon, and two non-insect digimon. One was a Gaomon, blue and dog like, with boxing gloves, and the final one was similar to Hagurumon, the gear digimon, but was orange in colour and was called Solarmon. Emiko shuddered at the look Yanmamon was giving his companions. The pillar was very close to us and then immediately shot the other direction, back toward the enemy to confuse them further.

The violet lights shot everywhere, so fast it was hard to keep track. I wondered momentarily what would happen if one of the violet lights hit the pillars. I didn't wonder long because someone aimed and hit an empty pillar directly. The light flickered and faded into nonexistence. Momoe grabbed my hand nervously as Emiko stepped out into the field with Gomamon to watch.

Mimi gasped, seeing what was coming before the rest of us. Another violet light came in contact with the pillar of light concealing the digimon. Palmon screamed out in panic, and Emiko actually started rushing off to help them. Palmon's poison ivy grabbed Emiko quickly and we all backed into the trees, staring blankly at the digimon as they scrambled for help. Mimi was openly sobbing understanding that she could, in no way, go out there, and Emiko was screaming loudly, begging to help.

The Yanmamon was hit with the light before he had a chance to fly away, and vanished into thin air, right in front of my eyes. I couldn't watch. The last thing I saw before turning away and taking Emiko into the trees was Gaomon and Solarmon being lifted by the Roachmon brothers as they set off toward the trees we were hiding in. "Oh no," Momoe panicked, "We have to go," She was shaking already I noticed when I turned to see her, dropping the suitcase she was holding, hastily grabbing the handle again, off the ground. As she bent down I saw over her head that the digimon coming our way were being chased by a shining black jeep clearly with humans inside.

"Find a monitor!" I shouted loudly, "Now!"

"We can't leave those digimon," Mimi argued.

"I'm not!" I yelled back, "Find a monitor and we'll save them." She looked pleased. "GO!" I screamed. Momoe set off with Palmon and Emiko while Gomamon chased after Mimi, ready to find the monitor. I looked around the area we were in, but couldn't leave in case I needed to help the digimon. I was not a coward. Well okay, I was, but I wasn't going to let these digimon die just because I valued my own life. Sure that seemed kind of crazy, but that wouldn't be the first time I'd done something insane. The others had not returned when the two Roachmon arrived with their companions. "Split up." I told them, "Get into the trees—hide—do _something_!"

They said nothing, but followed my hasty orders, shooting off in different directions into the trees, one of them heading toward Mimi and Gomamon. I was frustrated but couldn't stop them. The people had stopped their jeep and were piling out now, coming toward the tree line. They didn't see me yet... I could still run. Or hide.

Instead I found myself picking up a large, fallen stick partially concealed by leaves, and I swung it hard as the first man came through the branches. He was wearing a helmet, and goggles of sorts, so the blow to the face was not as effective as it could have been, but I shattered his goggles. Which was certainly good, because he was not fit to wear goggles. They were the symbol of the Digidestined. The man toppled backwards into his friend and I lost all confidence, backing up and rushing off into the trees somewhere.

"Get him!" I heard a woman shout and suddenly I was being chased, of course I was. Of _course_ it was me. Though I much preferred that to Momoe, or Emiko or Mimi or Gomamon, or anyone else for that matter. I wasn't very fast though. I'd known that since soccer camp about a hundred years ago. They caught me quickly and surrounded me, each of them holding their guns up. The man with the broken goggles was front and center, laughing, his nose bleeding and dripping into his mouth. "Where are the digimon?" He asked. "You know, don't you?"

"What's a digimon?" I said my voice somehow sounded even less confident than I felt.

The man spat blood onto the ground and shook his head, "Don't play dumb with me. Tell me where they went, or we will all shoot you." Out of nowhere a rock had hit the side of his head with enough force to cause him to fly off his feet. He pulled the trigger, shooting randomly. The light flew over my head and through the branches of a tree, sizzling the leaves into ash.

Then, all around me there were people falling over, looking around, pointing their guns in random directions, toward the trees where the rocks and acorns were coming from, firing the violet lights wherever they could. Eventually the fallen man was pulling himself to his feet, and whoever was trying to save me was only doing a mediocre job at best. Then with a loud screaming battle cry, a blur shot from the trees and hit the man in the chest with big green feet.

"Ay-ya-ya-ya-ya!" Monmon screamed out loudly, wielding his giant slingshot and firing six walnuts at once, each of them hitting their target. Monmon ran off, motioning with a jerk of his head for me to follow him, and then we were running away from the stunned people in the trees.

"Monmon!" I shouted with a laugh, "You're the best!" He called out his agreement without speaking, and we were running, this time determined to escape, but instead, we'd run into Momoe, Emiko and Palmon. "No!" I screamed, my entire body failing to work, "Get out! _Run_!"

Momoe was panicked, picking up Emiko who was crying in fear, but also laughing with excitement at seeing Monmon. They turned to run, but two of the five villains had stepped in our path, pointing their guns toward us. Momoe dropped Emiko and ushered her behind her, crying, "Please," Momoe begged, "D-don't! Think of what you're doing!"

"They're not listening." Palmon said, half standing guard in front of Momoe. My heart was racing faster than my mind, and that meant the panic was taking over. I couldn't form a plan. Emiko and Momoe were in danger, and I knew Palmon would be the first to step in their way, but I couldn't let that happen. It had to be me.

"Do not speak to us!" One of the men shouted, nervously aiming his gun to Palmon as if he was scared she'd explode if he so much as looked at her. I was vaguely aware that someone was sneaking up behind us, and knew it had to be the others. This was going to be the end. There wasn't any way out of this one. At least Gomamon was okay though.

"I'll do what I want if you get to hurt my friends." Palmon shouted, "You're not in charge of me."

"Shut up!" the man screamed, seemingly too scared to actually kill someone.

"Do it," The girl next to him encouraged, "Just pull the trigger."

"Go ahead." Palmon said loudly, as I begged my feet to listen to me. To work and move me toward her to help. "Killing a few digimon will only fuel the fire against your cause. And you don't want to see my partner when she's all wound up."

"You tell 'em, Palmon!" Mimi's voice seemed so distant as she smacked the man behind me with the stroller. I turned to see her, and so had Palmon which created enough motivation for the nervous man's female friend to fire her own gun, shooting toward Palmon.

"No!" Everyone seemed to be screaming and all I could do was fall to my knees, as the light shot toward Palmon as someone rushed to save her. But it wasn't me, it was that little monkey. My heart had never hurt as much as it did the moment I realized it was Emiko rushing into the path of the light. She pushed Palmon aside, out of the way, and the light was headed for her instead.

And with a separate flash of light, a big yellow ape was pulling Emiko out of the way.

The violet light, the size of a tennis ball shot into the ground creating a deep hold. I wondered if it would ever stop, or if it would come out the other side of the world, destroying everything in its path.

"It evolved!" A man behind me shouted. And then the sky opened up and more enemies were pouring out, tracing the change Momoe had spoken of.

"Well," Gomamon said feigning calm, "I guess we have nothing to lose."

"**Gomamon digivolve to... Ikkakumon!**"

"**Palmon digivolve to... Togemon!**"

"**Ikkakumon digivolve to... Zudamon!**"

"**Togemon digivolve to... Lilymon!**"

"**Zudamon digivolve to... Plesiomon!**"

"**Lilymon digivolve to... Rosemon!**"

"**Plesiomon digivolve to...**"

"**Rosemon digivolve to...**"

"**Lotusmon!**"

"Seven's Fantasia!" Lotusmon called out without a moment of hesitation. Seven colours of light shot from her the serpentine staff in her hand and filled the air around us. The enemies all dropped their guns and scratched their heads or sat down. A couple even turned and walked off. Lotusmon had taken away their fighting spirit. "Just remember," Lotusmon said, grabbing the nervous man by his shirt, and lifting him up quickly. His helmet fell off and revealed a pale boy with blonde hair. He looked so, _so_ familiar. "I could have killed you, and I did not. That is how we digimon work. You are the bad ones." Lotusmon dropped the boy and motioned for us all to follow. "Mimi and I found a monitor. I think my attack might qualify as one of those changes you mentioned Momoe. We should leave, _now_."

Monmon—or, Apemon I guess, fell from the trees and placed Emiko into Momoe's arms then helped me to my feet. "Thanks..." I said to him, not taking my eyes away from my crying daughter. "Thank you, Apemon."

_**Kiyoko Izumi:**_

I sighed, leaning back further into the plush back of my armchair. Mari was right. We _needed_ this chair. I would never doubt her again—even if she and Hideto did go against the very strict instructions I'd laid out for them. I never ignored their rules. I did whatever they asked of me. And they did this. They didn't even steal me a cow! I didn't want milk powder. I wanted real milk from a real animal, and I didn't care how messy it would be to have a cow in the Coliseum, I really thought it would be a good idea. It's not like we knew how long we'd be here. We could be here for years, and then we'd run out of food because we'd never bothered to purchase animals of any kind to help provide us with a sense of self-stability. Yes, Mari went out of her way to come up with a gardening plan, but she hadn't had a chance to get about starting it.

No one had a chance to do _anything_.

Because five days ago, digimon had started flooding in. Hundreds in the course of a couple of hours, and by the time three hours had passed, we'd had a thousand digimon here, _easily_. The numbers thankfully slowed around that time, and we'd had a short time to try and get the digimon registered. That was my job. I wrote the name of every digimon that came through the antechamber, and I noted their size on my system. Then I sent them to Takeru, who had the schematics for the rooms we'd finished preparing. There weren't nearly enough rooms ready to be moved into though. We hadn't realized we'd have to deal with such an influx of digimon. We'd really put most of the team on setting up a cell—we called them rooms now since they had curtains instead of bars—for the in-training and baby level digimon. We used little cushions and small cube shelves to create bedding for them, and we had to stack the shelves, knowing how many digimon would—as we'd assumed—be trickling in afterwards. We wanted to get as many kids in one room as possible. We'd ended up using two cells, because there were just too many.

And then all hell broke loose. Willis and Mari were helping Takeru, trying to piece the digimon together like a puzzle, finding roommates and available housing. MetaLifeKuwagamon and Hideto were in charge of installing the beds as needed, and eventually Toshiko, Masami and Kazuya started to assist them in their task—and when Iori and Yamato finally got home after their last ten hour hike with baby digimon, they were put to work as well. We had digimon coming out of our ears. We didn't know what to do with them all. We couldn't have them loitering outside of the Coliseum—_that_ would catch the attention of the wrong sorts of people—so we ended up leading them into the centre of the Coliseum. The centre ring was what would've been used for ancient gladiators to fight to the death, you know, if it had been an ancient structure on Earth instead of a relatively new addition to the digital mainframe. I made it, so I knew where everything was. I remembered it being the one thing I was proud of out of all of my time with Sigma. He let me utilize my love of architecture and design. I knew that he used me for it, but I couldn't care now, because he had allowed me to create such a monstrous building that was now used to keep digimon out of harm's way.

We had to, of course, avoid Sigma's personal additions to the building's design. There were traps scattered all over, arrows, flame throwers, you name it. I was supposed to be locating and disabling them all, but I didn't have time. The Numemon were more than happy for their colony to dwell in the giant pit that Rei had created when she triggered the trap floor, so it was actually a blessing that I was so busy.

Not all of the rooms had beds installed though. In a couple, there were dog beds spread across the floor, or large throw pillows. There were even three cells with bean-bag chairs for bedding. We had the previously-unmentioned-but-totally-worth-noting population of Wormmon move into one of such rooms, as they were happy to all stay together. There were other digimon that said the same. They wanted to stay with their small group of friends, or others of their kind. There was a room full of Kunemon—but not the Kunemon that had been abandoned at the Temple. He didn't want to leave his new friends. The abandoned digimon had grown close to one another, and they all wanted to stay together. They were more than happy to take a room of bean-bags if it meant they wouldn't have to separate. With D'Arcmon still at the Temple—with all other members of the Council, the research team and the Knights—they needed to depend on one another more than ever.

My happiest surprise was when Natsuko showed up in one of the newest groups. She said she'd been waiting until most of the digimon had gone, because she didn't want to feel selfish about coming, but that Taichi had sent her ahead now anyway. Another member of Team Mom was safe, and it made me happy to know that. Satoe was still out there somewhere, probably still at her home in America. And Yuuko was in Japan still too. I wished they were here with us, and Natsuko shared my sentiment. I sent word to Takeru and he exploded in happiness. Now all he needed were his father, his step-mother, and his girlfriend to make things perfect for him—except, you know, for the fact that Patamon chose to stay in Primary Village instead of staying with Takeru.

Digimon kept coming steadily—though thankfully not quite as frequent—for two straight days. It was too much of a risk to continue to send them out. They could be destroyed and we didn't want any more deaths on our hands. She suggested we start up the invisible plan again, there were still more digimon that needed out. A much, _much_ smaller number, and it would actually be feasible to get them all this time around. Yoshie and Kae were quick to volunteer their services, as they didn't think they were being helpful with the current mission of housing the new additions, and they set off before their husbands could think of protesting.

When they left, I cried.

Cried in fear for them as they set out across the Digital World on a mission that was literally life and death, cried for the digimon that were destroyed in what was supposed to be a mission for safety. I cried because of the stress, and the idea that I could have _saved_ them if I'd only continued my job as I was supposed to, instead of cataloguing all of the digimon to make things easier for Mari, Willis and Takeru.

I remembered crying _harder_ when Natsuko comforted me, assuring me that it wasn't my fault, and there was no one to blame except the DWD. I only pulled myself together, when a Floramon joined our embrace, tears running down her face as well. She reminded me of my purpose, and while I indulged a little, and selfishly continued the hug for another minute, I was ready to work again. I'd have time to cry later, when I'd finished cataloguing the digimon, making a shield to protect us, and finding a way to keep everyone up to date all around the world.

It was a tall order, but someone had to do it, and I knew it wasn't going to be Katsue.

Agumon, Gabumon, Gatomon, Wormmon—who chose _not_ to room with the others of his kind, and instead stayed firmly in Miyako's room, sharing it with Miyako's siblings digimon, Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon, and her nephew Masa—Pal, Pul, Warg, Melga and Tapirmon were running back and forth, providing maps for all the digimon that had been assigned a room and each led the groups to their new homes. Katsue and Monimon documented the entire process, in case it could be useful later. Lunamon, Mushroommon and Coronamon provided water for everyone who was still waiting for rooms—the others could find the "cafeteria" with the help of their maps.

Everyone was pulling their weight except me.

Natsuko took my place cataloguing the digimon with the help of Babamon of all digimon, and things continued moving smoothly. Fast forward another two days, and there I was, sitting on an armchair in the living area stressing about my work. Two days should have been enough time to get at least a prototype prepared. But I was still stuck. I was too stressed to focus, and everything was too loud. What did I expect though? We weren't such a small group anymore. Digimon were always trickling in, be they from the Temple being led by Yoshie and Kae—or our newly reinstated night team of Masami and Kazuya—or sent by Ogremon and Leomon from somewhere across the Digital World. Our population was always growing. It was beautiful and exciting and full of hope...and I hated it all at the same time. I couldn't work with all the noise. They'd sent all of the small digimon—babies, in-training _and_ the more playful rookies—to play in the living room—though it was more like a chamber—along with the one human child, Masa. And that was alright at first, when they were playing with the puzzles and the toy cars, and the blocks. But they weren't anymore. They were just screaming at one another even though they were standing—or sitting—right next to each other.

I put down my equations for the hundredth time in the past two days. The environment wasn't conductive for complex work like that. Instead, I took my small laptop off of the coffee table in front of my chair and pulled open the rough draft for my email. Willis had hacked into Koushiro's laptop from afar for me, stealing all of the email addresses of the chosen from around the world that Koushiro possessed, and they were the recipients of the message I'd been composing for hours.

I'd like to say that it was a sophisticated message filled with carefully alluded secrets but it wasn't. I hated working with words. It was fine when I was just talking with Mina, the chosen I'd talked to in India. That was just one person, but this was more. There were at least thirty different chosen on my list, probably more, though I never counted. Thirty—or more—people that could look at this email and judge me. It was terrifying. And it was necessary. I'd worked tirelessly, creating cheat sheets of the digital language, translating it to the best of my abilities into their own language, utilizing Willis' hacking abilities to their fullest. He got me the copy of Koushiro's book from his laptop. I'd been surprised to find that Willis was a much better hacker than I was. Not to sound vain, but I was darn good at it. But with Willis, it was more like an art form. It was amazing. And I'd always fancied myself more an inventor anyway. The two of us paired with Koushiro—the researcher—would've made an amazing team. But Koushiro was still at the temple doing...whatever they were doing. I didn't know, and I had too much on my plate to risk asking. I didn't want them to recruit me for their projects when I still had two of my own. I did request all of the information he had retrieved from the gun Miyako had provided though. If I was going to make a shield, it was going to deflect whatever compound their weaponry fired. It would be useless if it didn't.

"Working hard, or hardly working?" Hideto asked, flopping onto the couch next to my chair. I looked at him, quirking my eyebrow, still too frustrated at the noise level to speak. I noticed he wasn't alone either. Willis and Mari joined him on the couch. "We got a break. Takeru said the numbers are getting lower and more manageable. Babamon is cataloguing now, because it makes her happy and a happy old crone is a good one. And besides, I was replaced by some Woodmon, a Blossommon and some monkey digimon. I think it was an Apemon and a Gokuwmon. I don't even know. I was exhausted. I didn't ask questions. I've never had to work so hard in my life. I've gotten a total of fifteen hours sleep for the last five days. And I've been working with heavy stuff. I should've gotten more breaks. I tell ya."

"Yeah, well, we got replaced too," Mari said with a shrug. "A Beastmon and a Kiwimon replaced us. Why don't you take a break too? We could all just hang out for an hour or two."

I shook my head, burying my face in my computer again, trying to debate whether the wording I'd chosen made me sound like a little kid. It did. But I wasn't good at sounding smart on paper. I knew I _was_ smart, regular people don't create a program that renders it's users invisible after all, but no one could tell by looking at the email.

_This is information that you need to download. It had a translation of the digimon language and it's important that you print it and use it to translate all the stuff I'll be posting on the digimon blog I've created. It's going to have lots of stuff that will keep you informed for all the goings on around the world, and I hope that everyone else can post stuff about their part of the world too. I don't have email addresses for all of the chosen from the entire world, so please print copies for all of the ones you know about and get it to them quickly. I tried to get at least one chosen from each area in the world, but I'm sure I missed a lot. We need to be a united team, it's not just the digidestined's fight. Your voice is just as important, and we're counting on all of you to help._

_Thank you,_

_The digidestined of desire._

I didn't want to use my real name, because I thought it might be better to use codenames, so that the enemies wouldn't be able to just hunt us down. But I hadn't actually _thought_ of a good codename yet, so that would have to do. I sounded twelve in the message. But it said what I wanted it to...

"You still writing that email?" Willis asked. I nodded. "You ready to send it yet?" I hesitated. He stood and took the computer from me, reading it over. I pouted at the intrusion. He sat down again, changing some words—I knew I sounded dumb—and started typing rapidly. I was starting to get offended. He clearly thought I was stupid or something, because he was rewriting the entire thing! I glared at him, and he looked surprised. "There. Done. I've set it up so the email will delete itself five minutes after opening. That way their computers can't be hacked for information about everything. I just mentioned the time limit in the email. It's not eloquent by any means, but it's simple enough that people will be able to understand it if they use some sort of basic translation program on the internet. I also added a small graphic of your crest, so that they'll understand that it's from a digidestined even though they can't read Japanese. I also sent it so you couldn't agonize anymore."

I glared at him. I was angry. Not only was it really loud in here, but I'd forgotten that most of the chosen couldn't actually understand Japanese. My hours of contemplation and anxiety over how stupid the email sounded was entirely pointless and caused me to waste so much time! I wanted to flop over and just mope about my misfortune but I knew I couldn't afford to waste any more time. Not when the enemy was so quick at developing technology. They'd created a way to destroy a data stream in just two days' time. If they could do that, they could infiltrate the Temple whenever they wanted. There was nothing that was really holding them back. Two tiny shields from two small digimon weren't going to stop them, not with that kind of technological power.

"You're welcome," Willis said, sarcastically.

"He's thankful," Mari assured him. "He's just mad he didn't think of it first. Who do you think they'll send over today? Do you think it'll be Lopmon and Terriermon?"

"No," Willis lamented. "Taichi's got a conspiracy to keep us apart. He doesn't want me to be happy. He hates me."

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't," Mari said with a snort.

"He has to," Willis complained. "He's sending all of the other digimon over here. He's already got his and his sister's _and_ his girlfriend's. Why won't he send mine? It's not fair."

"They're in training, idiot," Hideto said, rolling his eyes. I forced my eyes back down to my paper. I couldn't be distracted by them. The shield needed to be done. _Yesterday_. And I was pretty sure Taichi wouldn't lend me the Time Key so that I could actually get it done then, so I had to work extra diligently now.

"But they can train here," Willis insisted, cutting into my already abysmal concentration. Did those kids just get louder? Mari started tapping her fingernails against the hard, wooden surface of the small end table beside the arm of the couch. Hideto was tapping his food, and patting his hands against his knees, his head bopping along with whatever song was stuck in his head. "I'm so worried about them. Taichi doesn't understand that because he's already got his partner to safety."

"I think he understands it just fine, Willis," Mari told him. The kids were angry with each other, someone stole someone else's toy. They were fighting. It _was_ possible after all for them to get louder. "He's worried about the entire population of the Digital World. They're being sent to safe houses, but that won't help for long. If they can find even one of them, the DWD will go trigger happy and destroy every digimon we've got tucked away. We can't let them find the hideouts."

"I know, okay," I shouted, standing up abruptly. My voice echoed against the wall. I hadn't realized I was capable of bellowing, and I was too frustrated to stop myself from continuing. "I'm working on it! It's so damn noisy in this place! I can't think! Doesn't anyone want to survive in the Coliseum? They won't if they don't let me work in peace!"

My words bounced off the walls and ceiling. The echoes were the only sound left in the living chamber. Everyone—Masa, the small digimon, my friends—was staring at me, and my face flushed slowly. I lowered myself back into my chair, balancing my laptop on my knees—that I'd tucked up by my chin. I was hiding from them. I was a coward.

"Why don't I take a look at what you've got so far," Willis offered casually. "I don't have the world's _greatest_ track record with inventing—what with Diaboramon and all—but I do know the science behind it. I can at least get an idea of where you need to go from here."

I pointed to the notebook on the coffee table. My pencil was on top of it, and the page was marked with several incomplete equations and scribbled messes. He picked it up and I stayed buried in my computer. I had a blog post to write after all. Willis sent the email, so I needed to start the blog before I could send them a follow-up message that included the link. I busied myself with designing the blog, putting images of the crests around the borders, and making the blog scream digimon by a single glance. I used Angemon in the header, rather than a title, because he was a strong symbol of hope, and that's what this blog's job was. To create and spread hope across the continents.

The designing period was over far too quickly for my liking. I was left with the first post. I just wanted it to welcome people, and explain what we're doing. It was all in the email, but no one was experienced with the digital language just yet, and I wanted something simple until they got used to it.

I finally put the laptop down, because I didn't know how to go about writing it. I hated working with words. I preferred science, math, and colour swatches. I liked creating physical things, building things with tangible resources not with words. I looked to Willis who was scratching away at the paper in front of him, muttering. "This isn't bad. You're just missing a couple of elements...I think...If I put this here..."

"I think I'm going to have to skedaddle," Hideto said. "I don't like the look in their eyes. It's creepy. Why are they all looking at me like that?"

"They want something, Hideto," Mari said with a sigh. "They're kids. They're not scary. They're adorable. Stop acting like they're going to start the plague."

"They might," Hideto countered. "You don't know that."

"This is good," Willis said, causing my attention to return to him. I may have preened at his praise. He offered some suggestions, and I took it under consideration. Mari and Hideto groaned when they realized we'd be talking about work instead of relaxing. I moved over to the couch, shoving myself between Hideto and Willis so that the two of us could see the paper easier. Hideto put his arm around my waist and shifted over to make some more room. We talked rapidly for an hour, adding things, taking things away, trying to fix the issues in the equation and finish it all at the same time.

And then we were done.

"This is it," Willis said looking at the paper with amazement. "This could keep the Coliseum safe from attack."

"Not _just_ the Coliseum," I said. "I've been thinking on the grander scale. I want to send the program to all the safe zones in the Digital World. I can send the program through Leomon and Ogremon maybe, or I could go and find them myself."

"Not alone," Hideto and Mari said simultaneously. I ignored them. They didn't think I could handle myself. I understood that. But I was also still a little miffed at them. They hadn't told me how close I'd come to losing my partner. Tapirmon told me immediately about his close call. And the awkward way Mari and Hideto had been acting around me made me realize they'd seen it happen. They didn't think I could handle that either. I was stronger than they thought I was—though I wouldn't have handled losing Tapirmon at all. I would have bawled like a baby and probably wouldn't ever be emotionally stable again in my life. Because I was _so_ stable now. I mentally rolled my eyes at the thought. They still should have told me. How was I supposed to trust them in a mission if they wouldn't be honest with me?

It didn't make me love them any less though.

"Could you help me make some alterations to the program later?" I asked Willis. "I'm trying to find a way to embed the program in the very code of the water. That way all aquatic digimon can be safe without leaving the comfort of their homes. It would be too difficult to write the program into _all_ of the codes. But that could be a long term goal."

"Totally," Willis agreed. "Each code would need a different variation of the program. The sky, the dirt, the grass, the trees—both the trunks and the foliage—the digimon. Each and every kind of digimon. Everything's code is totally different. But it would be awesome if we could protect the world from their weaponry."

"You can do that?" Mari asked excitedly.

"Eventually," Willis agreed. "But we need to work on the water first. It covers the majority of the Digital World's surface, just like it does on Earth. We should start big and work our way down."

"I like the way you think," I told him.

"I'm going to go run some tests on this," Willis said, shaking the notebook in his hand. "I'll let you know the results once I finish." Mari volunteered to go with him, to help him with his experiment, since she was so excited about it all. I was too, but I knew that I had another project that I needed to work on, and I knew I could trust Willis to test it thoroughly. He wouldn't settle for anything less. He was a scientist too. I watched the pair of them go, and I went to grab my computer, but Hideto tightened his grip on my waist.

"Where are you going?" he asked, pulling me back to his side, not letting me escape. "I thought you were supposed to be on break like the rest of us."

"No," I said shaking my head. "You just said I should. I have to keep working. It's finally quiet enough to do it. I need to help the Digital World."

"You can't help them if you don't take the time to relax your mind," he countered. He might've come up with more perfectly logical arguments that I would've dismissed just as readily, but Masa came running over to him at that point, calling for Mr Big Tall Man. I stifled a laugh at the moniker.

"Mister," Masa repeated. "Can you play with us?"

"No," Hideto said, crossing his arms. I scooted away from him now that I was free, knowing that I would've given in to him eventually if he'd had the chance to continue to his argument.

"But Mister," Masa complained loudly. "We wanna play soccer but that mean old lady"—meaning Babamon, who'd taken it upon herself to share the rules to everyone she passed in her bossiest tone ever—"said we can't play inside, we gotta go outside, but we hafta have a grow-up with us. You're the only grow-ups in here, and we can't go nowhere to find one, because kids hafta be chap-romed everywhere we go? I didn't know what chap-romed meant, but it just means we gotta have a grow-up with us or we can't go and find a grow-up. Please Mister? We wanna play."

"He can't say no to that," I said for him. Hideto looked to me betrayed but I just smirked. "Go on Hideto, enjoy your break with these kids. Just look at their little faces. I'd go with you too, but I just have so much work to get done. But you're free. And you wanted to do something. Soccer is a good outlet for all of your excess energy."

"I hate you sometimes," he muttered.

"I love you too," I replied. He smiled at me, prompting me to return it, and then he dragged himself to his feet.

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you didn't want me around," he said, walking backwards away with me as the kids all cheered around him.

"Now where would you get that idea?" I laughed. I watched him until he left, enjoying the smile that spread on his face as he listened to the excited chatter of the little digimon and Masa. I could hear Masa from here, frantically showing Hideto his brand new digivice, and lifting up Kunemon his new partner. He was so excited, that he didn't have time to miss his mother during the day. This was good, because I wouldn't have been able to handle a crying kid. I was a very sympathetic person. I probably would've just started crying with him.

I turned to face my computer, determined to get to work, only to be distracted immediately by Mask Square. It was far more interesting than any blog post—it also occurred to me that I could've brought a lot more digimon over if I'd not been working on my laptop the entire time, utilizing my Mask Square to its fullest potential. It wasn't empty though, so maybe it was better that I didn't use that method. There was still a bunch of stuff inside that we'd hidden from the others. It was all the stuff we'd picked out for our own use—mostly Hideto and Mari's—back at our home. I just hadn't had a chance to unload it there. I'd ditched Mari's shoe collection though, in our cell. She was determined to wear a new pair every day.

"Tea time," Natsuko said shocking me enough to make me fall off the couch. "Didn't you hear me approach? I'm carrying a tray with a teapot on it, the cups and saucers are rattling together. I'm not being quiet."

"I was just lost in my own little world," I told her. I looked up and saw a teapot and three cups. I sighed. It wouldn't be the same without Yoshie and Kae. It was only Toshiko's second time being around Team Mom. She'd just recently been inducted due to fitting the requirements of being a mother and fighting against Yggdrasil. We were a little bit lenient of course with the requirements, since I wasn't even female, let alone a mother. But I was there when Team Mom officially formed, so I was included.

I was so happy that I was.

They were my best friends, other than Alias III—and maybe Takeru, since he was talking to me more, and was really friendly when he did so—and they were the only people in the world I could fully be myself around. They never judged me ever, and they respected that I had a difficult past, and never pried. Any questions they asked we voluntarily answered, because I knew they cared about me so much. It was like having five—now six—mothers in the place of my own parents. Only they were much nicer and far less demanding than my parents, and they didn't care that I loved Hideto, and didn't throw me on the streets leaving me to the mercy of the shadow of a fallen fairy king, who would take over my life, making me dependent on his very presence, making me do horrible things all while loving the way it made him—and therefore me—feel and then brutally destroying all sense of self-control when he tore his way out of my life forever just because I didn't like what he was doing _one_ time.

Nope. They'd never do that. They just loved me, and that was it.

We sat around, drinking tea—in the tea cups I'd made, I was pleased to note—and I listened to them talk about everything, discussing all of the feuding going on between certain digimon in the Coliseum, and who to watch out for. They all cooed over the tie Mr Ogremon wore, and debating whether there was a blazer somewhere big enough that they could give him. The conversation turned more somber, when they discussed their missing family members. Sora, Biyomon, Centarumon and Haruhiko were still at the Temple, and it was making Toshiko nervous. She'd lost her daughter once already, and she couldn't, _wouldn't_ go through it again. Natsuko was worried about Patamon, about her ex-husband and Wizardmon, about her boyfriend Yuudai who she didn't tell she was leaving. I mentioned my worry for Kae and Yoshie, Satoe and Yuuko.

And then I lightened things up by telling them how my shield was already in the testing stage, so the Temple would be safe soon. The two talked for a bit while I discreetly looked at my computer screen, intending on actually getting some work done while these two were around.

"What're you working on now?" Toshiko asked. I moaned. I thought I'd been so sneaky.

"A blog," I muttered.

"Can I see?" Natsuko asked. I shook my head. "Having trouble?"

"I hate words!" I shouted angrily.

"Lucky for you, I work with them for a living," she said, holding her hand out. She smiled at my attempts and looked back to me. "You want this to sound professional, I take it?" I nodded. "Then take out some of these big words. You don't want to sound like you're searching a thesaurus the entire time. It makes you seem desperate. Sprinkle larger words in throughout, but not all at once. Now, tell me what you want it so say, and then explain what these symbols are supposed to mean. We'll get this blog up and running in no time."

I smiled. Maybe this was what it was like having your mother help you with your homework. It was nice, and I was feeling much more energized about the blog now. I quickly explained the purpose of it, and Toshiko and I both started firing ideas back and forth, while Natsuko picked out the more interesting ones, threading everything together in a cohesive string of sentences. By the time she finished typing, we had the first several short blog posts finished.

"Now what?" Toshiko asked.

I spread out my own printed copy of the digimon language, making sure each one was easily seen.

"Now we write it all again," I said. "In code."

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06**: Sometimes progress can be made, but if it doesn't amount to anything, is it really worth it? And when things start falling apart under your nose, can you find a way to build it back up without causing more damage?


	28. And You're To Blame

**Y/N: **Cody's was one that I'd both been looking forward to writing and dreading. I wanted to do it justice, and I'm not sure that I actually managed. That's up to you reader, I suppose. I hope you enjoy it.

**U/N: **I don't know what to say other than Jenna's part is entirely out of place here, it just had to go somewhere is all :P But I like it because Michael and Jenna interact which is always cool because... siblings and all. They haven't had much time to actually do that, and since they're both now narrators they deserved that I think.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 3: Ignorance**

**Chapter 28: And You're To Blame**

_**Jenna Washington:**_

"You're joking, right?" I asked Michael, almost angrily. "You've got to be joking."

"Nope," He said, smiling in that way boys always did, like they were really happy but refused to show their teeth, so it was just a weird goofy smile. He was typing away on his phone, wearing a dark green jacket over a grey shirt with a black backpack. He was heading out into the world, and wanted to go unnoticed. Or so he'd said, which was completely contrasted by the way he was _tweeting _about where he was going.

He looked over his tweet and decided it was pretty good, and sent it off into the internet. Which was kind of where we were, being stuck in the Digital World. I wanted to go home. I was sick of living in a cramped room and being cold all the time. The Temple's heat was lower than our house was, something no one else would admit. I hadn't been home since that crazy guy came along and broke in claiming to be searching for Willis even though he'd apparently locked him up in some crazy basement filled with monsters.

Monsters that no one seemed worried about. I understood that a lot was going on what with the tanks surrounding the Temple, everyone being scattered around, the digimon dying, the DWD group in New York, the protesters in Japan, and that was only half of it. But you'd think that some crazy guy who has the ability to create evil monsters would be included on the list of things to check out. Sure, the idea that everyone we were currently worried about seemed to hate monsters, and this guy apparently did not was enough of a reason to set him aside for now, but seriously, he was crazy.

_And he could make monsters._

My phone beeped and even though I consciously knew I wanted to ignore it, I was unable to fight my natural reflexes. Across my screen it said that Michael had sent out a tweet. "Heading out for some breakfast at Tiffany's with my best friend Betamon. The best digimon I've ever known." And attached was a picture of New York, his destination marked in red.

Tatum had received the same message from her computer and relayed the same facial expression that I was sporting, though Michael giddily avoided both of our eyes. Tatum had long since given up trying to convince Michael that what he was doing was stupid, because he was too stupid to see reason. A lot of people I knew complained about how dumb their brother or sister was, but they had _no_ idea what it was really like to be the sibling of a total buffoon.

Betamon's life was in serious danger, but he didn't even seem to care—and that was the annoying part! He definitely did care! We all knew he cared. After finding out Betamon had been trapped for years, being tortured and forced to forget Michael's name and face he vowed to never mess with Betamon ever again. To never put him in a place where he was in danger—but _this_ was the opposite of that. He was blatantly putting him in the line of danger.

He hopped to his feet and fixed his hair in the mirror, straightening out his jacket before grabbing Betamon off of the table where he was sleeping. The poor thing didn't even wake up. He'd been getting less sleep than anyone because Monodramon snored so loudly. Betamon was now being subjected to the worst kind of bullying without even being awake to endure the pain.

"I can't believe I'm coming with you." I said flatly, grabbing the leather jacket hanging by the door. I also couldn't believe that I hadn't gotten the chance to get all my clothes, and was left to wear whatever Tatum could find on her mission back to our house. My closet was totally organized, I don't know what she was talking about. The ball gowns were on the floor in the corner, the leather was on the opposite side, and everything else was in the middle. Duh. So here I was, dressed in what was kind of rocker punkish clothing. Which I was sure Chi would like. I was finally going to see him! I hadn't seen him in a week, since the previous Friday. And that was the only time I'd seen him since we were chased from home. It was almost disgusting how little time I was getting to spend with my boyfriend. And worse was that the only time I _did_ spend with him was when we were going to those stupid DWD meetings.

And they sucked.

"You don't have to." Michael told me casually as he left to the motel room. As if he'd actually leave me.

"Make sure he doesn't do anything too stupid..." Tatum said nervously. "I don't want Betamon hurt."

"I'll do what I can." I told her. And that was all I could promise. I'd been trying my whole life to get Michael to do something that wasn't stupid, and so far I'd failed. I kissed Kudamon on the forehead, promising to be back soon, and followed Michael through the door, closing it behind me.

The Temple had a horrible eerie vibe to it. I wasn't sure why everyone was always raving about it. Everyone we passed was nervously checking over their shoulders as if someone was about to attack them from behind. I didn't see the issue really. Other than the enormous tanks that were surrounding us. But they'd been there for days. There was something about the way they were doing nothing that calmed my suspicious mind.

We'd been under 'siege' as Tatum referred to it as for nine days now. And that was a long time. Kudamon and I often sat on the wall of the temple, watching them sit there. They alternated shifts every twelve hours on the hour, just to watch us do nothing in retaliation to their nothing. It was like a stalemate in a game of chess. Neither had any moves left. Except we both had moves, and we were both utilizing them. I guess the proper comparison would be two pawns who met in the middle of the chess game. Which meant that the real match was going on elsewhere, and we'd have to wait until someone came along diagonally so we could wipe them out.

Or something.

I found Michael standing by his favourite sushi restaurant. The one I refused to eat at. It just felt weird to me. If the digimon never went to Earth, where were they getting the fish? That was creepy, and it gave me insight into why someone might want to be a vegetarian.

"Took you long enough," he said to me with a smile he could not suppress. Betamon was still sleeping in his arms. Michael seemed to be getting bigger though, or Betamon was getting smaller, because he seemed too easy to carry now. "I've been waiting. I thought you wanted to stay or something."

"Fat chance," I said, shaking my head noticing my hair was falling from the bandana I'd put in. "This place is weird. Everyone is weirdly depressed and also once the devil seduced me here and tried to kill you using my body."

"That's a good story," Michael said, setting off toward the door everyone used to move to and from the Temple. "You should tell your boyfriend that story. And any future boyfriends."

"Why is that?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Because they'll all think you're crazy and break up with you!" He laughed.

"Oh, so funny." I said sarcastically, "You're just jealous that I might get married before you."

"No way," He shook his head, "Tatum and I are getting married once we have a baby."

I nodded, I knew the story. He and Tatum would live with Willis until they had a baby, and to celebrate their new house and new child they would start their lives together officially. But first they had to settle into the lives they already had, though I wasn't sure what _that_ meant. Michael had all the money he'd ever need, and Tatum had a secure job doing boring research stuff. It seemed logical that they would have a baby soon. I hoped so anyway. I wanted a baby myself but couldn't justify it until I could solidify a part-time job. With my inability to access my money that I was pretty sure Dad had intentionally blocked from me, I had no way to support a child. I wanted to be a mother! I wanted to know what it was like. To have a relationship with a child, as a mother.

"Mom saved us both that day, you know," Michael said practically reading my mind and randomly getting all sappy and brotherly. I did know, he told me enough times. But I never told him to stop. I always glared at him to make him think I wanted him to, but I liked hearing it anyway. Hearing that she was still watching out for us. I didn't remember much about her, just the way her eyes shone like fire... I was really young when she'd gone away. I only had one solid memory, and that was of her standing on the peer by the water in our backyard. She stretched her hand out to me and apologized for something. Even now I could remember how dazzlingly beautiful she was. And young.

"I know," I told him sharply. "And she's a fairy." I added, knowing that's where he was going next.

"Weird, right?" He laughed, holding open the door at the top of the narrow stairway. We didn't stop to talk to any of the flighty digimon we found inside because they seemed to be on a mission, and Michael paused at the end of the hallway, looking down the stairs to the left. I'd never been down there, but all the smart looking people went there, including Tatum so I thought it might be where the labs were. "The Digimentals are down there," He said, pushing through the gateway to Earth. He'd called ahead to ask for Koushiro to change the location, and sure enough we were stepping together through some invisible doorway into the streets of New York city.

"What are the Digimentals?" I asked him, turning to ensure the doorway was gone. Michael didn't seem too bothered by anything right then and I had to be sure we weren't leaving any trails behind us.

"They're little ancient artefacts that can help the digimon digivolve." He told me. "There is one to represent each crest, though I'm not sure when they were made or who made them."

I didn't know why he was bringing it up, but I figured I should at least attempt to make pleasant conversation with him as we waited for the lights to change. I could see Tiffany's just down the road, standing tall and majestic as if it were a place for a queen and not my dumb brother. "Could it help Kudamon digivolve?"

"Probably," He told me simply. "But I always wondered why there wasn't one for strength." That was his crest if I remembered correctly. "Courage, Love, Knowledge, Purity, Faith, Hope, Light and Friendship were all collected by Daisuke and the others. Willis had Miracles and Destiny, also found with Daisuke. Kindness was with Ken the whole time, and Daisuke helped him realize that... then Daisuke's digimental of Humility was tainted with darkness and became the digimental of Pride, so they're kind of one in the same. Honour and Forgiveness similarly turned to Tenacity and Desire, while Honesty was discovered by Neo and Rei."

"Okay?" I tried, not sure why he was telling me this.

The lights changed so we set off together. "Trust is there even, and we don't know who the crest even belongs to!" He sighed, his smile melting from his face. "I wonder sometimes if the mysterious Digimental of Darkness down there was tainted too. What if my crest of strength is buried within that Digimental?"

"Why were they tainted?" I asked.

"Who knows," I shrugged, "But mom was one of those fairies, right? The ones that picked Hideto, Daisuke, Mari, Miyako, Iori and Kiyoko? What if she had picked me for something similar? What if I'm supposed to do something?"

"Oh please," I laughed, punching him playfully in the shoulder, "Mom wouldn't trust you to do anything special. Besides, aren't you thinking a little highly of yourse—" My words shifted into a startled scream as something whistled through the air, zipping quickly past my ear, smacking into Betamon sharply and puncturing his flesh. "What the hell!?" I screamed loudly over the distraught scream escaping Michael's mouth and turning to the attacker. It was some vicious looking girl with a wild expression across her yellow tinted skin. Michael fell to the ground sobbing loudly as the attacker rushed off again, laughing maniacally as some others ran along with her chanting about how she was the queen. "Michael!" I shouted, rounding on him, my throat tightening at the sight of him on the sidewalk, thrown over his fallen partner, "Michael, this is your fault!" I looked to Betamon who was still and not breathing. "Is he dead?" I gasped, falling to my knees over where Michael had placed him on the sidewalk.

Michael sniffled, and then laughed.

I looked sharply up to him and he shook his head, poking Betamon with his finger. His rough finger sunk into the skin of Betamon as if he were made of a cloud. And then Michael shoved his hand inside his partner where the puncture wound was. I gasped stupidly as he pulled out a handful of fluffy white cotton. Amongst the white there was a glint of red, and it slipped from his hand where it bounced onto the sidewalk. It rolled around three times before it became still and motionless. It was one of the tracking devices Veronica was so pleased with.

"I win," He said with a great big smile.

"How?" I asked, looking to the fake Betamon toy with amazement. How had he created such a realistic looking model of his partner—more importantly, how had I not noticed the difference? And where exactly _was_ Betamon?

"The tracker," He said, pointing to where it was blinking. "It activates when it attaches to something digital. I bought all this material at the fabric shop across from Veemon's noodle cart." I widened my eyes and shook my head, still not following, "A tracking device tracks the location of what it is attached to, but it is kind of useless unless the information goes somewhere, right? So now with this, I should be able to find the location of the gun that shot it, right?"

"Right," I said slowly, finally catching on. "Was this your plan...? The secret plan?"

"Sure!" Michael grinned.

"Michael." I said flatly.

"No," He admitted, "Well yes! It wasn't at first. My original plan was to just make everyone angry and not back down no matter how much they wanted me to. But that was lame. And everyone knew about the plan so I was all 'ah! I need a new plan!' so I came up with this after taking Ken's gun and experimenting with it."

"Did he notice?" I asked, impressed.

"No," Michael admitted. "Now I just follow the signal. It should lead me to whoever is in charge, and we can stop the devices from being sent out. They are, by the way, sent out. Ken's gun was no good to me because the signal wasn't strong enough, but he found out from the girl at the desk in his office that they were shipped from here. From New York city."

"Funny," I said dryly, "How everything always finds a way to come right back home." He laughed at me, grabbing the mangled Betamon toy and throwing it out in a nearby trash bin. "But how do you track the signal?"

"Easy," He said reaching behind him to his bag and pulling out a miniature notebook computer and a weird black device. "With my handy dandy tracking machine."

"Where the heck did you get that?" I asked, bemused.

"My good friend Kiyoko." He said with a smile.

"Never heard of him," I shook my head, "Bet he's not really your good friend. He's probably just one of the names you crossed off that 'I'm a loner' list you had."

"No, no." Michael assured me. "Kiyoko and I are like this." He crossed his fingers to show me just how tight they were as friends before moving his fingers across his keyboard as if he were the smart one of the group, which simply wasn't the case. They had smart people in the group, and he was not typically one of them.

"What's his favourite food?" I asked.

"Mushrooms," He responded quickly.

"Favourite Animal?"

"Mouse."

"Color?"

"Arizona Topaz." He responded with such ease that it simply had to be true.

But I knew better. "You just made all that up—"

"Yup." He laughed, flipping the computer around to me. "See this?" He said, pointing to the map he'd pulled up on his screen. There were two flashing red dots, silently betraying their creator. If that was where the trackers were being kept, we could easily just get rid of them—take them away, and that would save a lot of trouble there. Not to mention we'd know who was behind the mechanics of this operation. And whoever that was, was also the reason there were guns that could kill digimon just by shooting at them. Maybe we could destroy those too?

"Let's split up." It shocked me as much as it seemed to shock Michael. It sounded like my voice, but I hadn't meant to say it, nor had I thought it. But I had to agree with myself. Two Washington's, and two flashing dots—we could do this all in one day.

"Not a chance." He said flatly, "We're not doing this. That's dangerous. You go on your date or whatever, I'm going to show Tatum."

"Okay," I agreed, checking the map one last time before he pulled it away. I knew the location of one... If I could just visualize the streets... Then it all came flooding through my mind. Through the labyrinth of alleys there was a small broken home. It was Veronica's house.

"Look," Michael said, cramming the computer, tracking box and blinking red device into his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder looking way too suspicious. "There's Chi now." I turned excitedly, everything else fading from my mind. Michael was right! There he was! There was Chi, walking down the street, looking up to the big sign of the restaurant, coming toward us, wearing dark red and black plaid, ripped dark jeans and a leather jacket. His hair looked the same as always, spiked and purple, and his golden eyes found mine, lighting up immediately.

"Chi!" I called out, jumping to my feet and rushing toward him, calling to Michael over my shoulder, "See you tonight!"

"Bye Jen!" he called annoyingly. I didn't like when he called me Jen. It wasn't my name, and that was super annoying.

"Hey Jen," Chi whispered as he hugged me. It felt really good to be in his embrace, especially if he was going to use such a cute nickname for me. I missed him so much, and it was weird because I'd never really noticed the smell of a person, but whenever I was around Chi the familiar honey scent filled my nostrils. It was so sweet and calming. It was impossible to ignore, and I loved that about him. Along with everything else. "So, ready to go to the meeting about hating everything?"

I smiled to him, shaking my head, "We're cutting class today, bad boy." I told him, grabbing his hand. "We've got business to attend to."

He was confused no doubt, but I didn't wait to explain. Veronica was going to be at the meeting in that weird abandoned shoe factory, and that meant her home was totally free for the invasion. We'd just slip in, break the tracking devices, and Michael would be so proud of us for going behind his back because we'd have done something so valiant and amazing. There was nothing that could possibly go wrong with the plan.

"Jen," Chi said sharply as I neared the alley entrance. "Jen stop!" He shouted, but I ignored him. I turned sharply, and together we were rushing through the maze. I wasn't sure where to go exactly, but I knew it was in there somewhere. I just had to try every way possible until I found what I was looking for. "Jenna!" Chi said again, this time more urgently, "What are we doing? Stop running! This isn't a good idea."

I ignored him. It was a great idea.

I ran into a dead end, so I started down the way we'd come, and Chi was pulling gently on my grip, trying to remove his hand from mine, but I was holding tight. I wanted this done, but I couldn't do it alone. Chi was my boyfriend, which meant he was supposed to help me when I was scared. And I was, for some reason, scared. My heart was beating with excitement and fright, and the only sound I could hear were the heavy footsteps of Chi and I as we ran down the grimy and sticky cement, and of course his constant nagging. "Jenna!" he continued shouting, each time becoming more urgent.

Then, when I'd finally found the right way, he pulled really hard, his hand coming from mine sharply, sending me flying forward. I caught myself on the wall and caught my breath, turning to him, "Wha—what the heck?" I asked, panting. "Chi, w-why did you st-stop?"

"Because you're kind of being a jerk." He said quickly.

"Wha-what?" I asked, shaking my head, "no I'm not. Come on."

"No," He said with fierce determination, pulling his hand away when I went to reach for it. "Jenna, I haven't seen you in a week and you're running in here to do something stupid without even talking to me about it first."

"Chi, you'll understand when we're done," I told him, "But I'm in a hurry."

"Then go," he said, annoyed. "I'm not stopping you."

"Well you kind of are by not coming with me." This could not be happening. I didn't have time to argue. I was already so pumped with adrenaline, hoping to accomplish something, he was just deflating everything by being a stick in the mud. "We get to destroy things, you'd like that."

"Who says I like to destroy things?" He asked confused, "Jenna, I spend my free time painting nature scenes. What about that says I like to break things? You don't know me at all. And I don't know you apparently. I've never seen this side of you. You're like a crazed animal hunting prey!"

"I am!" I insisted, "And I need my cute manly lion cub to come along and help me with that."

"The female lion hunts on her own." Chi said, "She brings the food back for the male who runs the pride."

"You want me to bring you food?" I asked, confused.

"No," He said, shaking his head. "I want you to go do whatever it is you're going to do." He looked nervous, like he wasn't even sure what he was saying. And that made two of us. "I agreed to go to another one of those meeting things with you because you said it would help your friends stop the hate. I don't like those places at all. I don't feel safe, but I go because you feel you _have_ to. Do you know how much confidence it takes to work up the nerve to step into those building's every week? That alone is enough adventure for me. I know your brother saved the world, you told me that before. I get you want to be a part of that, and you want me to as well. But if I'm going to be a part of that, I need you to be on my side every now and then. And I don't want to go in there. I don't want to go to Veronica's creepy house."

"But we _have_ to." I insisted, angry tears coming to my eyes. He wasn't listening. I reached for his hand again, but he turned his back to me, his hands running through his hair.

"No, we don't!" He shouted. "Jenna—" He stopped himself from saying whatever it was he was about to, and then took a breath, "I'm going home. I can't go in there. You can come with me if you want."

"I don't want to," I said, turning my back on him as well, wiping the tears from my eyes quickly. "You can go home if you want. I'll just go brave it on my own, and save _so _many digimon from being tracked. I'll save their lives." Chi said nothing, but when I turned to look, he was clenching his fists and looking to the ground. "Just come with me! Stop being difficult!"

He shook his head and then started walking off, "Sorry." He whispered.

"Coward!" I shouted after him as he walked away from me, "Now who's being a jerk?" He didn't even look back for a second so I screamed in frustration, ripping the bandana from my head and throwing it to the ground in rage. He was gone now. Turned a corner and I couldn't see him. "Whatever!" I shouted, "I can do this without him." And so I did. I rushed through the remaining section of the confusing maze like entrance, and found myself staring up to the totally haunted looking house that Veronica had taken me to before.

I swallowed the thick lump of disgusting emotion and braved my way inside, not wasting any more time. My skin crawled as I pushed the creaking door open, stepping inside. The hallway was dark, and so were the stairs to my immediate right. The chipped wooden steps melted into darkness. I ignored it and kept going. The smell of cat pee and mildew was getting becoming stronger and was forming a horrible taste in my mouth the closer I came closer to the sitting area. The mouldy, torn couch was sitting, looking like it hadn't been used in decades, the table had been flipped, the bag of garbage that had acted as its fourth leg was torn and the slimy candy wrappers and empty cigarette packages were thrown around the room, littering the dirty wooden floor. My eyes fell once more on the dust coated, framed photograph of Veronica's parents.

They had died. Just like my mom had... I felt so bad for her. She was just like me. A girl in New York, without a mother's love, and yet she was entirely different. She was poor, and damaged. I was damaged too, but for different reasons. Damaged beyond repair because I was selfish and spoiled and... mean. But I was also rich, and had a mansion to live in... I was nothing like Veronica. Even though she had such horrible thoughts floating about her head, she was a better person than I was. She was brave enough to live through the pain of her parents' death.

I never knew my mother... not well. And now I had a new one, who was admittedly really annoying sometimes, but still so, _so_ much better than nothing at all.

I ignored the sadness because the tears reminded me of Chi and how angry I was with him, and hurried into the kitchen. I stepped into a spider web in the doorway and I squealed loudly in disgust, my entire body shivering as I invented a new dance move trying to remove it from my hair.

I wiped my hands on my pants and immediately started looking around for the devices. Instead, I found the folder of papers Veronica had shown me before, laying open on the table. It was tempting, but not worth it to read them. I had to find the tracking devices quickly, before the hour was up and Veronica returned from the meeting.

And yet I somehow found myself staring at the papers, reading them over. The one front and center was about some wooden horse, but the letters were so small and the words were so big I didn't know them all off the top of my head. I was about to take a picture with my phone when my heart fell out of my chest.

"Jenna?"

I rounded on the door, hoping to see Chi, but instead my eyes fell on the gorgeous green eyes of Veronica, who stood in the doorway, holding a silver gun, pointing it in my direction.

"What are you doing here?" I gasped, clutching my chest. She looked like she was about to respond as she lowered her gun, but I panicked, "Is what you probably want to ask me..."

"I did actually." Veronica said, laughing. "I heard someone down here and I was scared." She set the gun on the table and looked at the pages with me, smiling. "I'm fine by the way. I told you all I was sick, but I just wanted the day to myself." She'd cancelled the meeting? I hadn't been told. "Thanks for coming to check up on me though. I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm quite able to take care of myself anyway." She sighed, flopping down into a wooden chair, "though I was beginning to think no one would check up on me. Kind of rude, isn't it? Me telling people I'm sick and no one wondering if I'm okay."

"Super rude," I nodded awkwardly. I put my phone back in my pocket and tried to wrestle my heartbeat back to normal but it wouldn't listen. "Not even Marshall?"

"Oh, no." She said laughing, "He's busy. He and his friends are having a video game tournament, so I understand. He would totally come if he wasn't though. He's so thoughtful."

"Right." I agreed, looking away from her eyes that were pleading with me to agree as if she just needed that little bit of reassurance. "So what's this?" I asked, pointing to the horse picture.

"Ah," She grinned, "That's a secret, that is."

"Oh come on," I begged, "Tell me?"

"No way," Veronica said, closing the papers, "You'll find out with everyone else. Two weeks from now when we unveil the truth." She looked really excited and it took everything in me to smile along with her. "It's really exciting, but we're not taking any chances. Next meeting will be the big day."

I counted the days in my head, "But that's my brothers birthday," I whined. It wasn't a lie. May 29th—that was Willis' birthday! "I can't miss his party! Just tell me, come on!"

"You can bring your brother if you want," Veronica scolded jokingly, "But I'm not telling you."

"Fine..." I sighed. I could wait two weeks... either that or I could sneak back in when she wasn't around.

"I'm hungry," Veronica decided. "Come on, you can buy me a burger."

I looked up to her and nodded, "Of course," I smiled. She deserved a burger after living here for so long... but that malicious smile on her face made it hard to feel bad for her. What was this horse thing? What was going on?

_**Iori Hida:**_

It was strange, being on Earth. Knowing how dangerous and frightening it was in the Digital World and finding out that Earth just kept spinning on its merry way. No one seemed anxious or afraid for their lives here. The sun was shining and the flowers were blooming. Kids were playing on the sidewalks with chalk, hopping on their hopscotch games and drawing smiling faces and cats. Picnics were being had in the park, and I swear Hikari and I walked by two weddings on our stroll across town. School was over for the day, and Hikari looked more run down than usual, but she was the only one. No other person I passed looked even remotely scared of anything.

It wasn't fair.

Why did these people get to be relaxed, and calm, and happy? Why couldn't the digimon, why couldn't Meiyomon? He was so desperate to find his brothers and sisters, but there hadn't been any luck yet. And now he couldn't even leave the Temple with his data streams, because the enemy could destroy those now. Digimon had died already because of them. Meiyomon couldn't die. I wouldn't let him. I forbade him from even _trying_ to escape with a data stream. He was petulant at first, angry that I would try and keep him from his brothers—_again_. But I won in the end. He was grounded, trapped in the Temple like the rest of them.

It hurt, to see him angry at me like that. To know he thought I didn't want him happy. I wanted that more than anything—the only exception being his safety. He needed to be safe. He could be happy later, so long as he was safe now. Taichi was searching for his siblings, we would find them and they'd be safe too. Maybe they'd all be in different safe houses, but Kiyoko and Willis had developed a protective shield that would keep out their tree-melting guns, so they would be extra safe. I knew Meiyomon wanted them to be with him, but I didn't know how feasible that plan was. He wanted them to be protected just as much as I wanted him safe, so I knew he wouldn't risk _their_ safety to keep them with him. I didn't know if that protective streak covered his safety though. I had to keep him safe, for myself, and for my mother. She'd lost Dad and Grandpa already. I wouldn't let her lose Meiyomon too.

Meiyomon was the reason I was walking the streets of Odaiba now. He wanted to leave the Temple, despite my protests, and I knew of only one person that could make him listen to me: Mom. She would make him stay safe, because she wouldn't lose him. And he would listen, because she was _his_ mom too.

I glared at a woman who was standing in front of a flower-shop. She was holding a carnation out to me, offering a free sample of her wares in an attempt to get me to go inside, to look at what she had to offer. I refused the flower. I wouldn't step foot in her establishment. It had a large, blue and yellow sign declaring it a "Digimon-Free Space" and it made me sick to my stomach. Hikari too refused the flower, though without the glare. The woman was persistent, going so far as to grab Hikari's arm, trying again, I pulled Hikari out of her reach and glared at her again, unleashing all of the anger I felt at the world in just one look. She squeaked and hurried back inside her shop.

"That wasn't nice, Iori," Hikari sighed.

"No," I agreed. "She wasn't. You can't let people take advantage of you Hikari. Not now especially. Everyone you meet could be an enemy. You need to make sure they don't get too close."

"They might be allies too," Hikari protested. "You can't know just by looking at them that they want to kill our friends. That's just assuming the worst. You have to have _some_ hope, Iori. There are still good guys out there."

"Then why can't we find them?" I questioned. "Why are there signs on every storefront? Have you _seen_ the state of the Takenouchi flower shop? It's covered in week-old egg residue, and several people have taken to spray painting Mimi's restaurant. Did you know that the word "Nisemono" has been spray painted no less than twenty-three times in six varying colours? I think that's a sign as to how many allies we've got in this city."

"I can't believe that," Hikari said shaking her head sadly. "I _know_ we have allies out there. I'm not blind though. I can see how many people hate digimon. How many people aren't scared of them at all, but still hate them without reason. Do you think I go to work every day and see smiling, happy, _digimon_ loving people? Because I don't, Iori. I see the stickers and the signs, I see the graffiti. But I still have hope. I will always have hope. Because if I don't, if _Takeru_ doesn't, who will?"

"I can't," I said, forcing my voice not to crack. "I can't have that hope. I'm so scared for Meiyomon, for Armadillomon, and Goblimon, and Gatomon. I'm scared for Mom, and Natsuni and you. I can't control everything around us. I can't just pick up a stick or a metal pipe and start bashing the enemy this time, Hikari. It's humanity. And not even all of it. Just most. What if I attack the wrong person? That makes me no better than them. Because they're afraid of change, of taking this chance and experiencing life with digimon at our side, and I can't change that fact. I'm just one person."

"But together, we're two," she said. "And with each new ally we find, our number grows, just the same as theirs do. They might be spreading around the world, spreading hate and lies and it's horrible, but there are people out there that are fighting them. Even if it's something as simple as not listening to the vile things they say. That's fighting. They may be shouting it from the rooftops, Iori. But not everyone is listening. I know I'm not. And none of our friends are either. And that's only in Odaiba. Think of it on a grander scale. We're a percentage."

"A small one," I said moodily.

"Yes," she said. "But we're keeping them from their full one hundred. And that's enough for me. For now. We'll find a way to beat them. We always have. But we've got to keep our morale up. We can't give up, and without hope, that's what you're doing."

"It's hard," I said. It came out more like a growl than I'd meant it to. I clenched my fists, seeing that stupid house coming into view.

"I know," she told me with a wink. "But if we're not willing to put that extra effort in, then no one will. We might not be in this alone, but the digidestined need to pave the way for those that are scared, we need to show them that it's okay to be against their thoughts, and to stand strong for our digital friends without backing down and cowering in a corner."

"I never cower," I told her pointedly.

"Then you're almost there," she said, smiling at me. "We can beat this. Just think of Armadillomon. You know what would happen to him if we lose. So you can't lose. _We_ can't. I'm not letting anything happen to Gatomon. Never."

"Armadillomon is everything to me," I said, holding my head up high, glaring at the one person that dared to sneer at my declaration. He backed away. I had a really powerful glare. "You know that."

"I know," she agreed. "And that's why I know that you've never lost hope. You've still got it. You just have to find it."

"I hate hide and seek," I muttered.

"You hate a lot of things," she said lightly. "You feel so strongly about so many things. Mostly negatively, I'll admit, but when you love someone, or something it's very evident. I see it when you look at Natsuni or just talk with Armadillomon. I see it when you announce Meiyomon's coming to visit, or when you get to eat apple-strawberry crumble. You love things so passionately. I just wish you could care about more things."

"I don't need to," I said, taking her spiel as a compliment of sorts. "I've got you, Natsuni, Meiyomon and Amadillomon. Not to mention Gatomon and Goblimon. And Mom."

"See, that's what I don't get," she said suddenly. "You love your mom so fiercely, you care so deeply about her, but she's done so many things that make you so mad. All the time. She used to watch the clock until you came home, tried to micromanage your life, and tried to ban you from being with Natsuni. But you still love _her_."

"She's my mother," I said simply, shrugging my shoulders. She was the only parental figure I had left. My only blood family. Meiyomon and my aunt and Hikari all counted in my mind as family members, but I knew that in reality, Mom was all I had left. It didn't mean I loved them any less, but it _did_ make me very protective of Mom. I wanted to take care of her, keep her safe. But I couldn't. I couldn't do that because she'd up and gotten married to Hiroaki Ishida. And I hated it.

And it was their new stupid house that we were coming up to now.

I hated this place. It reminded me of everything new in my life. I knew that Hikari worried about how Emiko was dealing with all the changes, but I understood it. I felt like I was a little kid again, and Mom was just pulling the rug out from under my feet every time I tried to catch my balance. I handled change just as well as Emiko did. She threw tantrums and screamed and dressed like a monkey. I did the same—except the monkey thing, I never did that. I couldn't contain my emotions and they were always negative because I despised change so much. It had been that way for as long as I could remember.

The first change was losing Dad and everything just spit-balled from there. Even though Mom was still there, it felt like I'd lost her too. I had to depend on Grandpa to pull me through, and he was having a horrible time too, because he'd had to bury his son—and no parent should have to do that. It left him hollow for awhile, but he bounced back, _for me_.

But Mom didn't.

It took her almost a full _year_ to remember she had a child and responsibilities. And when I thought I finally had her back, I realized I never would. Because she was so different without Dad. She was stricter, more protective. She had to work strange hours, and was never home. I hated it. I put more energy into Grandpa's personal favourite outlet: kendo. We'd work together for hours and I'd exhaust myself _just_ so I wouldn't scream at Mom whenever she walked through the door. And then I met Armadillomon, and I had trouble coming to terms with what being a digidestined meant. I didn't like killing things. It didn't matter to me that they were just being recycled and weren't really dead. I didn't like it—and never would. And then I hit puberty, and all of my emotions went haywire, and I was even angrier, and I was a mess. For years—maybe six. It was a _long_ time. I'd lost Armadillomon and gotten him back before my emotions had straightened out. And then I lost Grandpa and the cycle repeated, only this time I had to take Grandpa's place for Meiyomon, because we'd lost Mom again.

And now she had left me in a different way.

She left me for a man that I'd only known as my friends' father. And she expected me to be okay with it, like she didn't give up everything I'd ever wanted when she sold my home, and expected me to welcome all the changes with open arms?

I couldn't do that.

But I also couldn't hate her.

"Well," Hikari said brightly, either oblivious to my internal turmoil, or in spite of it. She pulled open the screen door, and knocked three times sharply against the wooden door. We waited a few minutes, but Mom never answered. She knocked again, four times now, harder, but still no answer. She looked to me, concern in her eyes, but I'd already pulled out my phone and dialled the house number. It went straight to the answering machine. I left an urgent message, and hung up, trying again. Still the answering machine. I left another message before trying her cell phone, trying to keep my rising panic at bay. She was just out for a walk that was all. I just had to think positively. It always worked for Takeru. It would work for me too, right?

Wrong.

Mom didn't answer her cell phone either, and I left an even more frantic message there. I begged her to answer the phone, or just call me back. I pleaded for her to be okay, and to call me back so that she could prove she was. I was frantic enough that I called Hiroaki—even though I despised what he did to my family—but he didn't answer either.

"It's okay," Hikari told me, grabbing my arm. "It's going to be okay."

"Is it?" I demanded. "Is that what you know? Then where is my mother, Hikari? Where's Hiroaki? What am I supposed to tell Takeru and Yamato, huh? What do I tell _Meiyomon_?"

"You won't have to tell them anything," she said fiercely. "Just because they're not answering their phones doesn't mean they're in danger. I'm sure there's an explanation."

"I'd like to hear it. I want to hear it right now," I shouted. I wasn't channelling my energy properly. I tried to run through all of the kendo moves I knew, in the order that Grandpa taught them. It was a better outlet. I just needed to take deep breaths. In and out. In and out.

"That's it," Hikari said, rubbing my back. Her eyes weren't nearly as calm as her voice though. They were wild, panicked. Her voice was steady though, and her hands were still. Mine were shaking with fear and rage and desperation. "We'll look for her. Maybe my mom knows where they are? I'll see if I can call Yamato. Ask him where his dad hangs out. Maybe they're at one of those places. Are they both at work? That could explain it."

"No," I dismissed. "Mom doesn't work anymore, except on the weekends, and Hiroaki's off every Tuesday. They should both be here. Why aren't they here?"

"We're going to find them, Iori," she told me firmly, grabbing my hand and leading me back towards downtown. "But right now you're going to talk about something else. You're going to distract yourself so that you can think straight. All this panic is managing to do is distort your better judgement."

"Talk about something then," I ordered, trying to continue my breathing exercise.

"My boss hates me," she said lightly, though I could tell it was bothering her more than she wanted me to know. "He hates digimon, and he wants to fire me. And I don't know what I'm going to do about that, because I want to teach, you know? But he's sucking all the joy out of it."

"I could punch him in the face," I offered. "It might relieve my anger."

"You'll do no such thing," she said with wide eyes. "Maybe it's not such a good idea to talk about that. I don't want you to worry about me. And it's not _such _a big deal, anyway. Noriko's awesome though, she makes going to school worthwhile. Oh! Let's talk about her."

"Do we _have_ to?" I asked with a groan.

"I thought you didn't hate her anymore," she said with narrowed eyes.

"I don't," I said. "It's just that she's not my _favourite_ person in the world. I don't hate her though. We worked together for almost three years. I know her pretty well. I was so relieved when she went to therapy and got over her obsession about me."

"You know, I'd almost forgotten about that," Hikari teased. "She's really sweet you know. She's lovely and loving and can back talk like nobody's business. I think I would go so far as to say she's my hero. Do you think that's too much?"

"Probably," I said with a short laugh. Her eyes lit up brightly and a winning grin spread its way across her face. She was happy again, I was still panicking, but I'd pushed it to the back of my mind. She was right. Panicking wouldn't help Mom. Going out and finding her would.

"I'm just really looking forward to her wedding," Hikari continued. "I don't mean I'm expecting an invitation, I don't want to be presumptuous, but I'd like to see the pictures at the very least."

"Pictures, right," I said, not paying too close of attention. "If you want to distract me, why don't you tell me more about your boss?"

"I don't think that's necessary," she stalled.

"No," I said. "Try me."

"I don't really want to," she protested.

"Why not?" I questioned.

"How about you tell me why you're not happy for your mom," she suggested. "Why don't you tell me exactly what it is about her happiness that you find unappealing? She's happy, Iori. And Hiroaki is happy, and Meiyomon is happy, and so is Takeru. They're all really happy with the way things have turned out. Why can't you be?"

"This is stupid," I said bluntly.

"Is it?" she asked. "Because it sounds to me like you're being a party pooper. Your mom is happy for the first time since she lost your dad. She's been hung up on him for years, and the one time she ventures out of the sad hole she was stuck in, you start raining on her parade. Just be happy for her! Be happy that she's got a second chance."

"She had one," I snapped. "Me. She could have been happy with me, but she never was. And I don't want to talk about it. So we're done."

"You don't like it when the tables are turned," she surmised. "So do we have a deal? We'll keep our noses out of each other's issues."

"Deal," I agreed, angry that I'd even revealed that much. Because it was true. Mom had me, she had me the entire time and sometimes it seemed like she was trying, but she was always playing the _part_ of a doting, loving mother, rather than being happy to do it. Maybe I was mad because Hiroaki was able to make her happy when I never could. I wasn't enough. She was my mom, and she was _supposed_ to be the strong one, the one that had everything put together, but Grandpa was the one that demonstrated what that meant for me. Not her. And now I find that I wasn't enough for her. That adding Meiyomon still couldn't make her happy. No. _Hiroaki_ could though. It was stupid, and I hated it.

It was my job to make Mom happy.

But I was a failure at it.

I couldn't do it, just like I couldn't keep her safe, and out of harm's way. Where the hell was she? Why couldn't she just answer the phone when I called, and save me from all this worry and fear? Maybe she couldn't though. Maybe the DWD identified me from the documentary and went after my mother to get to me.

Anger was flooding my veins again and my eyes went blurry. It was my fault if something happened to her. I was the reason she was involved with this digimon stuff in the first place. I loved Armadillomon with ever fibre in me, but was it fair that I put my mother in danger? Couldn't I have kept her out of it longer?

No.

Because I'd brought Meiyomon home with me after my second big adventure, and she welcomed him with open arms. She had the capacity to hold so much love, and she gave it to him so freely, just as she shared it with Armadillomon and Kotemon, and even Grandpa's Numemon friends, Yuk and Huh. She cared about them all so deeply. She wouldn't fault them for her misfortunes.

Why did she have to be so conflicting? She could love so much, but was never happy. She cared deeply about others but couldn't care less about them when she was grieving herself. She claimed to be lonely before finding Hiroaki, but she had so many of us surrounding her. She was never alone, and she was never unloved.

And damn it! I wanted to identify a DWD supporter just so I could punch them in the face and relieve myself of all this damn stress.

"Iori!" Hikari gasped, tugging on my jacket. I looked at her, and followed her line of sight, realizing how far we'd walked in such a short time. I definitely needed to clear my head. I shook it, and then caught sight of what Hikari had seen.

Mom.

A huge weight lifted off my shoulders and I thought I was going to _cry_, that's how happy I was. My knees shook before I steadied myself on Hikari. Mom was seated at a little table outside of a cafe, a plate of confectionaries in front of her, and a tea cup in her hand. She was taking a sip, but stopped to laugh at something Hiroaki said. I glared at him. He was probably the reason she didn't answer her phone. He was the reason I was panicking so badly.

"Mrs Fumiko!" Hikari shouted, grinning. She grabbed my hand and started dragging us towards my mother and Hiroaki. They didn't hear her, and she'd sucked in another, _larger_ breath to yell again, when her phone started playing an annoyingly catchy jingle. She dug through her pocket and answered. "Hikari Yagami speaking, who is th—Noriko? Noriko what's wrong? He's after you? Where are you? Noriko! Tell me where you are. I'm with Iori. We'll come find you. Don't let him catch you. You said you were—I know the place. I'll be there in a minute. Don't get caught!" She hung up her phone and turned her newly panicked face to me. "Iori I know you want your mom—"

"Where's Noriko?" I demanded. Her relief was evident in her face, but she didn't look any less worried. She took my hand and started dragging me through an alleyway that connected main street with a smaller, secondary street.

"She's being chased. She said he's in a police uniform," Hikari said scared.

"What did she do?" I asked, running through scenarios in my head. If she did something illegal, I was trying to figure out how to help her.

"Iori," Hikari said exasperatedly. "She's got Impmon with her."

Oh.

"There aren't any laws against having digimon," I growled as we continued running. "I would know. I go to law school almost every day. If there were any major changes, I'm sure they'd have taught us all about them."

"I'm worried," Hikari said. "I heard his voice through the phone, chasing after her. He's close. We know the chief is corrupted by the DWD, Iori. Ken's told us that much already. What if he gets her? You know what he'll do to Impmon. But what will he do to _her_?"

"Nothing," I said, determinedly. "I won't let him."

We turned another corner, and started racing towards a bridge when I saw her. Impmon was right in front of us, but Noriko was standing directly in front of him. I could see the officer—no. I could see the _chief_. It was Morestuna himself. My heart started pounding. He was closing in on Noriko, pointing his gun directly at her.

"Get out of the way you silly girl," Morestuna growled.

"Not on the hair on my chinny chin chin," she said firmly, using her hands to hold Impmon in place behind her. He was determined to protect _her_, but she wasn't having any of that. "Impmon is my friend, and I take care of my friends."

"I don't want you, girl," he tried to reason with her. "I just want the abomination behind your back."

"Impmon is not an abomination!" she screamed. "He's a hero, and my best friend, and you _can't. Have. Him_."

"I'm not afraid to hurt a woman," Morestuna said. "We will clean the streets of every last one of these 'digimon' if it's the last thing I do. I will warn you once again. Step aside."

"Go to hell," Noriko snarled.

Morestuna growled and pulled the trigger. A blast of purple energy flew at Noriko, hitting her square in the chest, lifting her off the ground, and sending her skidding down the hill. It was as if it had hit me instead. And I knew what it would have been like to jump in front of someone to save them. But this time I wasn't fast enough. I started running, and so did Impmon—in different directions. Impmon raced after Noriko, catching up to her just as she rolled to a halt. I heard Hikari's footsteps coming after me, falling at Noriko's side, and out of my peripheral vision, I saw she was crouched over Impmon, keeping him from view. Morestuna was readying his gun again, and crazed look in his eye as he took aim at Hikari's crouched back, ready to shoot again. I ran into him right then, shifting his arm, causing him to shoot into the air. I didn't stop running though, not until we'd reached the railing of the bridge and I heard the river flowing underneath us.

I pulled my fist back and punched the side of his face. He'd hurt Noriko. The first girl I'd ever loved. The girl I now tentatively called friend. He wanted to hurt Impmon. A digimon that I was bound to protect by honour alone, not even taking my digidestined status into account. He wanted to hurt _Hikari_. The girl I'd nearly lost my life to protect. The girl I counted as my sister despite our lack of relation. My roommate, my classmate, my fellow digidestined. My friend. I punched him again. He pushed me back and tried to shoot Hikari again. I ran at him one last time, pushing with enough force that he fell over the railing, crashing into the waters below.

I was horrified for a second. No. Half a second at most. But I moved on quickly. I ran to Noriko, Hikari and Impmon. Impmon was sobbing, frantically calling Noriko's name. Her skin had lost its healthy glow, and she was sweating profusely. She was dazed, and limp. She continued to try and pull herself up, but she was too weak to do it. Her arms and face were scratched from her tumble, and there were thin trickles of blood scattered everywhere.

"Noriko!" Impmon pleaded. "Be okay. _Be okay_."

"I want every available man to my position, NOW!"

"Is that?" Hikari asked worriedly. I nodded, racing to the railing. Morestuna was out of the water already, dripping wet, screaming into his walkie-talkie. He was still holding his gun, and when he spotted me he aimed and started shooting. I moved quickly away from the railing and back to Noriko's side, sliding my arms under her legs and back, hoisting her into the air.

"He's coming!" Hikari shouted. I knew it already. I heard the loud footfalls, but I couldn't go any faster. I was racing down the streets, and Hikari was following me. I didn't know where to go. I needed to find a computer fast, because we needed to get the pair of them to the Digital World.

Now.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Noriko's friends and enemies take the lead as they learn of what happened to her and somehow the safety zone doesn't feel quite as safe as it once had.


	29. Highway To The Safety Zone

**Y/N:**Natsuni's was fun and intense to write. I hope you enjoy it.

**U/N:**Willis is hard for me to keep straight so he's never in character. I assure you, his real character, who I'm supposed to be writing, is very interesting, and flirtatiously distant, but I cannot do that apparently :P So just pretend he's always been in character...

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing**

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 3: Ignorance**

**Chapter 29: Highway To The Safety Zone**

**_Willis Kennedy:_**

Terriermon and Lopmon were Knights, and I was very proud of them and all they'd accomplished. I was perhaps a little bitter that they were required to remain in the Temple longer than just about everyone else because of that reason though. I'd talked to Tatum about it, and she explained that she and the other chosen along with the digidestined were to come last. Right before them were the Knights. That was just hardly fair. I was so happy they were helping people there too though, but not happy enough to be content with not talking to them for the same reason. Every time I called Tatum, or used the video chat system they were unable to be found, likely helping people, and that was great.

Really great.

But I missed them a lot. I hadn't seen them since I last gone to work. It had been more than three weeks. Twenty-five days to be exact, and that was nearly a month. That was hardly fair—I rarely spent any time away from them, couldn't I just go to the Temple? No, I was 'needed here' for stupid things like putting together beds. And while I was happy to help as well, I wanted to be with my partners.

Really I did. Very much so.

I felt pretty alone even excluding Terriermon and Lopmon. Michael, Jenna and Tatum were all at the Temple with my partners, the place I should have been. Here I had Kiyoko who was pretty amazing to be fair. He was really smart, and could easily be my temporary Tatum replacement, except he talked a lot less than she did, and wasn't ginger. Hideto was somewhat like Michael if not immensely darker and more depressing. He was also thinner and bisexual. Warg and Melga were not nearly as fun as Terriermon and Lopmon, but they sure got into enough trouble to account for my missing partners. And of course Jenna's sassy behaviour could easily be replicated by Mari if only I was allowed to spend time with her.

I was basically permitted to spend an hour a day with my friends, and other than that I was sent to work with whatever digimon needed help. So far today I'd helped clean four cells with the Roachmon brothers who told me all about what happened with the broken data stream. Thankfully someone thought I was important enough to tell things to. I'd found out the digidestined had a meeting while I was putting together a bed for Hikari in Gatomon's room for whenever she came to stay permanently. And that was just rude of them to do.

Just now I could hear Hideto speaking with Yamato a few cells down about how horrible Yamato's band members were. I turned to the door longingly as Mari walked past. She smiled and waved to me, sending my spirits up to the roof just as Takeru swooped in and asked for her help. He motioned for her to head the other way and her shoulders drooped as she looked to me apologetically.

"Stupid Takeru, stealing all my girlfriends." I muttered.

"I hear you," MetallifeKuwagamon said to me, a great big smile plastered on his face.

"Right," I said as my phone beeped. I looked to the message and groaned, ignoring it.

_Omg, Tanya said that you..._

It was from my ex-girlfriend Tiffany. She came equipped with an entire nine season drama television show, I swear. Everything about her was dramatic. Just this morning she sent me a message saying "_I miss you_" And now she was mad at me again. I had no intention of getting back together with her, but that was because I was now resigned to the concept of living alone for my entire life. It wouldn't be so bad. I would have Terriermon and Lopmon and of course I could always a puppy. That would be cute, though maybe Terriermon wouldn't like being overshadowed by the dog, so I could get a cat. That would be nice. I just didn't have much luck with girls.

My very first girlfriend turned out to be the girl I was so in love with. How cheesy was that? Maybe I did fit right into Tiffany's drama show. I'd dated Hikari, my longest relationship to date, and that was horrible from day one, so I wasn't even sure why we kept it going. I was happy she was with Takeru now. What I'd said was just bitter for the sake of being bitter. I was happy she was happy and Alice had told me that time I'd gone to Heaven to see my dead family members that Hikari wasn't right for me. But she said Mari _was_! So why wouldn't she date me?

When the hell did life get so complicated?

It was that moment I sent Hikari that email all those years ago. "_Been to the Digi-World lately? No? Well I have. And it was easy to do so too because the digi-port has been open for a very long time, so I thought it would be ok to go inside. It's still as great as always, great scenery, beautiful skies... only it's different now. Why? Because I didn't see a single digimon. Not one—well besides Terriermon and Lopmon—Yeah, Chocomon digivolved, cool huh? Anyway, I searched for hours, but I didn't find a single digimon until I spotted the strangest creature. I can't even explain it, but I noticed something was on its head... a weird symbol. One that I had seen before, but only once. Hikari it was the crest of knowledge. I came out of the Digi-World to send this to you, but I'm going back in, so I won't see your response. Just... come help if you think it seems fit. Love, Willis."_

Like, whatever. Did I have to drag myself into all of this? Sure I'd gotten so much out of it. I'd gotten Michael and Jenna, and my mother now accepted digimon, and I met my sister and father, and I represent two of the most integral traits of the Digital World, and now Mari was back in my life, however randomly she decided to show up...

So it all started with the digimon of knowledge. Funny how things always come back around to bite you... even if this bite wasn't so bad.

My phone started ringing, and I looked to it, angry that Tiffany would bother calling me, but when I saw the picture on the screen I saw that it was not Tiffany at all, and that it was Tatum. I quickly answered, dropping the mop I was using to clean the floor, hoping for a chance to speak with Terriermon or Lopmon.

"Willis," Tatum called into the phone almost annoyingly loudly. "We're sending more data streams over."

"Pardon me?" I said, nervously. "You can't do that. They can stop them!"

"Stop!" Tatum insisted urgently, "Of course we know that. Just get outside and wait for them. It's important."

"Okay," I said, but she had already hung up the phone. "Gotta go," I told MetallifeKuwagamon, rushing out of the cell. I passed Hideto and Yamato, and a bunch of other digimon. Then I passed Kiyoko and smiled to him, he was staring at his blog and the work he'd done while some of the others mom's sat around him. He was doing good work here, and that program we'd made for the oceans was hopefully strong enough—but whether or not it _was_ it was an ingenious idea. I was proud to have even been a part of it.

I didn't know who Tatum was sending through the streams, but didn't they know it was dangerous? Didn't they know we had no more room for digimon? We'd already filled in the lower levels under the false floor with Numemon who were happier down there anyway without realizing that was where Betamon had been tortured. We were working on locating some other levels which Kiyoko insisted there were according to his blueprint, but even on the blueprints the secret entrances were secrets. If we could find them then we could fit hundreds of extra digimon inside. Or, you know, my parents. My mom and Michael's dad needed to come eventually too—and so did Mimi's parents. They were all in America, and I sometimes thought that maybe the others didn't remember anywhere aside from Japan existed, which would explain the lack of information passed on to me over the years. But America was in danger too, and we needed to get my parents here if everyone else's parents were allowed inside.

Not that we had a way to do that yet. Well apparently we did. We were just going to ignore the men and women who were filled with enough hate to kill us if they got the chance to do so. And they _had_ gotten the chance to kill a poor defenceless Yanmamon which was simply horrible, and now we were sending more digimon across?

It had better not be Terriermon and Lopmon they were risking. Then again... maybe that wouldn't so bad if they managed to get here. Tatum had called _me_. Why else would she call me aside from the fact that I was the only person here she really knew?

"Where are you going?" Babamon asked angrily from her place by the desk Hideto had crafted for her. She pointed her broom at me as if she was going to hit me with it. "You can't leave. You will ruin our invisibility factor."

"I'm getting the next shipment." I told her.

"You're not leaving until I see you turn invisible." She chastised. I ignored her and pulled the door open, stepping outside. Yes it was dangerous, but it had to be done. I instantly looked up at the data streams that Meiyomon was sending around hastily. My eyes scanned them for any sign of Terriermon or Lopmon who I was sure had to be inside of them. My heart was beating quickly with anticipation and nervousness. They could die, but if they managed to survive then I'd finally be reunited. It was coming soon.

I noticed that some of the streams were picking up the offending officers and throwing them around to disorient them. Meiyomon had thought it all out. He was making sure whoever was coming over was going to be as safe as possible. Then I saw it. The one we were waiting for. It was coming toward me. It had to be the one. The one that would deliver me my partners.

But it was empty...

And then it landed just past the river before shooting off in a random direction.

"Damn..." I muttered. It wasn't the right one.

But then people began popping out of thin air like popcorn as cell phones were flung in different directions. I first noticed Hikari, standing with her arms hugging herself, her face red and tear stained. Then I noticed a purple little Impmon hopping up and down crying harder than even Hikari, and then Iori and Jou who were carrying a very pale, broken looking woman.

My heart beat stopped entirely. The disappointment of seeing Terriermon and Lopmon had not come would have been tolerable, but seeing this instead? That was something I didn't know I could handle.

"Get the door!" Jou shouted to me, and I did so without thinking, or willing myself to do so. I watched in fear and panic as they rushed her through. I knew her, but couldn't remember her name. Who was this girl? What was wrong with her? Was she going to be okay? Suddenly Hikari had hugged me, tears falling onto my shoulder.

"W-what happened?" I asked, scared.

"H-he shot her!" Hikari sobbed incomprehensively. I could barely understand her, and then she was rushing inside to follow them all. I closed the door behind myself and heard Jou scream for everyone to get out of the way. Everyone in the Coliseum had to have heard the urgency in his voice as he screamed because they all fell completely silent.

I felt excluded, but like I shouldn't stop following. My legs didn't seem to be listening anyway. My entire body was on edge and I was following Hikari as she stumbled on her way down the hallway, holding Impmon's hand. Heads were poking out of their cells and watching as we moved. Kiyoko was standing with Hideto and Yamato each of them looking as confused as I felt. We passed Mari and she grabbed my arm dragging me into a cell that she'd been preparing for some digimon I couldn't be bothered to identify at the moment.

"What happened?" She asked me sharply.

"I don't know," I said nervously, "I-I... The girl..."

"Who?" Mari asked quickly, looking into the hallway, "What's going on?"

"I don't know..." I said, turning back to see Takeru. He looked to me and looked like he'd found what he was looking for.

"Where did they—" He didn't finish because I'd pointed down the hall and he set off at a run, so I followed mindlessly. I didn't want to think about what was happening. I couldn't. Was this someone else dying? And what was worse was that it was happening slowly. Not like the digimon deaths were they were deleted on sight. This was slow. She'd been shot and was now in the process of losing the precious life she'd been granted.

I found the lab we'd all crafted into a doctoral lab for Jou and saw that the girl was laying on a bed that looked like Alias III might actually have stolen from a hospital. Seeing her now, in this light her name rushed back to me. Noriko. That was her name. And that was simply the first thing about her. There was more—her life. I was aware that Takeru was comforting Hikari now, and aware that Yamato and Alias III had crowded the doorway behind me, and aware that Iori was holding Noriko's hand, but my mind and my eyes were trained in on Jou who was moving around the room panicking. He was looking for something, but no one could help because he didn't even know _what_ he was looking for.

Hikari tried to pull away from Takeru, trying to get to Noriko, but he was keeping her back because Iori and Impmon were already taking the space. Jou would need room to work whenever he discovered what he was going to do.

"Tell me what happened again!" Jou shouted.

Everyone seemed to shocked to speak except Iori who awkwardly made hand gestures as if he _was_ explaining long before he actually spit out what had happened. "It was Morestuna. Ken's police chief. He shot her with the gun. The one that deletes digimon."

There were many gasps behind me that I ignored. "But she's not being deleted." I noted. "Because she's not a file that _can_ be. She's not digital."

"True." Jou said, pointing to me, happy to have some kind of help.

"We just need to know what this does to humans," I said.

"Koushiro did research on the guns," Takeru said helpfully. "I could call him?" Jou looked to him with eyes that dared him to not call Koushiro. He was dialling the number, and Jou was frantic, taking the phone from him.

"Can everyone leave?" Jou asked without any signs of the usual polite manner in which he spoke, "I need to think. Impmon can stay, but everyone else, just—Koushiro!" Jou interrupted Koushiro's response. "Tell me what you know about the guns." Then to everyone else again, "Go!"

Noriko released Iori's hand as if she were letting go of her last threads of life and then smiled to him, repositioning herself. It was a relief to see that she was not entirely shut down. It seemed she was very much in shock and perhaps weakened, but not dead. Not yet, she was holding on and had strength left to use up.

I stepped backwards out of the room, the relief of seeing her move on her own giving me enough power to do so. I was standing in the hallway a moment later, looking toward where Mari, Hideto, Kiyoko and Yamato stood. Takeru and Hikari were followed out of the lab by Iori, and the three of them stood with me momentarily.

"Hikari!" Noriko called from inside, her voice stronger than I'd been expecting. We all turned to see her holding up a violet phone case. "Please call him for me."

"Him?" Takeru asked.

"Her fiancé," Hikari gasped out, rushing into the room to retrieve the phone. "I'll tell him what's happening. I'll bring him to you. I promise!" She was already looking through the phone for his number, walking down the hallway toward the others.

Yamato suggested we all get back to work to keep everything running smoothly, and everyone agreed though no one moved to actually participate. Somehow it seemed meaningless. The walls seemed stickier and the grime on the ceiling was thicker. The stone seemed impossible to clean, and even the clean rooms we passed seemed like they needed to be redone. Somehow everything was impossible to ignore. Every speck was impossible to miss. The hairs that were out of place on Takeru's head drew my attention for a while as we all walked toward the antechamber. I stopped watching his wild stands of hair when he rushed to get a seat for Hikari to sit on.

"Tomotsu," Hikari said into the phone finally, "Where are you right now?" She paused, breathing in slowly, her emotions seemed to be controlled if only momentarily, "You need to leave work, I'm sorry. I'm Hikari Yagami, I work with Noriko. Something terrible has happened. We're going to come get you and bring you to her." Hikari placed her hand over her mouth as, even from where I stood, I could hear his distraught voice, wondering what was going on. "I don't entirely understand what is going on." Hikari said quietly, "I just know that she wants you here. Someone will explain w-when you get here. Just tell us where you are." The man fired off his address and Hikari promised someone was on the way. She hung up the phone and looked to Iori, "You have to get him." She told him, "Please. Go through Jou's house, it's the safest path. Bring him here as fast as you can."

"As long as you call Natsuni too," Iori said, "Tell her what's going on."

"Of course," Hikari agreed as Iori got to his feet and was heading to the door, she then turned to Takeru, "You should go too." She told him.

"What?" He asked, "Shouldn't I stay here? Don't you need someone to be with you?"

"No, I'm fine. I just need some space." Hikari told him gently.

"Fine." Takeru said, annoyed. I could so relate to that. Hikari was a very kind girl, but as a girlfriend she liked to keep people from coming into her heart. That was the problem with our relationship. I was open and she was not. I really hoped Takeru was stronger than I was and could make it work anyway. I wanted them both to be happy.

"Okay." Hikari said finally watching Takeru fall into stride with Iori. "I'm coming too, apparently." He told him, looking to Hikari. Iori looked uncomfortably to Takeru for a moment. I knew the problems they were having. I was there when Yamato had screamed to Takeru, listening from down the hall. But Iori nodded, putting aside his differences for the time being. Takeru said a general goodbye blatently ignoring Yamato and Hikari, and followed Iori out the door where I assumed they would pick up the fallen cell phones.

Hikari's shaking hands were dialling Natsuni's number on Noriko's phone as Mari spoke up, "What if we use that time travelling key to go back and save that girl?"

"Not a good idea," A snide voice said from the corner of the room before any of us could get our hopes up. It was Katsue. She'd been given a room, but had become so used to sitting on her stool in the corner that she still sat there. She'd been given a desk and a computer though now as she documented everything that went on in the Coliseum. Monimon sat on her desk with her, looking to us with a sad emoticon face.

"And why not?" Hideto asked. He didn't particularly like her it seemed.

"Mari should remember," Katsue said, "When we went back in time to save that Gemini fellow—" "Gennai," Yamato corrected her—"we came back to the present and you were all dead."

"But that was years worth of collateral damage." I said, shaking my head, not liking her words whether they were true or not, "This must have only happened today, what damage could possibly be done?"

"A life for a life..." Mari said quietly, her eyes looking to the floor adamantly, "When one person's life is spared, another must take her place." Everyone was silent for a moment. Mari had told me once that she thought Lalamon's death could have to do with Sora's. Going back to save Sora, everyone assumed Arkadimon was the death that had taken her place, and perhaps that was true, but Mari reminded me that Arkadimon was a glitch and therefore was not meant to exist, so his life would not amount to Sora's. I assured her it was a coincidence, and she believed me I thought. It was in her denial stage, where she was sure she could bring her back. That was the worst stage to go through her with, because every morning she would wake up having forgotten about Lalamon and fall apart again when she remembered the truth.

"We can take Morestuna's life," Hideto said confidently.

"That wouldn't be right either," Kiyoko said softly, "Killing someone isn't a good guy characteristic." He seemed to be reminding Hideto of this fact as if they talked often about what being a good guy meant.

"Well killing an innocent girl isn't right." Hideto argued loudly, causing Kiyoko to turn his head upset. Mari took his hand to comfort him since Hideto was too angry to do so, and we all finally turned to Hikari who had gotten through to Natsuni.

"Hey," Hikari said, "No, it's not her. It's me. Where are you? Okay, well I'm coming to get you then. Yes I _am_. Okay fine, just get to the Digital World. Iori wants you here. Something happened to Noriko." She paused again, looking up to us and she swallowed thickly, "No, she's okay." She nodded, unsure of herself, "She has to be."

**_Natsuni Ando:_**

It was awkward. There was no other way to describe it. Armadillomon and Goblimon were upstairs in my childhood bedroom, playing with my old toys. They'd been given the strict instructions of making no noise, and pretending they didn't exist. No matter how hard I—or my father—glared at my mother she wouldn't cave and give them the freedom of wandering the house. I didn't live there any longer, I no longer had a say in anything that occurred under _her_ roof.

I was one hundred percent positive that it was _Dad's_ roof, since he was the only parent that had ever had an occupation. Mother was _far_ too busy being the perfect housewife and an overbearing mother to be able to hold a job. But whatever, she claimed it was hers, and that her word was law.

Dad was always too lenient. He let her get away with everything because he loved her. That's what he said anyway. I was pretty sure he didn't care because he wasn't home most of the time, because he was so busy picking up unnecessary, extra hours in the office. It wasn't as though Mother was planning to build a new addition to our house and needed the money. My childhood home didn't need refinishing. There was a reason she felt the need to be the perfect socialite. We were well off, and she did her very best to demonstrate that fact "tastefully" through her decoration choices. She was always off buying another painting, or decorative vase. There was a sleek, black, grand piano in the foyer next to the large winding staircase that curled around the room leading to the second floor. There was an overabundance of plant life—to demonstrate her non-existent _caring_ and _nurturing_ personality—and all of our furniture was handmade and crafted with the finest woods available. All stained in the exact same shade of mahogany. There were more rooms than I knew what to do with. It wasn't a mansion, mind you, but Mother had definitely built additions over the years. We had a sun nook, a library that doubled as my father's office, a_sitting room_ and of course the grand foyer. So no. Mother didn't need the money for renovations.

He went to work so much because he was avoiding her.

Dad was just too sweet to admit it to her, because he _did_ love her—though he'd admitted it was very rocky after I'd accidentally involved her in a journey to the Digital World. She'd never forgiven me for that, and she hated Goblimon's presence with a fiery passion that was hard to rival. Dad didn't like that. I was his 'precious baby girl'—his words, not my own—and he hated to see me upset. He wanted Mother to get over her 'petty and selfish opinions' and just get on with being a happy family.

Only Mother wasn't ready to do that—and I doubted she ever would be.

Which was why she was seated on the plastic covered arm chair on the opposite side of the living room, with a lamp on, and a book spread open upon her lap. She was turning the page ever six minutes. To the second. I'd timed her. She was so dramatic about her master plans of ignoring me until I went away.

And she called _me_ childish.

"How is Iori doing in school, he's coming close to finishing, isn't he? It must be harder now," Dad was saying. I nodded, and prattled off about all the inconsequential details of our lives, taking care to mention Iori's name, and the digimon, as often as possible, _just_ to try and get a rise out of my mother. But it never worked. She just kept counting the minutes until she could turn her page again.

And then my cell phone rang. I looked at the caller display and nearly put my phone away, since it was quite rude to answer whilst in the middle of a conversation. It was Noriko. I couldn't imagine why she was calling me though, so I pushed aside all thoughts of good manners, and accepted the call.

"This is Natsuni Ando, how can I help you?" I answered jovially.

"Hey."

"Hello, Noriko," I said, though the voice didn't sound quite right.

"No, it's not her," she answered. "It's me. Where are you?"

Hikari.

My heart started speeding up. What was Hikari doing with Noriko's cell phone?

"I'm at my parents' house," I told her. "Why?"

"Okay, well I'm coming to get you then," she said, sounding very determined.

"Uh, no, you're not," I said, shaking my head. Why did she need me? Was something wrong? What was I thinking? Of _course_ something was wrong. I could hear it in the tone of her voice. Was it Iori? Was it a digimon?

"Yes I _am_," she protested.

"I can get there myself," I assured her.

"Okay fine," she said giving in, her voice growing less controlled with each word she sent my way. "Just get to the Digital World. Iori wants you here."

I nearly sighed in relief, before I blurted out the word "Why?"

"Something happened to Noriko," she explained. I mentally slapped myself. Of course it was Noriko, why else would Hikari have her phone? And then it hit me, _something happened to Noriko._

"What?" I demanded. "Is she dead?"

"No, she's okay," Hikari assured me. I had a feeling she was mostly trying to convince herself though. "She has to be."

I promised to meet her soon, and then hung up, getting to my feet and pacing, trying to wrap my head around everything that was happening. Digimon were in danger. I'd known that already. The digidestined were being targeted. I knew that too. But the _chosen_ were being attacked? That was new. And it meant I wasn't safe anymore, like I thought I was. I figured that since it was just the digidestined on that documentary—truly an exemplary work, technically speaking, though it was unfortunate that it wasn't taken as positively as it should have been—that everyone else with a digimon would be safe so long as they didn't flaunt it around town.

Evidently I was wrong.

"What's wrong, sweetheart," Dad asked gently. "Tell me."

"I have to leave," I said. "My friend was hurt, I don't know how bad it is, but Iori needs me there. I need to be there for her too. Come with me. Please?"

"I can't just leave the office," he protested, though it was a feeble effort. He was only taking all the extra hours to get out of the house after all. He didn't _want_ to be here all the time. He also had a whack of holidays that he'd stockpiled. He _could_ do it. He could come with me. He could be safe. Maybe he'd even meet his own digimon partner. It could be a wonderful bonding experience for the two of us.

_Knock._

_Knock._

_Knock._

I turned my head to the foyer, confused. No one just knocked on the door of Mother's house. She'd installed an old fashioned knocker—shaped like a lion head—but a visitor was expected _not_ to use it, as she'd also been thoughtful enough to provide a doorbell. I glanced at Mother and Dad. Dad was just as confused as I was, and Mother's face was pinched, as though she was wincing at the sound of knuckles slamming into her precious door.

Dad and I both migrated to the foyer, not wanting to risk the chance that they'd knock again. I got there first, pulling open the door. My heart leap into my throat. Three people were standing on our door stoop. A tall, broad man whose muscles threatened to escape the tight black shirt he'd stretched over them. Next to him was a shorter man, stockier in build. His clothing wasn't so tight, but it too was black all over. The third was a woman, also dressed in black, but I had to look _way_ up to see her face. She was so tall, not bulky, but she definitely had some strong muscle tone going on.

They were the perfect picture of a bad guy's lackeys.

And I'd seen enough movies to know for sure.

"Can we help you?" Dad asked smoothly. His voice was charmingly warm, but there was a slight edge to it. It was obvious he wasn't being cordial. He wouldn't be inviting them in. He'd clearly drawn the same conclusion as I had.

"We've received notification that there are digimon on the premises," the shorter man said. His voice was loud, harsh, _excited_. I noticed the guns they had strapped to their belts. Each had two guns. They were exactly what Iori had warned the digimon of. They would kill them.

I almost panicked.

But I'd seen plenty of movies where the girl was the weak link, the one that couldn't hold herself together long enough for the heroes to talk their way out of a mess. I wasn't going to be one of those girls. Not when I had Goblimon and Armadillomon upstairs. I had to be strong. So I swallowed my fear and panic and looked the men straight in the eyes, not backing down, but not showing defiance either. Dad and I had to play the perfect balance of affronted and confused. I knew he could do it. But could I?

"You know, I haven't the foggiest where you heard that horrid rumour," Dad said with a baffled smile. "There aren't any digimon here." I shook my head, looking at them, puzzled. I didn't trust my voice not to break, so I kept my mouth shut. Noriko. Dad. Goblimon. Armadillomon. _Breathe Natsuni, breathe!_I pushed back the thoughts again.

"We'd like to canvas the house," the woman declared. "We're under strict orders to _not_ leave without confirming a lack of digimon presence."

"I think I would know if there were any of those..._vermin_...in _my_ home," Dad growled at them, sneering when applicable, and overall giving the most amazing performance of his life. If I hadn't known his stance on digimon was a favourable one, that sentence alone would've convinced me he was with DWD.

"Of course sir," the woman said. She was still unsure, but his utter disgust at digimon was enough to convince them that he was serious. We'd won this battle! The digimon were safe. I was ready to dance in circles and cheer at the top of my lungs.

But that feeling fled quickly.

A pair of heels clicked their way to the foyer, and Mother walked in—with perfect grace and poise, _obviously_—stopping in the doorway to the living room. "They're lying you know," she informed our unwanted guests. "I would know. I _was_ the one that called to inform you of our infestation. They're upstairs. Turn left at the top of the stairs, and it's the second door on your right."

I could only stare at my mother as she betrayed two of my closest friends. Any hope I'd had that she could redeem herself was gone. She wasn't a human being anymore. She was one of _them_. She was a monster. My heart was pounding in my chest, trying to break free of my ribcage. I slowly stepped backwards, away from the door, trying not to alert the _exterminators_ to my intentions.

But it was taking too long.

I turned on my heel and bolted towards the staircase that was too close to the door. They'd get there in no time. Dad slammed the door on them, locking it quickly, and started racing after me. I was three steps from the bottom when I realized his plan. He was shoving the grand piano with all his might towards the steps. He was going to block them—temporarily, because they could easily climb over it, or simply shove it aside—to give _me_ time to escape.

But what about him?

"Dad," I shrieked. "Dad you're coming with me!"

"No," he said looking me straight in the eye. He was dead serious. There was no way I could change his mind. I could feel the tears starting to come. "Listen to me. You get to the digimon and you get them out. They're family, Natsuni. _Ando_s protect their family." He glared at Mother, and she seemed appalled that he excluded her from the family name, replacing her with digimon. But I didn't care if her _feelings_were hurt. Dad was right. The members of DWD were slamming into the door, trying to get it to open, despite the locks. "I can hold them off," Dad told me. "I'm going to keep you safe. Promise me you're going to go."

"I don't want to leave you," I pleaded.

"Go!" he shouted.

The door fell onto the floor with a loud crash, and I was racing up the stairs. Once I reached the top, I risked one last look, and saw Dad punching them, kicking them, throwing vases and potted plants. But the tall guy, the really strong one, decked Dad in the face, and he fell to the floor.

"Daddy!" I screamed. My vision was blurred and my voice crackled. Somehow, my feet knew to keep going and I was racing down the hall. Thanks to Mother, they knew exactly which door to go to. I knocked over the pedestals with Mother's prized art pieces—the vases, the sculptures—and the plants that were in my way. If they wanted to get to the digimon, they'd have to work for it.

I threw the door to my old bedroom open and slammed it shut behind me. I screamed for Goblimon to help me with the dresser. He shoved it in front of the door after I'd flicked the lock. He added the side tables and the waste bin too.

"What's wrong?" Armadillomon asked.

"Everything's going to be fine," I told him, deciding that the explanation could wait until later. I pressed the power button to my old desktop computer and tapped my hand impatiently on the tabletop. Why couldn't this go faster? "Guys, get away from the door. Stay by me, okay? Just get over here."

I'd never realized I could be _thankful_ that my desk was on the same wall as the door. Armadillomon snuggled up to my feet, and Goblimon put his big hands on my shoulders. We watched together as the logos started dancing on the screen.

"Come on, _come on_!" I shouted. I pulled my digivice out of my pocket, glad that I'd forgone the purse idea and stuck with a simple sweater. I had my phone and my digivice and my wallet. Nothing clunky to try and transport. Mostly though, I was just thankful that I'd thought to even _bring_ my digivice on this visit. I was always forgetting it at home.

"What's that?" Goblimon asked, afraid. I flinched, realizing that the DWD people were shaking the door handle, trying to open it. The screen was loaded now, but I had to get the gateway up and running, and that would take time. This wasn't the newest computer model.

"Ignore it," I suggested, getting ready to punch my screen. They'd started tackling the door or something. Whatever they'd done to get the front door open, they were doing it again. The banging stopped though, suddenly. For a brief second, I thought they'd decided to leave us alone. I should've known better.

"What's _that_?" Goblimon asked, confused and terrified at the same time. It was a strange sound, but familiar too. It was in almost every sci-fi movie I'd ever seen. It was the sound effect used with alien weaponry, laser guns, plasma blasters...

"Guns," I whispered. They were _shooting_ my door. I wondered how long the barricade would hold out against them. They were yelling at us. They didn't want to hurt _me_. If I'd just surrender the digimon, then they'd leave me alone. DWD was the future, and I would see the light soon. I just had to see it to _believe_ in the cause.

"Just give us the beasts!" the gruff voice yelled. It was the short one.

"If anyone's a beast it's _you_!" I screamed at them, hurting my vocal chords with the sheer volume of it. I looked at my screen. The gate was there! Yes. I just needed to open it and we'd be safe. I grabbed my digivice only to send it tumbling to the floor when a blast of purple light shot through my room on our left. There was a hole in my door. They'd shot a hole right through my door. I quickly grabbed my fallen digivice and activated the gate, hearing more shots being fired. As we disappeared into the computer I screamed—one of them had stuck their hand through the hole, and started firing shots at random. One was headed directly towards us.

And then we were surrounded by the Temple walls.

I looked to Goblimon and Armadillomon. They were both there. We'd made it. We were all in one piece. I collapsed to the floor, crying for Dad—was he going to be okay?—crying for our close call. It was an ugly sobbing, and I my whole body was shaking with the effort, my heart beat still far too fast, my hands shaking. I wrapped my arms around Armadillomon, heaving him onto my knees, and then Goblimon did the same to me. I was the centre of a digimon sandwich, and we were all crying together, so happy to still have this chance.

I knew I'd have to tell them—and the others—the story soon, but I'd do it later.

If I stopped crying by then.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Things have officially moved past petty battles and hate crimes, it is now developing into a full on war as Daisuke, Kurayami and Michael pull the third part to a close.


	30. Flames of Fear

**Y/N: **I wrote Davis's. It's written. The arc is over. The end.

**U/N: **I really like the direction Kura/Kari are going in this story so it's really fun to write as Kurayami but it's also really hard because everything about her is so... emotional and drastic and intense and messed up and ugh. It's hard, and I'll always like writing Michael, so that's fine xD

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 3: Ignorance**

**Chapter 30: Flames of Fear**

_**Michael Washington:**_

Tatum walked through the door, looking to me frustrated, "Michael, I can't believe this is happening."

I jumped to my feet without thinking and threw my arms around her. "I know," I told her softly as she hugged me back. Tatum had been taking Noriko's shooting very hard. It seemed as though no one in the lab had questioned what the side-effects of this weapon would be on a human. They'd scanned the gun, taken it apart and come to a complete understanding of its mechanics and how it would affect a digimon. But not a human.

They were stressed out over what might happen to Noriko, or what might happen to others—or what might have _already_ happened to others. If they were shooting people now just because they were in the way—well. Well that was illegal at the very least.

Betamon looked up to us as we pulled apart, his breath slow and cautious, "Is she still alive?" Tatum nodded, but not confidently. She was alive, but who knew for how much longer? This could be the end for Noriko, a girl who I barely knew but certainly didn't want her to die. We weren't able to get to her because the people who had come along with her, Hikari and Iori were sent with Jou in our last data stream trip. They promised Meiyomon he wouldn't have to do it again, and that he wouldn't be held accountable for any more lives. They wouldn't risk it anymore.

We had to wait for Ken and Koushiro's parents to run back and forth between the Temple and the Coliseum, which took them a lot longer than it did Yamato and Iori when they had been the ones making the journey because ever since the Death Knights had been defeated the timelines were synced once more. Everyone's parents were old when they came here now and not young like they once were. There were so many less digimon that needed to be moved to the Coliseum now, but according to Willis there was very little room left. They were looking for the passage that would lead to the underground West wing. The right—the horrible place I refused to think of where horrible things happened—was filled already. There wasn't much room. We'd have to send some digimon to other places. Like Piximon's home, or wherever Tinkermon was always blabbing about.

She talked to me a lot. It started because she said Jenna and I had perfect skin, then she explained to Tatum that she should follow our moisturizing routines, and after that, every time she saw me she would stop and tell me what she was doing to help out. Petermon, her friend was off helping somewhere by luring baby digimon from all over into the Primary Village. He'd apparently been to the Koromon village and was now heading to the Yokomon one to save all of them as well.

They were all lucky though. They weren't trapped in the Temple like we were. This was supposed to be a safe haven. A secret place of hope that Gennai had created to keep everyone safe. To keep his knowledge safe, and now it was being invaded. Well not yet, not technically, but it was still evident that it could happen at any time. Unless we got rid of those stupid tanks everywhere which seemed impossible. But it was _not_ impossible to get rid of the weapons they were using. I told Jenna not to follow the dots because it was dangerous, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to do exactly that. I had located the signal and was now able to find the base of the operations. I hadn't told anyone aside from Tatum and Jenna though.

Tatum was working, using the one I'd used, to find a way to remove the tracking devices from the poor digimon who still had them attached to themselves. There were quite a few. There was Wizardmon, and Andromon, and Candlemon along with the other fight club digimon and whoever else had both the setback of be targeted by the enemy, and the fortune of having been targeted _before_ they had come out with their newest model. A gun that could sink through the Digimon's fractal codes and erase them from existence completely.

"We're on the last residential segment." Tatum said with an optimistic smile, pulling out a chair in front of a cheap looking desk that came with our crazy expensive motel room. I was pretty sure we had stopped paying for each night with everything going on, but I wasn't entirely sure. Tatum did the money work usually so I wouldn't spend it on crazy things like that time I bought a giant wizard statue made of gold. She returned that on me too, which was mean. But she bought a cheaper ballerina statue in its place and it looked very classy in our entrance foyer. "Sector E," Tatum said, less enthusiastic now. "Just five hundred residents live there. That's not so bad."

"Then we get to go," I said with a smile, "That's not bad at all, you're right. Just a few days, maybe." I was shortening the amount of time I knew it would take to boost Tatum's spirits, but had inadvertently dashed Betamon's hopes of never having to go back to the Coliseum again. I felt bad for him because I swore I would never make him go back there... but there wasn't a choice now. I had to. We couldn't leave him here at the Temple alone because any day now the enemy could barge through the doors and attack us. They were basically waiting for us to get rid of our defences, and then come and take over. That's what it seemed like anyway, and sure we'd kept all of the strongest digimon here until the last leg of the race, but what if they _did_ come inside, and _won_? Then who would fight them off? If the strongest digimon were gone, then so was any hope that their race would have the strength to continue.

And Betamon would be gone.

"I made soup," Jenna said brightly, carrying in a steaming pot of disgusting looking tar. There was a full slice of bread half floating, half sunken in the thick brown liquid. "It's starchy."

"You think?" Tatum asked as Jenna set it in front of her. Tatum poked what looked like a full baked potato and smiled up to Jenna politely, "I'm good, thanks though."

"Oh come on," Jenna insisted, "This is probably _way_ better than my attempt at grilled cheese!"

"I still can't believe you forgot the bread." Tatum said, trying to smile at her.

"I didn't forget!" Jenna insisted, "I just thought you had to melt the cheese first! It was an easy mistake to make."

"Yeah, sure." I said with a laugh, "Well, I think I'll eat some more sushi if that's okay with you guys."

"Ooooh," Betamon said, shaking his head, "You know I don't like it when you eat fish! That's creepy and wrong."

"Whatever," Jenna decided, "I'm going to eat this with my partner, Kudamon. Because _he_ doesn't inherently hate me." Kudamon, who was sitting in the doorway to the little kitchen our room had attached to it, looked up to Jenna with shocked eyes and then ran off to hide. "Oh come on!" Jenna insisted angrily.

Ever since she'd gotten back from her date thing with Chi she had been cooking and cleaning non-stop with an intense look in her eyes as if everything had to go perfect. I didn't know what was wrong, and I didn't want to know unless she felt it was time to tell me, and as she clearly did not think that way, neither did I. "I am going though," I said to everyone, "Not to the sushi place," I assured Betamon, "I need to clear my head a bit." The others ignored me because that was such a normal thing for a person to need to do, so I set off, out the door and down the steps.

I wasn't actually clearing my head. I just had work to do. Important work that I wouldn't tell anyone about because I knew they'd stop me. And sure it wasn't a good idea to go _alone_. Not anymore. Not any_where_. But I was going to because I wanted to make sure I took part in something. I wanted to help in any way I could and no one got anywhere by playing it safe.

I saw myself in the window of a nearby makeup shop that seemed pointless because digimon rarely wore makeup, and groaned. I'd missed my haircut last week, so I looked horrible. My pores were stretching out, and my hair was long and gross looking. I was wearing the only clothes I had clean that Tatum had brought, and I looked ridiculous. My green jacket was over a red plaid shirt, and I looked like some lumberjack working on Santa's newest sleigh. I messed my hair up to attempt to make it look more presentable and entirely failed, ignoring it and hurrying toward those who were crowded in the courtyard just off of the Council doorways. I pressed my back against a wall and listened into their conversation so no one would know I was there.

"... no more cell phones to give," Sora was saying, "We can't wait any longer though. We need to send more digimon at a time."

"What if we use a different door?" Taichi suggested, "What if we send people through the Land of Dreams? We can make them hide there."

"And then close the door, locking them there indefinitely?" Sora asked, "That doesn't seem like a good idea."

"We could give them the key to Earth." Taichi reasoned, "And we'll... I don't know."

"It isn't a bad plan," Koushiro said, "We might use that if it comes to it. For now I think we should keep sending the digimon to the Coliseum. If they have the ability to track change, and break the fabric of the gap between Earth and the Digital World I would rather not give them any indication that more worlds are in existence. They can barely comprehend the one they are fighting against."

"Could you imagine the chaos?" Sora said quietly.

"I could," Benjamin said. "This chaos has happened before."

Everyone was silent for a moment, and I thought I'd been caught eavesdropping, but they continued in hushed tones, so I was able to relax. Until someone grabbed my legs. "Hey," I said, looking down to the brown haired girl. "Emiko, what are you doing?"

"Racing Monmon," She said, pointing to a big yellow ape behind her. "He's big now."

"Why doesn't he de-digivolve?" I asked as Apemon bound toward me. He slid to a stop and poked my forehead, laughing excitedly, having come in second place of the two of them. So, last.

"Mom says not to." Emiko said with a dramatic sigh, "She says the people might come get him."

"They can detect anti-digivolving too?" I questioned.

"Huh?" She asked, looking to me confused.

"Never mind," I told her, "You go on." She didn't have to be told twice. She pointed to a lamp post across the street and ran off, racing Apemon who _had_ to be letting her win. He was stumbling and falling too much for it to be realistic. Momoe was sitting against a nearby wall watching her daughter and looking like something had been torn from her chest. D'arcmon was sitting with her, holding a Demidevimon that had refused to go until his partner returned for him. I wondered if she ever would. What if it had been her that deserted him all along? Or what if she met the same fate as Noriko?

D'arcmon's shining optimistic light would surely set them both on the track to a good mood though. It was inevitable. She was a really kind woman. A perfectly timed woman too. With everyone distracted I was able to slip into the council hallway and head straight for the doorway to Earth. I didn't know how to adjust the portal, so I kicked it and pulled it open. It seemed to be heading to a street near Mimi's old restaurant.

"Want help?"

I turned to see, of course, Mimi standing next to a fluttering ball of gold energy. Upon closer inspection I saw it was Tinkermon.

"Yeah," I said, "Can you help this send me to New York?"

"Why?" Mimi asked as Tinkermon flew toward me, "What are you doing there?"

"Talking to my parents?" I tried. Mimi smiled as Tinkermon handed me a key that was larger than her body. She struggled to carry it, so I took it quickly. Tinkermon explained how to use it and soon I was staring directly down the street I wanted to go to.

"That's not the right street." Mimi said, looking over my shoulder, "That's not where your parents live, Michael."

"I know, I just need a good long walk to plan my strategy." I smiled to her nervously, "You know how stubborn they can be." Mimi nodded, hardly believing what I was saying and then she turned her back.

"Can you get my mom for me?" She asked. I wanted to say yes, that I would go get Mrs Tachikawa, but I couldn't lie to Mimi, and collecting parents was not actually in the game plan for me at the moment. I tried to come up with an excuse, something that I was doing instead. _Just kidding, not actually getting my parents, just finding a rare exotic bird feather to propose to Tatum with._ But nothing was coming to my mind, and Mimi spun back around to face me. "You're not going for your parents are you?" I paused too long, "Michael, don't you dare lie to me." She pointed her finger at me and marched toward me. "Don't you dare go do something stupid. I know it's something stupid because I know that's something you would do. Lie to me and go do something that you're going to regret."

"I won't regret it," I said, shaking my head. She looked to me like she wanted to tie me up so I couldn't leave, "Because I really am going to talk to Mary and my dad." I lied to her. It sounded so believable though. Like a promise. "And if I have time I will go get your mom for you. And your dad. I'll bring them back for you."

"Promise?" She asked, her voice so small it sounded like it belonged to someone Tinkermon's size. Mimi's eyes were welling up with tears and she turned away. I didn't know who she was trying to kid though. We all knew she'd been crying a lot, it was impossible to ignore even without Tinkermon pointing out the puffy bags under her eyes all the time. Mimi seemed to want everyone to think she was stronger than she thought she was. But Mimi was one of the strongest people I'd ever met, because she'd never strayed from her own personal truth.

"You can trust me," I said, trying to find a way around actually promising. Mimi looked like what I'd said wasn't going to be enough with her head turned like she wasn't done trying to convince me, but breathed in sharply, and let out a long sigh.

"Okay," Mimi said finally. "Go then." She walked off, down the hallway, "And I don't have to say bye because you'll be right back with my parents, right?"

"Of course," I lied again as Mimi left the hallway, and turned into the kitchen.

"You're not getting her parents are you?" Tinkermon asked, and I shook my head slowly, putting a finger to my lips. She nodded, understanding that secrets were important in these times of need, and she flew down the hallway, "I'll keep her happy," she hissed turning after Mimi into the kitchen.

"Who knows," I said to myself, stepping through the portal, my foot landing on the cold concrete sidewalk of New York City. "Maybe I'll be done here in enough time to get our parents anyway..." It didn't have to be a lie. If I moved quickly I could assure Mimi's happiness by showing her parents to her. Proving they were okay. And Minervamon and—well I didn't think Keisuke had a partner yet. Neither of my parents did, that was for sure. But, of course, before getting our parents I would have to complete my secret plan of amazing strategy.

I marched straight up to the tall building at the end of the street. The one that had been blinking on the map after using my tracking devices to uncover the truth. It was a tall abandoned shoe factory. This was the exact location of where the tracking devices were sending their signal to. I hoped. I wasn't exactly Mr Computer-Genius here, but I was ninety percent sure I'd done it all correctly.

I hesitated, staring at the front door and then bracing myself before pushing it, finding it to be locked. I shook it a few times. Of course it would be locked. The building was abandoned, but still where they kept things, clearly. I picked up a brick that had fallen from the shabby exterior of the building and threw it directly at one of the windows. I watched as the glass fell away, shattering and cascading over the floor inside. The entire glass door was now a big open window with dangerously jagged edges.

I stepped over the threshold and looked to my right, noticing a spinning door that already had broken glass that I could have gone through. "Oops," I shrugged.

So maybe I wasn't exactly as eloquent as Alias III when breaking into buildings, but I was still getting the job done. Hopefully.

To my left there was a set of stairs that went straight down. From what I remembered from Mari and Jenna's stories about the first meeting they'd gone to, that was where everyone gathered. It seemed unlikely to me that they would keep anything important inside, but just to be sure I checked it out. I moved quickly but silently, in case anyone was inside still. The steps were tiled and my shoes made soft clicking sounds whenever they came in contact.

The room I came to was large and wide. Like a church. But like, a church that worshipped Satan. So, not a church. The walls were white and dirty and there were tiny windows lining the ceiling, showing nothing but dirty ground through stained glass. But not the beautiful artsy stained glass. This was glass that was stained with mud and dust. There was a wooden stage at the far end of the room, about two feet tall with metal arches equipped with spotlights. It reminded me of the first play I took part in where I played the broccoli. I wanted the part of the ham, but apparently I was being type casted as a vegetable. Other than a curtain hung loosely over the back frame of the stage there was nothing here to take note of, so I hurried back upstairs, and looked around. There was a toilet sitting in the far corner which was ridiculous. It had apparently fallen through the ceiling as it was surrounded by broken tiles and ceiling panels. The rest of the room was just as messy and gross, the floor coated in dust. There was a set of stairs but it didn't look like anyone would be able to use them, they were too blocked off, and there was far too thick a layer of dust for it to be accessed often.

My mind suddenly lit up with an idea as my eyes fell to the floor. Just as I had thought. There were faint footprints pressed into the layer of dirt and dust leading behind the stairs. I followed them, careful to step exactly where they had been placed just in case. Not that I'd come in thinking I'd be unnoticed. I broke a door without even thinking about it.

The footprints led me to a door, and I grinned. I pressed my ear against it before opening, to make sure no one was inside. It seemed silent, and so I reached forward and wrapped my fingers around the dirty silver door handle. And then my phone rang.

My heart jumped and I pulled it out of my pocket quickly, annoyed, answering it before it could keep ringing. "Go away!" I hissed quietly, "I'm busy!"

"I am offended!" Mr Smith's whining voice came sharply through the phone. "I am simply calling to inform you that I did indeed state this was going to happen."

"Just say it normal." I rolled my eyes, knowing what he wanted to say.

He cleared his throat into the phone and sighed, "I told you so."

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

He ignored me, "I assume you are busy planning the funeral of our dear beloved Betamon after what happened earlier this week. I must say I am _shocked_ you did not tell me about it sooner. I was left to find out about this by the press? Like a mere fan of your work? I am not a fan of your work, Michael."

"Don't I know it," I rolled my eyes.

"Now don't be that way," Mr Smith sighed, "I love you Michael, you know I do. But if you would have taken my advice this never would have happened."

"I wanted it to happen," I said flatly.

"Pardon me?"

"I can make plans on my own," I told him, "Your job was to keep my future moving, and I had to do it myself by making an awesome plan to break down the enemy."

"Now I have no idea what you're referring to," Mr Smith stated the obvious, "but I must point out that you were out in public without permission. I must ask you to never do so again."

"Uhhh..." I looked around and cleared my throat. This wasn't technically the public was it? "Yeah sure thing." Never though? That was a long time to never ever go outside without written permission and a bodyguard. I could do what I wanted. And that's what I was doing now. I was doing exactly what I wanted with no one's permission. Did that make me a spoiled kid who just wanted to feel the thrill of rebellion? Probably. But I didn't care!

I tightened my cold fingers around my phone, ready to hang up on Mr Smith, and head through the building to complete my mission, but he spoke once more. "And your crying? I saw it on a cell phone recording. Someone taped you—it was such an ugly cry. You should work on that. Crying must be gentle and beautiful, or—" I hung up the phone, anger coursing through me. He thought Betamon was dead and the thing he was upset about was that my crying face was ugly? Everyone's crying face was ugly! Except perhaps Tatum's...

The feeling of nervousness and frustration mixing in my chest was something I was not used to, though it was not an entirely foreign concept. I'd been in highly intense situations before, and compared to them, this was nothing. But I had always been able to rely on my friends to back me up, but here I was heading into this alone after being thoroughly pissed off by a man who constantly belittled me. I was left to stare at the door in front of me and wait as the feeling of sheer disappointment in myself and in Mr Smith coursed through my entire body. Down my spine, and straight to the tips of my fingers and toes. It was a tingling sensation of pure frustration. I couldn't explain it any other way.

I wasn't typically an angry guy but I was now, partly with myself. I was frustrated that I'd gone out with a fake Betamon. It seemed like an awesome idea, but now seeing the aftermath it just felt wrong, like Mr Smith had just taken all the fun out of being a secret agent. And because now I was alone and only now did I realize how dumb I was being. But it wasn't too late to turn back.

But what would be the point? I was already here.

I reached forward quickly and my senses became hyper aware. My fingers were holding a doorknob that seemed to be a thousand miles away from my grip the air was ringing with total silence now, the room smelled like the streets of New York. Damp and a bit like smoke.

I ripped the door open and stepped inside, ready to find the tracking devices and destroy them along with whatever equipment was kept inside here, and their technology.

But I'd gotten my wish. I was not alone.

Sitting against the wall, blowing a bubble was Tyler Arthur, his large arms folded over his chest. Next to him was his brother Ricky Arthur, his hair longer and messier. He was looking to me, one eyebrow raised as he grinned foolishly.

Sitting at the table in the middle of the room was a girl I'd not seen before. Her hair was long and dark and in a braid that fell past the waistband of her ripped black jeans. Her eyes were filled with a spark of fire concealed within the emerald green. Her big pink lips curled into a smile and she looked to the man next to her. I recognized him easily.

It was Marshal. Did anything else have to be said about him? His short red hair was messy and he was grinning in that way he always seemed to do.

But that wasn't what really caught my eye. After noticing the younger residents in the room, I realized I'd found the right place. I'd found the large computer and big wooden crates that must have concealed the weapons I was searching for. Then I noticed how absolutely screwed I was.

And then I noticed a man who looked way too similar to Willis' boss Director Arnold for it to be suspicious... so what were they all up to?

Well I didn't want to stay to find out, so I spun on my heel and was racing toward the door as fast as I could. The front door that is, the one I'd broken open. I heard chairs being thrown and footsteps following me, and the last thing I was aware of was that someone had wrapped a thick arm around my waist and dragged me to the floor where my head bashed against the surface.

_**Kurayami Motomiya:**_

I'd been spending my time with my father recently. My father, Labramon, Daisuke and Haruki. It was a very strange feeling to no longer reside in the home that had gotten us through so much. That was where we'd first moved in together. When I sort of invaded Takeru and Daisuke's space. A place where Norn had come and stayed and we'd taken care of her and inadvertently given her the wrong information to take to Yggdrasil. It was where Takeru and I really became friends, and where the three of us had gone through the past three years together. It was the home I introduced Haruki to. That was what I said to him. _"Hey, this is home."_ It was our _home_.

And because the three of us had gone through enough unfortunate events in the past few months to cause us to lose everything, we were forced to leave. Everything was now packed, and sitting in both the Coliseum and my father's house. I'd already be there, at the Coliseum, but there were a few things I needed to get done. That, and the Temple wasn't safe and I didn't want to bring my baby to a place that was being guarded all day every day by our enemy. I'd go when I was assured that my baby was going to make it to the safe house alive.

"Just because our destination is safe, does not mean the journey will be."

It was what I kept reminding Daisuke, over and over whenever he asked me why we weren't there. I would have been okay with him going if he wanted to. It was his own decision, and I was certainly not the kind of wife that would keep him from doing what he thought was best for himself and his family. I was just a very protective mother, and I would keep Haruki from harm.

Daisuke was out now, somewhere. He didn't tell me where he was going, but I didn't ask. If I needed to know, he would tell me. And if I _needed_ to know, then I would not let him go, because that would imply it was not safe. I did not want him rushing off into a dangerous situation just because he was feeling tense and restless.

Labramon was at home with my father, and sure as I was that my father would never betray me by hurting Labramon, I checked in with them every fifteen minutes, just to ensure both were still safe. Everyone kept telling me I was paranoid, but I wasn't. I was being meticulous. I would not let anyone of my friends fall into harm's way.

Except Noriko... but, that was out of my control. No more pain would be caused by these horrible people on my watch. A long time prior to now, about a lifetime ago it seemed, a vicious being had tapped into the darkest corners of my mind and unleashed the potentials the crest of darkness had bestowed upon me. Sure I was not filled with enough hate to trigger these responses again, but it could happen. I _could_ find it within myself to use the powers of darkness against another person. I was like the freaking Grudge when I got going. I had caused Yamato to perceive what he thought was his friends dying, again and again, and had also managed to get he and Sora into a relationship oddly enough. That wasn't particularly evil. I'd brainwashed Koushiro and exploited Mimi's greatest fear and managed to duplicate her in an attempt to cause an immensely guilty conscience. I created a demonic version of Sora to haunt Taichi for years to come, and drew Hikari to follow me into the Dark Ocean where Dragomon attempted to make his final stand against her. And somehow, none of that compared to what I did to Jou. I'd made him think his mother was alive again... and then broke his heart, helping him to come to the conclusion once again that she was dead.

I knew their deepest fears because of Fanglongmon, sure, but I didn't need to know the fears of these enemies to know that I could tear them down. Darkness could be gentle and calm, but it could also become a raging nightmare. Darkness was about balance, and no one wanted to see what would happen when that balance was shifted.

If anyone touched one hair on the head of someone I cared about while I was around to say something about it, they wouldn't be very pleased with their current life choices. I'll say that to keep it simple.

My dad was scared of that part of me, and I could tell, because every time I walked into the room he would look to me startled, and then wait a few moments before reminding me how much I reminded him of my mother. My mother who had snapped and lost all sense of reality. A broken woman who was unable to survive on her own and forced another being to enter her own thoughts to help her through a difficult time.

Then again, I _had_ done the same.

I had deserted those who cared about me because I felt helpless and craved guidance. Fanglongmon had given me that. He had shown me the way to my mother, if not exactly the way I expected. I shuddered, frightened of the memory I now recalled. The one that had haunted me for weeks, ever since Hikari had drawn them from my thoughts. The broken, pale and decomposing corpse of my mother, against that dripping stone wall in the darkness. Her vacant eyes staring toward me, hollow and yet aware. Aware that her daughter had come to see her. Aware that I came for her, and that I wanted her back. Aware of what I hadn't been thanks to Fanglongmon.

Hikari had done me an enormous favour, and I was thankful for what she had done, helping me retrieve my memories, but I could not look at her yet. I couldn't see her face, or hear her voice without remembering exactly what I'd seen. All of it. The darkness that had clouded my mind for so long, the power Fanglongmon had possessed, Apocalymon's wicked ways... betraying my friends who by now must have forgotten all about me. Flybeemon had been killed by Apocalymon after Fanglongmon promised to re-grow the forest around his home. Fangmon had been shown that his home all along had been with those who could learn to care for him. Porcupamon was taken to a land where he would feel at home. And I was taken away from my own home. To a dark, horrible place.

Sometimes I would find myself so lost in those forgotten memories that I would forget I was still alive. That I was here, and now, with my baby and my husband and with Labramon. Life was better now. My mother and my brother were both at peace... but whenever the darkness came around I feared my father was right. What if this was what had happened to my mother? What if she fell back to the darkness time and time again, and this was why she had finally gone insane? I knew I easily could if I was unable to control the urges to sink into the memories.

The sound of squealing car tires brought the world around me flooding back into existence. I screamed, pulling sharply backward on the rubbery handgrip that my fingers were tightly curled around causing my knuckles to turn white. There was a light shower of rain coming down on us from the dreary grey sky, falling directly downward. There were people everywhere, and momentarily I forgot where exactly I was, but the sight of the red car swerving through the puddles in the middle of the road. The woman in the driver's seat was screaming through her window at me as she narrowly avoided the fire hydrant on the side of the road, and my eyes followed her line of sight down to the stroller in front of me.

My baby.

I'd almost killed my son! All because I was caught up in my stupid memories.

I looked around and saw I was being stared at by more people than usual, and pushed the buggy along, horrified. No one could know I'd been zoned out, they would think I was a crazy person, a horribly unfit mother who did not deserve such a precious child such as Haruki. And that was true. I didn't deserve anything I'd been given. I'd never once done something to deserve this happiness I'd been rashly given at such a young age. I wasn't fit to be a mother! I didn't know what it meant to _have_ a mother let alone to _be_ one. How was this just hitting me now? I moved around the stroller to look into the eyes of my child.

Haruki.

He was so innocent, and so young. He looked to me, so trusting and unaware of what the world was bringing to him. A woman who was doomed to suffer from eternal darkness. I could not be his mother! I could not be to him what my mother was to me.

Before I knew it I was crying, kissing his forehead. I looked into his eyes again and saw that his open infant mind had enough empathy to feel my pain. He was crying too now, not loudly or dramatically as a child normally would. He had silent tears running from his eyes as he pouted, looking to me.

I could not be a mother.

I could not be a wife.

I slammed my back against the wall of whatever building I'd found and fell to a heap on the ground, my head in my hands, tears falling from my eyes.

"Kurayami?"

I looked up and saw my grandfather's nurse standing, holding a large bag of recycling. "It is you," She said with a gentle smile, "Would you like to talk about whatever is getting to you?" I looked around, unable to speak, feeling as young as Haruki. I had come to the hospital. Of course I had... I shook my head finally and looked to the nurse, "Would you like me to take you to see your grandfather?"

I tried to say that I would love that, but sound refused to escape my lips, so I nodded. The nurse dropped the recycling into a nearby dumpster and pulled me to my feet, pushing Haruki's stroller as she walked with me. "No Labramon today?" She asked kindly, and I shook my head. Then she was silent, thankfully. I didn't know if I had anything to say to her. I had _so_ much to say, but who could I tell? Certainly not this friendly nurse who I knew nothing about. I couldn't tell Daisuke either. I didn't want to worry him. We'd worked so well as a team up until now. Haruki was not planned, but we were making the most of what we had, and with a lot of help from Takeru. What would they say if I told either of them that I was scared now? How would they react?

As the nurse stepped out of the eerie elevator, pushing Haruki toward my grandfather's room I knew it was a sign. He was the one I would talk to. He always knew just what to say.

"I'll leave you to it then?" The nurse suggested, and then walked off. I forgot to thank her as my eyes fell onto Haruki. The entire hospital was lit with these old fluorescent bulbs that worked slower than typical bulbs creating the illusion of flickering lights. The walls were clean and painted white brick to match the white tiled floors. Hospitals always freaked me out because when I'd been younger I thought the shadows who had been after me were ghosts, and I always thought ghosts would be around hospitals. It was also why I had developed a slightly irrational fear of nurses which of course was part of the reason I'd been unable to speak to the kind woman.

I pushed Haruki's stroller from one tiled room to the next, and saw white curtains pulled around the only bed in the room. The bathroom door was hanging open ever so slightly and I could see myself in the mirror through the darkness, pushing Haruki, and forced myself to look away.

I reached over Haruki and pulled the curtains back to reveal a bed with mostly white blankets, though topped with a green quilt. There was a white wooden bedside table where Grandpa kept his favourite things. A photograph of the two of us sat front and center. Behind it was another of Daisuke, myself and Haruki, and there were things from my mother and father's lives as well. My mother's youthful eyes seemed to bore through me as I tried desperately to ignore the photograph and I was not sure if it was real, or just imagined but the beeping of the monitor that sat on the table behind the oxygen and blood dispenser things was beating faster and faster.

"Grandpa?" I said softly, placing my hand on his shoulder.

He woke with a start and rounded on me. His pure white mustache was sticking out in weird angles, and his mostly bald head was shining and clean. His eyes were slightly bloodshot as he had just woken up. He made some weird sounds and then laughed when the realization settled in. "It's only you," he told me as if I'd forgotten. "I'd been having another nightmare."

"You're having more nightmares?" I asked nervously.

"Oh yes," Grandpa said, far too cheerfully, his voice still croaking with the sleep it had been stolen from, "But my father told me once that everything must get much worse before it gets any better."

"You will get better," I promised him, "You'll come home again, just like last time."

"Oh, Darling," he said, his weak, wrinkled hand grabbing my own, "Going home is not the happy ending I was referring to."

"Don't do that," I said, shaking my head, "you sound like you've given up."

"My dear," Grandpa said, trying to smile, "When you've lived as long as I have, death is not something to be feared. I have found myself so close to the experience many times throughout my life, and it has taught me one thing. The ending is not always a bad thing." I found myself unable to talk again and tears were once again falling from my eyes. "Kura," He said kindly, "Do not cry, you are upsetting Haruki." I turned to see that once again, Haruki was crying silently.

I got to my feet and pulled him from his stroller, hugging him close to me. His tiny, pudgy arms wrapped gently around my neck and I bobbed him up and down. "Haruki," I said, turning to Grandpa, "you should spend time with your great-grandfather." Grandpa looked up with a big toothy grin and slowly and shakily pulled himself to a seated position where I handed Haruki off to him. "He likes you a lot."

"I like him too," Grandpa said looking into the young, wide eyes of Haruki, and taking his hand. "I find it beautiful," he said to me, "not to be vain. The course that life takes a person. Look at my hands." I looked down to see the loose, worn skin covering his thin boney hands as they held to the soft, warm flesh of Haruki's hands. "Haruki has yet to endure the path that life will take him, but his eyes are wise, and emotional. Like that of a fellow veteran."

"Veteran?" I asked, a smile on my face. I didn't know my grandfather had been in the war.

"Of life," He said with a choked laugh. "But he is young still, and has you to take him on this journey set out before him."

I fell into the seat behind me and ran my fingers through my matted, wet hair. I hadn't realized it had looked so horrible, nor did I really care. How could he look to me and say that I would be a good mother. I was the spitting image of his daughter-in-law. A woman who had _killed_ his grandson. If I was just like her, Haruki would never find his way to his death bed as an old man. He would die in three years time, as a young boy. And it would be my fault.

"Your father came to see me yesterday," Grandpa said, "And he gave me chocolates." He sighed, "I do not like chocolates. He never seemed to remember no matter how often I reminded him it was his mother who loved chocolate." He looked to the bedside table to where a photograph of my grandmother in her early forties was sitting. She was smiling and holding a puppy that Grandpa had bought for her birthday. "I miss her." I was trying to hold back the tears, really I was. But I was just a wreck today, and they were falling again. "Soon I will be reunited with her."

I couldn't believe myself. How had I come in here thinking I would ask my Grandfather for advice? He was literally on this hospital bed with no chance in hell of surviving another year... How could I have been so selfish?

"Now," He said suddenly, "How can I assist you?"

"What?" I asked, "No, nothing. I just wanted to see you."

"Are you going to lie to me, Kura?" He asked me, a knowing smile spreading on his face. "You do not have to tell me, but do not lie to me."

"I'm sorry," I told him softly, "I... I didn't mean to. I think I'll talk to my therapist. I don't want to bother you."

"I do not mean to pry, as it is your choice," Grandpa said, "but you may say to me anything you wish to." I was silent. I did not want to bother him with my stupid personal drama. That wasn't what I wanted his last memories of me to be. I did not want my last memories of _him_ to be me sobbing and complaining. I wanted a happy memory for my last one, and who knew when that would be... "He has your eyes," Grandpa said.

"No," I said, "They're brown. He has Daisuke's eyes."

"The colour is a mere superficial characteristic of a person's makeup." Grandpa said, "His eyes are deep and emotional, and old. They are like yours and mine. But even now I can see he has the heart of Daisuke. He took the best attributes of you both and is the most beautiful child the two of you could have created."

"The best parts of me are my emotions?" I asked, laughing through the tears that had mostly stopped now. I wiped my eyes as Grandpa took a moment to think of how to respond.

Finally he looked to me and nodded, "I think so, yes. Emotions are not black or white," He said, "They are a beautiful spectrum of good and bad. One must balance true emotions to create harmony within. And you have mastered that, Kura."

_Noooope._

"Thank you," I chose to be polite and not reject his compliment no matter how sure I was it was untrue. "Grandpa, I love you."

"I love you too, Kura," He said, smiling to me again as his nurse came bustling through the room with a needle.

"I hope everything is better now?" She asked me politely. "I'm going to need Satoshi now," She told me, "I'm sorry to cut your visit short."

"It's okay," I smiled to her, braving my fear of her, taking Haruki back from Grandpa. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

His eyes fell as if he were about to tell me that it wasn't true, but I wouldn't let him, and I think it showed on my face because he laughed. Haruki began laughing with him in my arms and stared at them both stupidly. He was just so... joyous. So jovial about this concept that it seemed impossible to not be, no matter how sad I would be when it happened. "I will see you again," Grandpa said with a smile.

I noticed his careful avoidance of the word 'soon' but chose to ignore it. It was our farewell. For now. Not forever. It couldn't be. I was not going to allow him to leave yet. I wasn't done. Was that selfish?

I didn't know.

I didn't have time to focus on my thoughts, so I shoved them to the back burner to let them sit for a while, brewing in the remaining heat I was unable to take away from them. I needed to keep my attention on the world around me because I was out in the streets again. I needed Haruki to live through the night, and to do that I'd need to _not_ get hit by a car.

I pulled Haruki up the stairs outside the therapists office and he giggled and cooed excitedly with each step as if it were his very first roller coaster, and together we entered the office. "Hello," I said as politely as I could manage to the woman to whom I did not like who was slathering way too much hand sanitizer onto her hands, as usual. The waiting room actually had people waiting, though it seemed they were together, waiting for someone to come out. "I'm here to see Doctor Chiryo."

"Well yes," The woman said in her annoying voice, "He is the only Doctor here," she explained, "He will be with you shortly." I thanked her and sat at the other end of the room from the others waiting. I was near the toys, so I picked up a couple of dinosaurs and let Haruki shake one around while I used the other to tickle him. He laughed loudly, and everyone in the room looked to me like he was a burden. Somehow the looks they gave me, mixed with the laugh, helped my grandfather's message really sink in. Haruki really was special, and I loved him, but the world was not going to be any kinder to him than it was to anyone else, and one day he would look back and see how silly he'd been in the past, and how much he'd learned. I could only hope I would be part of those memories in a positive light. I wanted him to look back on his past fondly, not the way I did with mine.

When the woman called my name it almost seemed pointless to go see Doctor Chiryo because I seemed to have worked out my problems on my own, but I was headed to the door anyway. "Kurayami," The woman said, stopping me. "I didn't say to go in. I just have a few questions for you. If you could just fill out this paper?"

"I've already filled this out." I told her, looking it over.

The girl looked to her watch bored and sighed. "We lost it, please do it again."

"Okay." I snapped. I didn't like her at all. I really didn't. The paperwork was stupid and I knew I'd already done it. I started filling out phone numbers and my previous address, not bothering to put my father's address on the paper. Eventually I was finished and I handed the paper to the woman. "May I go in now." Again the woman checked her watch and then nodded. I pushed Haruki ahead of me, and his stroller helpfully pushed the door open.

Doctor Chiryo looked up surprised and smiled to Haruki, "Hello there," he said in a way no one had ever spoken to my son. He was calm and serene, and yet excitable like every other person ever when they talked to a baby. When his eyes looked up to me he seemed worried if anything. He swallowed thickly. "You really should not be here Miss Higo—" He froze and cleared his throat, "Mrs Motomiya, excuse me." He corrected himself before I could do it for hm.

"I paid for the sessions, I would like to make good use of my payments." I said.

"I am aware," He said nervously. "Y-You should." He said down and put his head into his hands, "Never mind." He seemed defeated and was confusing me. I didn't know what to think, so I awkwardly sat down.

"I have a lot to tell you," I told him. "I found out everything about my past. Turns out a lot of horrible things happened and I did a lot of them, _but_, I never did kill anyone, so you were wrong."

"I do apologize," He said, embarrassed, "That was highly unprofessional and inappropriate of me to imply." I was sure he was just saying it because he'd been proven wrong, but I was going to take what I could get. "And I kind of have an issue with my dead mother now. I was wondering if we could work th—" There was a commotion in the lobby, and Haruki was instantly crying in a way he never had. It was open sobs, and I was immediately on my feet, grabbing him from his stroller. "What's going on?" I asked Chiryo.

"I'm sorry," He said, his hands in the air, sweat glistening from the light of the desk lamps. "I did not mean..." He trailed off as the door to the offices opened and a horribly unfortunate looking man stepped through. "Officer Morestuna!" Doctor Chiryo said, sitting down nervously, "Good to see you again."

Morestuna looked to Chiryo politely and then rounded on me, a satisfied look in his eyes as he licked his lips.

_**Daisuke Motomiya:**_

There were a lot of things I never would have thought would happen to me.

The first, and probably the biggest was that I never thought about having a digimon partner. I never would have been able to predict having Veemon in my life, and when I'd first met him, I didn't know how important he would become to me. I couldn't imagine my life without him now. He was so integral to my happiness that the thought never crossed my mind. But I didn't see him coming.

I didn't see Taichi coming either. Oh, I knew about him. He was my hero. A soccer star at school, elder brother to my "dream girl". He was everything I wanted to be. And now I could call him my friend. One of my closest friends. No. That wasn't right. He was my brother now. After all the time we'd spent together after I'd been kicked out of my house. That was another thing that blindsided me. I'd never in a million years have believed it if someone told me my parents wouldn't support me, let alone kick me out of my home.

After spending so long being in "love" with Hikari, I never would have guessed that I'd call her my sister now. Or that the idea of being with her held so little appeal that it was ridiculous. I "loved" her with everything I had, and she continuously strung me along—unintentionally of course—leading me to believe delusional things, like when I dreamed of marrying her one day. I never thought I could get over her at all, but I did. So completely. And now I was married to a wonderful, beautiful woman who had one time tried to kill all of my friends.

Yep.

Didn't see _that_ one coming either.

But I was married at twenty two and now I was a father. It still completely blew my mind. After mine failed me so spectacularly I didn't think I'd ever go for that. And it was hard, because I wanted to be the father mine never was for me. I wanted to be like Dad when I was little. When _he_ was my hero, and not Taichi. But now that I knew his true colours, where did that leave me? I didn't know, and Kurayami didn't know about being a mother either, since hers was gone most of her life—she also killed her older brother, but we didn't talk about that..._ever_.

I'd always _dreamed_ of owning and manning a noodle-cart, and to know my dream came into fruition, was mind boggling. I'd hoped it would happen someday, but didn't know whether to believe it really would. And I was so happy when it did. It never once occurred to me that someone could take that dream away. That my wife and child and roommate—and all our partners—would be living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to get food on the table and to keep our roof over our heads. We'd lost our home now, in the flurry of preparations for the Coliseum.

I never thought I would be so poor.

But I could see that they did happen, and I could understand why. But this. This was so much harder to wrap my head around.

Humans were hating digimon, _killing_ them. They didn't want them in their world. They wanted to banish them back to where they came from. They were hunting them down using tax payers' money to do it. They had the police doing their dirty business, and they were banning them from shops and offices. No one wanted to be caught with a digimon around. And after what the chief did to Noriko, I couldn't blame them. I didn't want Veemon out and about on Earth. With or without me.

And I hated that I felt that way. I felt selfish for wanting both of us to be safe. I knew that most of the others would still let their digimon go out _with_ them. But I couldn't do it. Every time I thought about it, I saw my son's face, and I'd remember that I wasn't living my life just for me anymore. I had to think about Haruki before I thought about _anyone_ else.

He needed me to be around for him. I couldn't risk getting shot just because I was walking with a digimon. It didn't mean I loved Veemon any less. He knew it too. He felt the same way about the situation. Even _he_ put Haruki first.

Not only was all of that happening to me _right now_, I was also walking around town with Neo Saiba of all people. He was really the only one I could contact. Everyone else was busy doing something at the Coliseum, the Temple or in America. Kurayami was in Japan, at her father's house—where we were now staying—but I didn't want her to go out with me. Not if it meant leaving Haruki behind. Or worse, taking Haruki _with_ us.

My face was recognizable. I couldn't be seen walking around with my baby. People knew who I was, thanks to that stupid documentary. It was the reason my noodle-cart was destroyed. It was the reason our lives sucked so much worse than the other digidestined's did right then—and their lives were pretty crappy too. If people saw me with Haruki, they might use him to get to me. I'd seen the graffiti around town. Any store or apartment that didn't proudly support the DWD cause, got plastered with increasingly creative suggestions of what we digimon lovers could do. And there was the stereotypical racist comments, and the one that made my blood churn more than any other: nisemono.

It was everywhere.

And it didn't seem to bother Neo in the slightest. He just walked beside me—ensuring there were, at the very least, four feet between us at all times—looking perfectly at ease in amongst the hatred and suppression. His hand was curled around a steaming hot travel mug that carried what had to be the most expensive and rich coffee blend in the world. I was jealous of it. I wanted it. More than anything in the world, I missed having the money to spend on coffee.

There were other, less selfish things I wished for too...

But I really wanted his coffee. So far, though, nothing I'd offered him had made him part with it. He was hardly even drinking it! He was just standing with it, making himself look even cooler than he usually did. I knew it was just the way he presented himself to the world. He wasn't nearly as cool as strangers perceived him to be. He was kind of a jerk. No. He was a _big_ jerk.

A jerk that wouldn't share his coffee.

I glared at him, stuffing my hands in my pockets and pretending I didn't care, but I did. And he knew I did if that stupid smirk on his face was any indication. I just glared harder, wishing I had glaring superpowers like Iori did. That would come in handy these days. Just glare at a DWD supporter and they'd pee their pants before running home to their mommies. That would be satisfying.

And once they'd left, I'd be able to go home to my family, start up a new noodle-cart to _support_ my family, and then we'd be able to rent a new apartment and get on with our lives.

I was a simple guy. That was all I wanted from life. Freedom from this digital oppression, and a roof over my head—and a cart that I could drag through the streets selling my own personal recipes and sharing my general love of noodles with people.

It's not like I wanted to become an award winning actor here. I didn't want instant fame and untold riches. I wanted a set income that could get shelter and food. But the people of Earth didn't want to give me that. We were left depending on the sales from the Digital World to get by. But once there were freaking _tanks_ parked out front of the Temple, Taichi put the whole place on lockdown. That injured our sales. A lot. What hurt them the most though? When Meiyomon sent almost all of the digimon to the Coliseum, leaving us without any customers at all.

Yes. I supported that idea fully, and was _thankful_ that all the digimon were safe.

But gratitude didn't buy food for my baby.

Once we could get to the Coliseum it would be better. Hideto, Mari and Kiyoko had liberated a ton of baby stuff on their big "shopping" trip, so Haruki would be fed and clothed the entire time we were on lockdown—no matter how long we _were_ there. They'd gotten stuff for children of every size, which made me think they were preparing for the worst. It was like they were expecting us to be there for years on end.

And at this point, I'd welcome it.

It would be so nice to be able to relax in the Coliseum, not having to deal with life's problems. We wouldn't need money to pay for a roof over our heads. The Coliseum was free for all to use. We didn't need to worry about food—except meat, but Mari made sure to get enough protein substitutes that it wouldn't be an issue (also, vitamins and supplements, because that girl was prepared). There were gardens waiting to be set up, which I promised to help with, because I wouldn't have anything _else_ to occupy my time with.

But we weren't allowed to actually _go_ to the Coliseum. Not just because Taichi refused to let anyone go before the digimon residents of the Temple, but because Kurayami refused to let me bring our son to safety. She didn't trust me to keep him safe.

She said she did, but she obviously didn't.

She'd have let me bring him there if she did. Takeru was there, Hikari was there, both of whom she trusted explicitly. I thought they were there anyway. I was so out of the loop it wasn't funny. I was always sending people to the Temple, trying to make sure everyone's parents were accounted for and all of their siblings. I didn't know how much space we had left, but if I saw someone that was an ally and was being harassed, I would be sending them along too. I wouldn't allow what happened to Noriko happen to anyone else.

Today's mission though, was about me. I wanted my mother and my sister to be safe. I didn't care so much for Dad. No. That wasn't true. I cared very deeply for him. I just didn't think the digimon would be safe—or Kurayami and Haruki for that matter—if I was to bring him along. But I couldn't just abandon my mother without at least presenting that option for her. And Jun's name had been on the list right from the get-go. Along with Meramon, Otamamon and Gekomon.

I wished my posters had given me better luck in finding Amai. I wanted so badly to bring her with me to the Temple, to see the look on DemiDevimon's face when I brought his beloved partner back to him. I knew a lot of the others worried that maybe his partner had been the one to dump him on the Temple's doorstep. But they weren't there. They didn't hold DemiDevimon as he cried and begged and pleaded for us to let him go back to his Amai. Their hearts didn't break at the sound of his sobbing, and his frantic retelling of the events leading to his capture. I knew that Amai didn't wear glasses. I knew because I believed DemiDevimon when he talked to me. And that was why I knew that his attacker _did_ wear glasses. She was a blonde, glasses wearing woman, and I didn't know any people that actually _fit_ that description, but it didn't make it any less true.

So as much as I kept my eyes peeled for Amai, I was also on the lookout for DemiDevimon's assailant too. I had to believe I could find her, that I could find _both_ of them. I needed _something_ to hope for. I'd lost hope in my own dreams already, I wasn't going to give up on that one.

"So..." I said, trailing off when Neo quirked his eyebrow at me.

Right.

He didn't like talking to me. He said so.

"_I don't enjoy talking with most digidestined."_

"_Even me?"_

"_You're a digidestined so..."_

But that was alright. I didn't _need_ to talk to him. I didn't know anything about him, so I couldn't even prompt a conversation about a mutually appreciated topic. To be honest, the only things I knew we had in common were that we both had a sister—but his was younger, and mine older—and we both had a digimon partner—only he'd had two digimon (sort of) and my partner had had two humans).

"You going to get your mom today?" I asked eventually, when I thought the silence would close around me and smother me to death. I was in a pretty dark place mentally these days, and it wasn't a good thing for me to dwell within the confines of my thoughts.

I needed to stay proactive.

It was a little hard to do when Neo started laughing a cynical sort of laugh. I just stared at him, confused. I couldn't remember him ever saying anything bad about his mother. Rei was negative all the live long day, but Neo hadn't said anything.

"You're not kidding," Neo noted.

"Nope," I said, popping the "p".

"No," Neo said bluntly. "We're not getting my mother."

"Fine," I said defensively. "I'm not gonna judge you. I'm not bothering with my father."

"I didn't ask," Neo assured me.

"I know," I said. "I just felt like sharing. And you'd be the least likely to judge me for it, if you're not going for your own parent."

He was silent and I sank into my thoughts again for a few minutes. And then I remembered my mother. I pulled out my phone excitedly, and dialed her number quickly. I listened, impatiently, to the ringing and cheered when I heard her greeting on the other end. "Hi, Mom, it's Daisuke."

"Hello, sweetheart," she said happily. "How's everything with you and the family?"

_Horrible_.

"Things are pretty decent," I said, mustering up as much positive energy as I could. Neo looked at me again, quirking that eyebrow of his, and then he took a long, slow sip of his coffee—the one that could've been mine.

"I know you're lying dear," she said, catching me off guard. "I've been watching the news, I see the signs around town. Your father wants to put one up here. I don't know how serious he is about it, though. I really think he just might be trying to keep us safe. If we've got a sign, then no one will bother us."

"Having a sign isn't right," I said firmly.

"Oh I know that dear," she said simply. "But I don't think he does. I'm so sorry for how he treats you. I try to change his mind but he just won't listen."

"It's not _your_ fault Mom," I sighed. "It's not up to you to fix it. That's not what I called about anyway."

"What is it then?" she asked.

"I wanted to know if you were interested in coming to the Digital World for safety reasons," I asked, just getting it all out there before I chickened out again.

_Silence_.

I looked at the ground, kicking a rock across the sidewalk and listening to the sound of it bouncing away. She still wasn't answering. I needed an answer. I needed her safe. Haruki needed his grandmother. His only one. He wasn't getting anymore of those. She was the only one he'd ever meet.

"I know I may regret this someday," she said, finally breaking the silence. "But I'll do it. I don't even want to think about what your father is going to say. He's going to be so mad at me."

"One of you needs to look out for _your_ safety, and he doesn't seem inclined to do it," I said, shrugging my shoulders, even though I knew she couldn't see it. "Don't say anything, because you know it's true. Okay, here's the deal. I'm going to go and get Jun"—and the digimon, though I didn't think mentioning them in public was a good idea; I think she got the message—"and when I've got her to the Temple, I'm coming straight back for you. How does that sound?"

"It sounds like I've got a lot of packing to do," she said anxiously. "But you're right. I have to do what it best for me, and for my continued presence in my children's lives. Your father is more concerned with the way the neighbours see him anyway. I'm going to write him a letter, explaining everything."

"Maybe just write a quick note that says something like "I've gone on vacation, enjoy your time alone, see you whenever I get back"," I suggested. "If he doesn't support our cause, I don't want him to have any ammunition to use against it."

"He's not _that_ bad," she insisted.

"In my experience," I reminded her. "He is."

"I'm going to pack. Behave yourself, and help your sister. I'll be waiting," she said after a long, emotion-filled pause. She was probably crying again, about how Dad and I didn't get along. I would've rolled my eyes—because it wasn't that long ago that she was firmly and completely in Dad's corner for this argument—but I hated to hear her cry. I loved my mother, no matter how horrible she'd made me feel in the past. _She_ was trying to make it up to me. The least I could do was let her.

"I love you," I whispered, not wanting to seem _completely_ insensitive about it. Neo was there, and he didn't share the same feelings about his own mother.

"Love you too, baby," Mom assured me.

We both hung up after that, and I turned to apologize for ignoring him, but Neo wasn't there. I turned around quickly, but I hadn't left him behind. He wasn't ahead of me either. He'd left me. He _really_ just up and left me. I thought we were a team—however unwilling. Teams stick together. We were supposed to be contributing to the Coliseum efforts. I wanted to make sure everyone's parents were saved after all—did anyone ask Tatum if she had anyone she wanted to bring, for example. What about Natsuni, or Katsue? I didn't know the answer to those questions, and since I wasn't allowed in the Digital World at the moment—thanks to Kurayami—I wasn't able to _ask_ them.

And damn it, Neo was supposed to help me!

I was mad. I couldn't deny it. I was angry with him, I felt betrayed by him, knowing he'd just left me here without a word. Was it because I'd called my mother? Did he think I was trying to rub it in his face? I wasn't. Mom and I didn't have a picture perfect mother-son relationship either. She'd just barely started integrating herself back into my life. She started three years ago, sure, but that was just with purchasing noodles once a week. It wasn't until much later that she tried to start up conversations on a regular basis, and it took longer than that for those conversations to feel natural, rather than awkward and forced. We'd been working _hard_ to get to this point. It wasn't my intention to make Neo feel bad about it. I just wanted Mom to be safe. That was it.

I sighed deeply and started walking down the nearest alleyway. I wanted to keep away from the main street as much as possible at this point. When I was with Neo, it was different. Sure, we were both recognizable—Neo's hair is _hard_ to miss—from Katsue's stupid documentary, but it was one thing to have _two_ of us walking along, and a totally different thing to just have the one. Two is company, it's insurance. It's intimidating enough that people aren't going to try and attack you just because you represent all that's good in the world—but not the cause they're fighting for.

I had to get Jun, Otamamon, Gekomon, Meramon and Mom today. I didn't have time to try and drag myself to the hospital if I got jumped by the DWD.

So I crept along in whatever shadows I could find. I took the streets with the fewest people, and back alleys. I found my secret paths in the park from when I was a kid. I pulled out all the stops. And then I was at the back of Jun and Shuu's apartment building. I _thought_ about walking around the front and going up the stairs, like a good little brother. But there were people out front; I was alone at the back.

I felt like a robber, climbing the drainpipe of the building. Once I was high enough to reach the stairs of the fire escape, I jumped to them, falling mostly on the first landing, with my feet crashing against the hard, metal stairs. My weight started pushing them downwards, and I clambered onto the landing, before I fell to the ground.

It took me awhile—and one incorrect guess—to find the right window. I totally owed that nice old lady a gift basket—not that I could afford one, but _if_ I could...

All thoughts of food baskets fled my mind as I knocked on Jun's window. I knew she wouldn't answer though. She wasn't home. I could tell, because her and Shuu's alarm system was blaring and even from my spot on the fire escape I could see that someone had kicked her door down. No cops came to check it out though. Why would they? With the exception of Ken, they were all on DWD's side. And Jun had a digimon—three of them—in this apartment with her.

Swallowing thickly, I pried at the window, shattering it when I realized it was locked. I climbed through it and surveyed the damage. Her couch was garbage—but that wasn't new. The wooden furniture had all been smashed, shreds of paper were thrown about like bits of confetti. I could tell from the ripped binder that they were the remains of all of Jun's wedding plans.

A gasp ripped its way through my lips when I noticed the big, red letters spray painted on Jun's horrid wallpaper. NISEMONO.

My heart was in my throat. What had they done with my sister? My nose twitched, something smelled awful. I looked around for the smell, but came up short. The only odd thing I could see amongst the rubbish was a candle. The wax was melted almost completely, the fire flickering close to the coffee table's surface.

But it wasn't a scented candle. The scent was more pungent than that. Overwhelming almost, in its power. It was like a light bulb went off in my head. I knew what it was.

Gasoline.

They drenched her stuff with gasoline and lit a candle. The imminent fire would wipe away all evidence of their masterwork. The crimes couldn't be traced back to them. Not if the flames erased everything. And they would. They'd erase Jun's entire life. And Meramon would _never_ be allowed back here—assuming of course that they were even still alive. Even if I put out the candle, if he took one step inside the room, they'd be able to pin the fire on a digimon.

I raced to Jun and Shuu's bedroom, where I knew they kept their photo albums. It was the only keepsake I knew for sure they'd want. I grabbed them all and raced to the window, keeping one eye on the candle at all times.

I'd just tossed the books on the fire escape when the flame flickered too close to the desk, and it burst into flames. The flames spread across the table, down the legs, across the floor. I literally threw myself out the window, and was knocked aside by the hot air being _forced_ out of the room behind me. I grabbed the albums and raced down the stairs—knocking on that nice old lady's window again and suggested she call the fire department and get outside immediately.

When I reached the ground I realized I had a choice to make. Did I go and get my mother? Did I send her to the Temple and recruit help to find my sister—or at least what happened to her?

No.

I couldn't do that.

Jun was the most important person in my life—tied with Veemon, Haruki and Kurayami—and she needed me. And I would find her. And she'd damn well better be alive, or the DWD would have hell to pay.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** In a direct continuation of this chapter Neo and Kurayami jump head first into arc four and things will continue to get worse...


	31. Slipping Into Darkness

**U/N: **I do remember this chapter being difficult but satisfying and fun. It's a little twisted to feel that way, but it was certainly something I was looking forward to. At least in Kurayami's section. Neo's was a little more relaxed and normal, but I do love using one of the characters that are in his chapter, which I'm sure you'll eventually figure out. For the most part the chapter is pretty dark though, and both plotlines lead down fairly dark paths. I hope you like it and review and whatnot. :D

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 4: War**

**Chapter 31: Slipping Into Darkness**

_**Kurayami Motomiya:**_

He was standing there with his chest puffed out with pride. His hands lightly placed on his hips, swaying on the spot. The light from the desk lamp was illuminating only one half of his body and the rest was faded in comparison. The wooden door behind him was still hanging open, and I could see the face of the girl who I disliked peering in. The long sneering face of the receptionist, her hair pulled back to stretch her skin tighter. It had to have been her. She had me fill out the paperwork to distract me to buy enough time for this man to get here in time. She had to have contacted him. But why?

I looked around the dimly lit room and found Doctor Chiryo sitting behind his desk, his forehead coated in nervous sweat. He was smiling to the man, but when he caught my eye he shifted into a glare, but not to me, to Moretsuna, the police chief. Whose side was Chiryo on? I couldn't be sure. He was sitting in his usual sweater vest behind his heavy wooden desk, his hands twirling a silver pen around to distract his racing mind.

Then of course there was me, trying desperately to remain calm for my baby. The one who was sobbing uncontrollably in my arms. He didn't like the presence of Moretsuna, and I did not blame him. I wasn't the kind of girl who could read people's fortunes or auras, but it was painfully clear that this man was seeping horrible things from his pores. I could practically feel the negativity pooling around my feet as he flooded the room with the pain he had caused other people.

People like Noriko. He was the police chief. He was the man who Ken had been talking about, and he was the man who had hurt my friend Noriko. He had also been the one in the Digital World killing small digimon if I understood Sora's messages correctly. This man was a bad omen. Seeing him sent a signal right into my brain telling me that something horrible was about to happen. And that was ignoring Haruki's tears, which was impossible to do.

So I needed to leave. "Well," I said finally, "I think he's tired, I'd better get going. You seem to have company..."

"Ah," Moretsuna said, holding his hand up before I even attempted to move past him. "I don't think so."

"Look," I said flatly, "Whatever business you have here, it's not with me, so if you could just move aside?"

"The business is with you," Moretsuna said with a smile that thinned his eyes exponentially. I turned my back on him so he wouldn't see the panic in my eyes, and tried to set Haruki down, but he refused to release my hair, holding it tightly with his tiny hands. I settled for holding him and turned to Doctor Chiryo, begging for help with my eyes. He looked to me, and then ever so slightly shook his head, staring to the desktop. "Doctor Chiryo told me you had a digimon."

"What?" I asked, my eyes snapping back to Chiryo. How could he do that to me? Didn't he know it was dangerous? He wasn't a stupid person. Not blindly and unconditionally horrible like Moretsuna was.

"I did no such thing," Chiryo shook his head fervently, his hands face down on the desk. "I didn't do so." He assured me, his eyes staring directly into mine. "I told my immunologist of my potential allergy to digimon, and he documented my claims and Moretsuna came across the files. He came to me to ask for information but I did not give him any. You must believe me."

I didn't know if I did, but it was hard to ignore the passion in his eyes. Either he was trying to convince me, or himself. "But you gave me the information I needed," Moretsuna said loudly, his voice sending off a strong wave of the stressful energy he was emitting. "You told me her name, and your lovely receptionist promised to give me a shout whenever Miss Higorashi showed up." I wanted to correct him and to proudly state that my name was Motomiya now, but the look on his face was not an inviting one. I did not want to speak in his presence. "And now here I am."

"Well I don't have my digimon with me," I said, "So what are you going to do about that?"

Moretsuna seemed annoyed that he hadn't noticed the missing digimon, but he sighed, and waved it off as if it meant nothing in the overall scheme of his grand plan. "I have my ways." The way he had said it, with the cool undertones to his sneering voice, made my skin crawl. "Stop that child from making that infernal noise." It was annoying, I could agree with that, but I felt _horrible_ for Haruki. He'd never been so distraught in his life, and I could do nothing to support him. I was not a good mother. I was bobbing him up and down gently, stroking his head, and Moretsuna seemed content for now at least when Haruki's screams became gurgles of disgust.

The receptionist dropped something in the hallway, catching my attention and I noticed two unfamiliar policemen had arrived as well, as if Moretsuna had called for much needed backup against a crying infant and his mentally unstable mother who was armed only with said infant. What was the plan though? Was he keeping me here for something? Was Labramon in trouble? He had his 'ways' but what did that mean? Did that mean he didn't need to be near Labramon? Did he have a magical ability to kill digimon just by hurting their partners? Or their partners children?

Okay, so it seemed unbelievable, but somehow I was believing my insane theories. I was ready to panic. Ready to cry and scream and run, but there was nowhere to go. The only window in the room was at the far end of the room and I couldn't jump out with Haruki in my arms. I couldn't go through the door because it was guarded by three strong looking men. Who was I to even dream of getting through them? I was a child in comparison. I was a child _period_. I wasn't old enough or mature enough to handle a situation like this. This was not the life I would have pictured myself having when I was younger. Sure, I pictured Fanglongmon around, but even with him I was never in a dangerous situation in my dream future. No more dangerous than he himself was anyway. And I honestly didn't think he had planned to hurt me.

"What is this?" Moretsuna asked, pointing to the folder of papers under Chiryo's hands.

"I-it is a file." Chiryo stuttered, "Of my previous patient's session. I document every session."

"Oh do you?" Moretsuna asked, a great big smile on his face as if he and I were good friends remembering a fun expedition we'd had. "Isn't that interesting?" He looked around the room and found the steel filing cabinet wedged in the corner of the room next to the red curtains that framed the closed window. Moretsuna walked toward the cabinet, his steel toed boots clunking with every step, even over the ornate rug that covered most of the floor space in the room.

My eyes flicked back to the doorway. With him gone there were only two men guarding my escape, and that was better than three. Now could be my chance to go, to run, to escape. One of the police men raised his eyebrows playfully at me, a wicked smile on his face and I _knew_ they weren't going to let me escape.

What ever happened to the concept that the police were supposed to keep justice? To fight crime and keep the innocent people safe. While I knew I wasn't entirely innocent, Haruki was, and that was still something.

Moretsuna's loud shuffling of paper kept getting in the way of my plans for escape, until finally he pulled out one of the folders, a smile on his face. "Kurayami Higorashi." He read off, "That sounds like you, doesn't it?" I became aware that I was backing up, toward Chiryo's desk, unintentionally. I stopped myself, digging my black boots into the rug firmly to keep myself steady. My eyes looked to Haruki who was weakly holding his head up, looking to me with his wide brown eyes, scared. I wanted to tell him that he would be okay, and that I loved him, but that wasn't possible. I couldn't make sound escape my lips, and I couldn't lie to him either. What if he wouldn't be okay? Suddenly more panic was settling in, this time mixed with anger both emotions struggling to find room amongst the waist deep negativity that was still filling the room from Moretsuna. "It says here," He said, reading from one of the pages, "That you fear nurses."

"That's hardly true anymore," my voice croaked as I spoke.

"And that you feel inadequate." He looked up to me with just his eyes and smiled, "My dear, that's because you are. You people are diluted and confused. Loving a being who does not have a beating heart."

"Yeah, well," I said as bravely as I could, "love is love."

"Love is meant for a man and a woman to share with one another." Moretsuna said sharply and forcefully as if he thought saying it clearly enough would set me straight. It was like I had deeply offended him too by saying what I had. I wanted him to feel rage and pain too, but I thought better of poking the beast. He returned to reading the papers, "You married a man you think is better than you? You think you are not good enough for him. Your _thing_ craved independence so you worked together to create a life for _it_." He looked up to me again, "You brought this on yourself, foolish girl. You brought that creature into the world and now it will suffer."

"Good luck with that." I said loudly, my voice failing me again. Moretsuna laughed, but I stood my ground, "He can become an Egyptian god of the dead. I don't see any god hunting tools in your belt. Maybe they have some at the local hardware store? Let's look together, shall we?"

Moretsuna laughed again, this time in a way that caused my heart physical pain. "You are attempting to lower my confidence." He said flatly, "Good luck girl. Your words mean nothing to me, as you are as low as those things are. You are not worthy of life, so your words are not worthy of my ears." His eyes flicked ever so slightly to Haruki, and then back to me, "He can be spared. We can save him and raise him properly. Give me the child and we can spare him." I wanted desperately to yell at him with some vicious words I knew I had bundled up inside me, but I couldn't find them. They were lost among the shock I had been hit with.

When Moretsuna took a step toward me everything came flooding back at once which proved to be just as bad. I wasn't able to form a sentence. "Go away." I managed to say, holding Haruki tighter to my chest. If he touched my child I would not hesitate to take him down. Haruki _needed_ to live a full life. A life where he would live to be the person I wish I could have become.

Apparently my words sunk into Moretsuna's brain and he did as I asked. He paused, and looked to the file again, "But my dear," He said, looking to me, "You don't think you are fit to be a mother. You do not feel ready. Don't you think it would be better if he was raised by someone with a sense of justice and what it means to truly love someone?"

"P-probably," I agreed, "but that isn't you! If anything that's my friend Sora, or maybe Hikari. Not you though."

He looked angry and he snapped the folder shut, but not before taking one last look at it. He smiled and looked to me, "You claim to know love, and to have compassion." He said, stepping toward me now, moving slowly in my direction around the comfortable looking couch I'd become so used to sitting on. "But how can you lie to me, to _yourself_? If you truly had compassion, you never would have killed her."

"K-killed who?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Your mother," Moretsuna said. "Our lovely and heroic therapist here has it written down. You can't lie to me. You killed her, didn't you? You killed your own mother. And you think you can raise a child with love?"

"I didn't kill her." I said loudly, "she protected me! She took the darkness and died in my arms when it finally left her alone."

"That doesn't sound human," Moretsuna said thoughtfully.

"It was in the Digital World," I explained in a panic. He could arrest me for murder if he really thought I'd done something. I didn't know the law very thoroughly, and I could only pray Iori would pop out of the ground to tell me my rights. But I knew that wasn't going to happen. I had to do this on my own.

"There's my point," He said softly, "The world is dangerous. The inhabitants are dangerous. Give your son to me to keep safe."

I looked to Haruki, and hated myself for realizing Moretsuna had a point. The Digital World was dangerous, and I knew that the enemies would not intentionally hurt one of their own. But no matter how horrible of a mother I was, I wasn't _that_ horrible. I wasn't horrible enough to hand him over to a villainous man. "I would rather die." I looked up and gasped, seeing Moretsuna was so close now. He was towering over me, the stench of his cologne mixed with sweat was wafting around me making my head pound in time with my anxious heart.

"That can be arranged." Morestuna said brightly. "But first," He paused and looked to the doorway. I followed his eyes and his two companions nodded finally. "You tell me where your digital monstrosity is, or I will have my men kill one Satoshi Higorashi."

"What?" I couldn't keep it in. I gasped loudly, and looked panicked to the door, "Y-you can't d-do that! That's not fair! Don't hurt him. He's old. He's dying. You c-can't!" I turned on Chiryo who was looking up to Moretsuna with fear in his eyes, "_Help_ me." I begged, "Do something!"

"I-I-I..." Chiryo stuttered.

"You _coward_!" I screamed at him, turning back to Moretsuna, tears falling for the millionth time today. "You can't do this. You _can't_."

"I can," Moretsuna said, leaning forward, his breath smelled like death, and I knew I was exaggerating because he was horrible, but it smelled bad enough for Haruki to start sobbing again. "Stop that, now." He said to Haruki as if he could understand. Suddenly his thick, dirty fingers were placed around the jaw of Haruki, turning his wet face to look at him. "I said _stop_!"

The lights flickered as my rage kicked in, and I was staring toward the wretched man before me. I was going to kill him. I reached forward and punched his chest, sending him flying into the couch which moved backwards with the force of his impact. I held Haruki with me as the lights continued flickering. I stepped toward Moretsuna, closing the gap between us aware that darkness was coursing through my veins. I had little control over my actions, but this man deserved whatever was coming to him. I was going to make him pay for everything he had done.

When I was standing over him he looked up to me and smiled in a horribly wicked way that caused my own darkness to falter. "You're a monster." He said, "You're one of them." My eyes narrowed in on him until I caught sight of something horrible in the mirror at the other end of the room. My mother. She was standing over a man, holding my baby. Her skin pale, with red veins stretching across the surface, her hair hanging loosely around her face, and her eyes cold and distant. _'You're a monster.'_ His words sunk in and I gasped, realizing I was looking at my own reflection. The sight of my own monstrous appearance caused the darkness to slip away.

I couldn't kill him. I couldn't be the person I refused to become. I swore I'd never kill someone, to the very coward of a man who sat directly behind me.

"You're weak." Moretsuna said, pulling the speaker he had on his shoulder closer to his mouth, and speaking into it, "Kill him."

"NO!" I shrieked, turning on the spot to face the door. I took my first step and found myself falling to the floor, holding Haruki tightly. He slipped from my arms and landed before I did, on the carpeted floor. I looked back and saw Moretsuna's foot had tripped me. I gasped, ignoring him and pulling Haruki into my arms. He was crying, but seemed otherwise okay.

Thank. God.

And then I was racing out the door. The police men did not stop me as I pushed past them and into the streets, leaving the stroller behind. I needed to get to the hospital. I needed to see my grandfather. He needed to be okay. I needed to know he was going to be okay.

The tears were pouring without any control as I ran through the streets, paying little attention to the traffic. "Please!" I screamed to no one in particular, "Please _no!_"

When I arrived, rounding the corner into the parking lot I saw many people standing in a crowd around the back end of the parking lot. My heart dropped when I saw my grandfather's nurse in nervous tears. She caught sight of me and fought the restraint she'd been subjected to, running toward me. "They got him!" She screamed on her way to me. If the three simple words weren't enough, the next three were. "They killed him!" Everything ended then, my heart was broken and any control I had over myself was melting away. I couldn't move. I couldn't even breathe. "Go home!" She cried out, "Get out of here before they hurt you too. Before they hurt Haruki."

She was right. I had to go. Even if I couldn't see where I was going. I had to get up, and I had to go.

_**Neo Saiba:**_

"So..." Daisuke said as if he couldn't be any more uncomfortable even if he had tried. I had been confused when he had called me earlier that day. I had just finished sending Dracomon to the Temple after a very large debate as to whether it was really the best choice. Dracomon had been sure I was sending him to get rid of him, but I promised him I'd be there soon too. Well, the Coliseum. I had no intention of going to the Temple to stay. I hadn't been there since Taichi had contacted me informing me my job was no longer able to be practiced. If the Knights could not digivolve then they could not do anything of any value and thus I was not welcome back.

So he hadn't worded it quite as harshly as I wished he had if only to give me something to complain about. But as it was, he had been very kind about it, and yet still I had no career. I was sure I could do without one, at least for now. That was something I was not too worried about. Working with Taichi had given me more than enough funding for my rent, and what else did I need money for? I was very gifted at saving my money, so I knew I could survive. But would I be content doing nothing every day?

Apparently not if I jumped at the chance to frolic around town with Daisuke, a boy who was very nearly my opposite in every way and to whom I had never spoken to.

"You going to get your mom today?" Daisuke asked me politely, and I couldn't help but laugh. At least he was attempting to lighten the mood with stupid questions. But after a while I found he was looking to me with innocent eyes and I stopped laughing.

"You're not kidding," I said.

"Nope."

"No," I told him simply. It was the easiest way to say that I would never trust my own mother with the location of the Coliseum. Nor would I trust that she would walk all the way there. She was potentially the laziest woman I'd ever met and was frightened of thing such as a common earth worm, or mould. She could barely live in her own apartment. There was no way she would be able to live in the Coliseum even if she weren't a total sociopath. "We're not getting my mother."

"Fine," Daisuke said defensively. "I'm not gonna judge you. I'm not bothering with my father."

"I didn't ask," I told him. I didn't need to know the affairs the digidestined had with their parents. I knew well enough that their home lives were not smooth or easy going, just like my own, only worse. Most of them had two parents by now, and that meant twice the trouble.

"I know," he said. "I just felt like sharing. And you'd be the least likely to judge me for it, if you're not going for your own parent." I didn't respond. I was not used to people telling me their problems. The only real friends I'd had in a long time were Hideto, Mari and Kiyoko. None of them would open up to someone else about their problems.

"Hi, Mom, it's Daisuke." He caught my attention when he spoke and I noticed he was on his phone. "Things are pretty decent," I couldn't hear her side of the conversation, just a faint murmur through the phone he held up to his ear. I took a slow drink from my coffee and tuned Daisuke out. I didn't need to listen to what he was talking about anyway. I had my own things to worry about. For one thing, I hadn't seen Rei in a long time. Was she okay? I needed to set some time and go visit her to make sure she was doing alright. I knew she was staying at the Coliseum, but that place was fairly dangerous, and only I knew all of the twists and turns involved. I wondered why they hadn't called me in to disable the traps, but it was none of my business. If they didn't want to invite me they didn't have to.

It was suspicious though that the three digidestined they had yet to ask to join them all in safety were myself, Ken and Kurayami. Daisuke had stayed for Kurayami he informed me earlier, but it was strange to me that the so called 'evil' digidestined were the ones being left out.

Daisuke seemed to be paying very little attention to where we were headed and twice I'd subconsciously pulled him back onto the sidewalk where he would be safe from oncoming traffic, and after the second time my eyes were set on high alert. I didn't care much for the boy but I did not want him dead. My eyes scanned the streets, and I stopped Daisuke at a crosswalk, waiting for our turn to cross.

Then someone caught my eye. Standing at the other end of the street, looking rather impatient, was Evelen. She was tapping her black boot against the damp sidewalk, her arms crossed. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, leaving her bangs out. I thought about waving to her, but knew she was too caught up to notice me.

"...doesn't support our cause, I don't want him to have any ammunition to use against it." Daisuke was saying. I looked back to Evelen and saw her crossing away from us to the East, and paused, wondering if I should selfishly take Daisuke in the direction she was going. I decided against it, and followed her on my own, leaving him to find his own way. "In my experience, he is." I heard over my shoulder before I was gone, chasing Evelen from the other side of the street. She seemed far too caught up in her own world to notice me following her even if there were not people fighting my every move.

It was difficult to push against the crowds of people who were dressed in colourful spring clothing, each one pretending the air was warm and friendly while their noses turned red from the cold, late spring air. It was colder today than it had been in a while, but I did not mind. I enjoyed the cleanliness of the surrounding air.

I took the last sip of my coffee and dropped it into a black iron garbage container on my way down the street, never taking my eyes away from Evelen. It seemed she was on a mission, one that was evidently frustrating her to the point where she kicked a plastic bag when the wind blew it into her path. Her purse fell from its perch, and she caught it, throwing it back over her shoulder.

When she veered from the street she was on down to one that looked rather abandoned I became aware that I might be on to something. It was no secret to me that Evelen was up to something, and while I agreed I would not ask her about it that did not mean I was not permitted to follow her for the information I craved to know about. And I didn't know what was coming over me, really. I rarely cared about a person's personal issues or desires, as I frequently found myself indulged in overemotional annoying people whose problems were nothing compared to what people with _actual_ life problems were dealing with... but something about Evelen made me _want_ to know more about her. I wanted to know her problems and help her solve them. But I did not want her involved in my own business.

I crossed the street, following her from afar, sneaking through the lanes of a gas station so she would not catch sight of me. As we walked it seemed that her anger diffused and she was much more serene in her walk. If the smile on her face was any indication when the wind picked up and blew her hair back. She seemed at peace with what this world was giving to her, and yet inner frustration was threatening to surge again when she looked up to a nearby sign.

She pulled her phone slowly out of her purse and dialled someone's number. I moved closer so I could hear her, and she sounded calm, but her words were pronounced so clearly there was no way she was not still angry. I was displeased with the hiding place I'd found. I was behind a dumpster that smelled perhaps worse than anything I'd yet smelled. The surface of the green and brown metal was coated in something horribly disgusting, and there were cat feces near my foot on the wet stone ground. "Kansui," Evelen had said, "Listen to me. I don't know where to go. I'm lost." She paused, and her voice rose when she spoke again, "Stop talking to me like I'm useless. I just don't know where I am." She groaned in between talking, apparently _that_ upset with her brother, "I'm not incompetent—I don't know! I passed a gas station. Okay. Yeah, I see it." She paused, craning her neck, and then smiled, "Okay." She hung up the phone and set off, quicker this time.

It was harder to follow now that she was sure of where she was going. I couldn't make out where she was going amongst the buildings and roads that led from the one we were both now walking down, but I figured following her was the best place to start.

I considered turning back many times, aware how invasive I was becoming. I would have been infuriated with the discovery of a stranger following me around, and that is what I was to her. A stranger. We did not know each other well, and I was ducking behind bushes in my attempt to _stalk_ her feeling very unlike myself all the way. I felt dirty, almost. Was hiding not the same as lying? Should I come out to her and ask her where she was going, or continue my pursuit?

I found myself doing the latter cursing endlessly to myself in my head about how insufferably rude I was being, and tried desperately to find one reason why it was normal. But there were none. I just wanted to know more about her. That was all there was to it.

_Most people would ask someone about themselves Neo. Not stalk them._ Hideto voice rang clearly through my mind.

_Why don't you talk to the girl? You're such a baby. _Mari followed up.

_I don't think it's that weird._ Kiyoko piped up.

I nodded, agreeing with the Kiyoko who was stuck inside my brain. Even if the child was mentally unstable and clinically insane it gave me confidence knowing that if I knew him as well as I thought I might, he would be on my side. I was not alone in this.

Except I was. We both were, Evelen and I. She had taken me, unbeknownst to her, down a barren street where there was a particularly unsafe area fenced off. Through the fence was only concrete. I knew of this location. Many years ago a nearby factory had experimented on that land and it was not safe to set foot inside. She had gone to the most disgustingly hazardous section of our town. But why?

Evelen turned sharply into a thin gravel lane that led to the back of the fenced property, and I threw myself behind the other end, crouching down to ensure I was not seen. I took a deep breath, realizing this was one of the more rash things I'd done in my life, and that was saying something.

I'd deleted an entire world my girlfriend fought to protect. I'd proposed to Sora after a month of dating. I unleashed a glitch into the world which ultimately killed her too. Sora seemed to be a big part of these rash decisions. "Blame it on the girls," I muttered. It was something Hideto used to tell me whenever a girl had done something that frustrated either of us. And so we would. It became a kind of childish game in which the two of us would blame everything on any girl we happened across. He was lucky though to be bisexual. He would not have to blame anything on a girl ever again. Just his simple minded, broken boyfriend. But even Kiyoko was better than nothing at all. The only girl I had found a fondness in for quite some time was already drawing the rashness out of my personality. And yes, I would blame her for it.

Soon enough I had found myself creeping around the corner Evelen had gone down, poking my head out to see that there was a building down the narrow pathway. I moved swiftly, keeping my eyes open for anyone who might be nearby. She had contacted someone for information and to me that said someone else could be nearby. She had to be meeting with someone.

She had left the door to the small wooden shack of a building ajar, and so I listened, and when I heard nothing, I stepped inside. Three empty bookshelves lined the back wall stained dark, standing tall across from a cabinet of the same colour. The floor was creaky and made of old, loose wood, but the room itself was otherwise empty. Evelen was not here. If I hadn't known her to be inside I would never have found what I needed to see next. In the corner of the room there was a door that blended nearly perfectly into the ugly pale green wallpaper. Again, I listened at the door before advancing, but still I heard nothing.

Through the door there were iron steps leading down to a dimly lit room. Wherever the lights were coming from, they were setting off a blue glow to the stone walls and floor, and I could hear faint echoing coming from within. I stepped slowly and quietly down the stairs, my leather shoes clicking softly on each step. I did not use the thin railings for fear of them making extra noise, and because they looked revoltingly dirty.

At the bottom of the steps there was an open doorway where the sound was coming from, and now I could make out Evelen's voice from within.

"...I don't know," She said casually. "You know he hasn't let me use it yet. You figure it out. You're always going on and on about how well you and Dad get along. You said he showed you everything he knows. Go on, now is your chance to show me."

"Oh shut it," Another voice said with a pompous edge to it. I recognized this voice to be that of Kansui, which fit what Evelen had been speaking of. Kansui was her brother, and as such, had the same father. "Of course I know how to use it." He sounded so sure of himself, "I was just wondering if _you_ knew how."

"Oh I'm sure." Evelen said sarcastically. I was frustrated, not having a look at what was going on and to fix that, I held my breath and moved smoothly to the other end of the doorway. I pressed myself against the cool wall and closed one eye, seeing into the room. Kansui's hair looked still and fake as it had the last time I'd seen him, and he was wearing a suit again too, as if he was afraid to look unprofessional in any setting. The only occasions in which I'd laid eyes on him were in a forest, and now in a damp cellar. He certainly did not require a fancy attire for the settings he seemed to surround himself in. Perhaps he took immense pride in his looks? Aside from his plastic hair he did look handsome, and filled his suit perfectly. It was clearly tailored specifically for him I noticed. It was fascinating how someone like that had come from the same place as Evelen. She seemed down to earth and generally kind. Though she too was beautiful.

I saw that Kansui was holding a strange, round device about the size of a basketball that was flat on one half. He was looking at it with a smirk on his face, but the look in his panicked eyes said he was unsure what to do. Evelen, tapping her foot again, had her arms crossed, amused at how arrogant her brother was and how he refused to accept defeat. It paid off it seemed, as he smiled and the device let a short beam of violet light escape from the round glass that made up half of its structure. The light was like a blade, thin and short, and Kansui smiled smugly to his sister as she stared at it. "So that can take us there?" She asked him. He nodded and turned away from me, reaching into the air and pressing a button on the flat edge of the machine, pausing, and dragging it down through the air.

The violet knife left behind a trail of energy similar to the makeup of the knife itself until Kansui pressed another button and pulled the device away, leaving the vertical line floating in the air. He crammed the device to the center of the line and pressed another button. The round machine let off a loud irritating sound and began spinning like a top, stretching the line it had previously left behind. The violet strip widened and slowly became rounded, like an opening, revealing the back wall of the room. Kansui's face fell and be cleared his throat, pointing, "See, I told you I could do it."

Evelen looked to him, annoyed that whatever it was he had done was not enough. She knelt forward and pressed a red button on the machine causing the open circle in the air to light up, revealing the Digital World. I knew what world it was of course because of the trees. They were different there in a way that was not possible to describe. The bark was softer, the leaves harder. They had just opened a portal to the Digital World. "I told you." Kansui said, his chest puffing. "I knew I could do it." He stepped through the portal without hesitation and Evelen sighed, following him inside.

I, however, froze. I had many options in what to do next, though only two jumped out to me as realistic. I could leave now, and understand what I'd known, perhaps take the machine with me and make use of it. Or, I could follow them through the portal.

The Digital World was bright, the sky lit up by the radiating sun, and the air was warmer and drier. Not that I was pleased by this. I had no time to take the scenery in however, I had to ensure I was not seen by the others. I spun quickly and spotted Evelen, sitting in the grass, running her fingers along the ground, taking in the qualities of the new world. I paused, watching her momentarily and then I was laying on the ground.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Kansui shouted, his chin held high. Evelen gasped, rounding on me and I groaned. "Sister, stay back. I will protect you."

"Neo?" Evelen asked, standing by her brother now. She reached her hand out to help me, her ponytail falling over her shoulder. I took her warm hand and she pulled me to my feet where I dusted myself off, and glared to Kansui. He was annoying me already, and I could not see myself lasting much longer in his presence.

"Do not speak to him!" Kansui shouted, pulling Evelen away from me and stepping back toward the line of trees that started the forest of Zephyr. We were a long way from the Temple, which was likely a good thing. As it seemed, Kansui really did not know what he was doing. Or perhaps he had intended to land here. But what could be here that we did not already know about? "He is here to harm me, and as my sister I expect you to join my side."

"He's probably not going to hurt you," Evelen said pushing her brother aside.

"You can't know that." He said, shaking his head and speaking in such a way that reminded me of my mother's favourite soap opera. "Evelen, he could be dangerous."

She ignored him and looked into my eyes, her own narrowed and stern, "What are you doing here? Did you follow us through that portal?" I nodded simply. "You need to go." She said it with so much certainty and yet so much nonchalance as well. She said it in a way that no one else could possibly have done. "Neo, we're busy."

I thought about obeying her request and heading off into the trees and away from them, perhaps to turn right back around and follow them again, but Kansui spoke first. "No," He said, "We cannot allow him to escape. We will ask father what to do with him. He will know what to do. He always does." Kansui's eyes lit up in a dreamy sort of way as if his father was his idol, and it set me into a nervous mind set. Anyone who Kansui fancied to be like was not someone I'd want to speak with. "We cannot let him divulge our secret to the world. Our world is at stake!"

"Stop being so dramatic." Evelen rolled her eyes, and looked to me. She shrugged, "Whatever. I don't get to make the decisions. Feel free to come with us, or don't. I'm not going to bother stopping my brother from doing whatever he's going to do though. I'm in a hurry."

"Who is your father?" I asked her.

"I thought we agreed we wouldn't ask about each other's lives?" She said, her eyebrows raised, "Then again, that was a promise of secrecy and privacy. You broke that pact already when you followed me." She was angry, an emotion I'd never seen on her face. It didn't suit her well. "Take him with us." She told Kansui. "If he wants to know about me, then I've got quite a few questions to ask him."

"Ohh," Kansui drew out the word, "Dad is going to be so pleased with me." Evelen looked to him with cold eyes, and he shrugged, "What? It was _my_ idea." I easily could have taken Kansui and possibly outrun them both, but I figured there was no point in struggling when they could be taking me exactly to the information I wanted to know. And this way, it wasn't lying. But if they asked me anything, would I be able to lie to them, to save my friends? Perhaps I would be able to. But lying had caused so many problems in the past... So even if I _could_ lie... would I?

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Taichi and Kiyoko are in completely different circumstances to this set of characters and even in a different world, so it's time to catch up on their side of things.


	32. No Take Backs

**Y/N: **I wrote this whole chapter. Yup. Uh-huh. Taichi and Kiyoko take the lead, in what I hope is a roller of a coaster.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 4: War**

**Chapter 32: No Take Backs**

_**Taichi Yagami:**_

"Michael's still not back," Sora said, walking into the Council room and pulling out the chair beside me. She sank into it and sighed. "Betamon's getting worried. Apparently, Michael said he'd be back soon. It hasn't been too long, but he's getting anxious."

"That's not good," I said, though I didn't really need to. It was very troublesome. Tatum had already informed me that Michael was taking longer than expected. She hadn't gotten an alert from any of his social media sites since yesterday. He was always on those things. If everyone was sure he was in trouble, he probably_ was_.

I just wished we could catch a break _sometime_.

There was already enough to be stressed about without adding anymore to the pile. Not only was I in charge of running this Temple and trying to keep peace between two worlds—a task that was proving absolutely impossible!—but I was the one everyone seemed to look to in times of trouble. They wanted guidance, they wanted direction and I just wanted to point at Daisuke and scream that _he_ was the one that was voted leader so everyone should just ask him. But I knew I'd never pass my duties off on someone else. I knew how stressful they could be. I wanted to rip all my hair out, and I _swear_ half of it is in the midst of going prematurely grey. I hadn't had more than two hours of sleep at time in weeks, and I didn't have any more coffee available at the Temple. I was going to scream if something didn't go right soon!

We had tanks parked outside our front gate and only two digimon were able to try and protect us from them. Meiyomon had helpfully brought two of his brothers—Shinsetsumon and Shinramon the digimon of kindness and trust respectively—but I was more worried about their safety than calmed by their presence. If DWD's guns could blast a hole through a tree, then I didn't think the small shield these guys made was going to hold out for long. It was made of data just like everything else in the Digital World. The tanks seemed to just be decorations for now, but that didn't mean I was going to be caught off guard. I was treating them as active threats and would continue to, so that when they actually tried something, we would be ready. I was half convinced they were only there to keep us from making any moves. They didn't know we could send people off using the power of technology. I doubted it ever occurred to them that invisibility was an option. I was thankful it didn't. They _thought_ we were sitting ducks. They _thought_ there were still thousands of digimon trapped by their tanks. They were wrong. We were down to a much more workable number. Tatum said at last count there were just over five hundred, and we'd sent twenty three over yesterday, twenty three more last night, and another twenty three this morning. We couldn't get any more than that at a time though. I wished we could but we had limited options and had to work with what we could get. We still had over four hundred to evacuate, and that wasn't even including the Knights, the Council, the digidestined or their families, or their digimon. Once Michael got back, there'd be close to forty-five of us that needed to be sent over too.

The numbers just kept piling up.

And they would continue to do so, because we didn't have everybody we needed here from Earth yet. I knew we didn't, because I'd been watching the people that arrived closely. My parents weren't among them. Mom, Dad and Kamemon were still on Earth and it was freaking me out. They shouldn't be that hard to get here. Daisuke was the one that was tracking people down. He knew exactly where they were. He lived with them for three years!

They weren't here, and that was making me stressed out even more than the whole siege situation, because theories just continued to swirl around my mind. They weren't here because DWD got them first, they probably killed Kamemon and now that they weren't above killing humans, they'd just decided to do away with my Mom and Dad.

I knew I shouldn't let fact and fiction meld together, not without a proper night's rest at least, but I couldn't help it. If Hikari was here too, I might've been able to keep my head on straight, but she wasn't. She was at the Coliseum—thankfully safe—trying to deal with the fact that her newest teacher friend was lying on a bed, struggling to stay alive while Jou worked frantically to keep her that way. I wanted to be there, to be able to _help_ her through this difficult time. I was happy that Takeru was over there. I was. I just also wanted Takeru to keep working diligently on his quest to get the Coliseum sorted and running smoothly. Once everyone was assigned living quarters, and was in possession of a map, things would start to relax. They wouldn't need to be working constantly, and while they would never be _bored_ they'd be able to do things at a slower pace. It would be like taking care of several thousand college students in one large dormitory. Not exactly an exciting thought, but it would be manageable. But it all depended on Takeru. And I knew him well enough to know that he wanted to help Hikari with this emotional roller coaster. I also knew _Hikari_ enough to know she wouldn't want him to. She was a lone wolf when it came to dealing with her emotions. I understood that desire completely. I did the exact same thing. It was the reason that Sora got so frustrated with me whenever I wouldn't share voluntarily. I had to get pushed past breaking point until it all just bubbled over and I spilled every secret.

I still had a ways to go before that happened.

Another thing that got to me was that Rei was over there helping with anything and everything and I never got to see her. She was needed there, and I was needed here. We couldn't cross paths. I missed her, the sound of her voice, the way her nose crinkled when she laughed, the way just being _near_ her made me feel calmer without having to say anything. I even missed the way she yelled at Pal and Pul whenever they pulled some destructive stunt and broke the coffee table. I missed the little balls of energy.

I missed Agumon.

I needed him a lot more than I'd ever imagined. I knew that there had been _two_ three year periods of my life after meeting him that I couldn't see him, and now I couldn't comprehend how I'd lasted that long alone. I needed him by my side. He grounded me in a way no one else could. When he was with me, we were unstoppable. Without him, it was like I was missing my arm. I couldn't function properly, and I wasn't focussing a hundred percent on the problem at hand—because I was too busy wondering if he was eating enough, or having fun, or missing me. I was jealous of my little sister, and of Sora, Yamato, Koushiro, Mimi, Hideto and Kiyoko, because they got to be with their partners. I was even jealous of Emiko! I _was_ jealous of Michael, but if he was missing...I just felt bad for feeling that way. I needed to come up with some idea as to how to find him. But I didn't know my way around New York. My best bet would've been to send Tatum, Jenna or Mimi out after him. But I didn't know Jenna well enough to know if she could handle a mission, and Mimi was falling to pieces before my eyes. Tatum was locked in the lab in the basement with Koushiro, Kiyoko, Haruhiko, Centarumon, Andromon, Tentomon, Monodromon and Benjamin. They were working on a much needed solution to the tracking devices, and I couldn't afford to interrupt them.

Just another problem to put on the far too cluttered backburner until someone was available to handle it. How typical.

I was still reeling over the fact that DWD had found a way to destroy Meiyomon's data streams. I knew it was too good to be true, to have an easy way out. I shouldn't have put all my eggs in that basket. I knew better by now. Now we were depending on Ken and Koushiro's parents to collect the digimon and lead them to the Coliseum. It was great that they'd volunteered and everything, but it was hard to feel confident in the plan when I knew how old these people were. I didn't have anything against old people, I loved them. My dad was definitely one of them. But I wasn't sure how long they would last. We needed a continuous loop, and it would take ages to get all the digimon out of here. It would take ages even with a younger team, to be fair, and we really couldn't afford to risk sending more people with them. Each cell phone meant one life. If we sent too many people with the digimon, then we were whittling down the number of lives saved. We'd settled on two humans in the first place because there was so much walking and without companionship the walk had a tendency of getting _longer_.

Ken, Daisuke, Kurayami and Neo were all still on Earth, despite the fact that Earth was still very much against digimon. And to make matters worse, they had Hawkmon and Labramon with them. They were in danger _just_ by being there and I wanted them to be safe, but I couldn't just order them to the Temple. Natsuni had a meltdown when she arrived, because her father could be captured—or dead, and Rida_ still_ wasn't returning my calls, even though I'd threatened him the last time he didn't. I just didn't know what to do anymore.

I wanted so badly to just pack up every one of my friends and send them over to the Coliseum. I wanted it like I'd never wanted anything else. I wanted to know they were all safe. But I had to wait until the digimon left. They were the innocents here. So innocent that most of them didn't even understand what was going on around them. The Knights were still in training. Dorumon and Veemon were constantly arguing about who got to lead the exercises in Neo's absence—but I couldn't _pay_ Neo anymore, so he wasn't obligated to come. Kotemon and Wizardmon had a tendency to ignore the fighting pair, and Lopmon and Terriermon were mostly just seen whining about wanting Willis.

I didn't know how much of my decision of keeping them here was because I was jealous of the people with their partners, and how much of it was based in logic. I couldn't bring myself to send my friend over before the digimon that didn't _know_ what was happening, but the Knights couldn't digivolve anymore, so they weren't really going to do us any good hanging around here. There was however the issue of fear. No matter how much they wanted Willis, the twins weren't scared, just lonely. The Knights weren't scared, the digidestined acted like they weren't, but the digimon that called the Temple home? Yeah, they were terrified. So I knew the others _could_ wait. These digimon couldn't.

I was supposed to keep them safe, and they were so scared that I felt like I'd failed.

I knew that Shuu had brought Meramon with him the last time he'd come back, but he hadn't brought Jun. She still had two digimon at home with her too, and that was risky. I'd tried sending Shuu across with the two dads last night, but Shuu was stubbornly refusing to leave without Jun—which confused me, since he left her at home in the first place which was counterproductive—and no matter how many times Sora asked, her father wouldn't leave her either. I wanted everybody cleared out by the end of the week, but I just couldn't see how we could swing it. Not with the tanks. I was going to stay, and I knew Gennai's people wanted to as well. Koushiro would stay at the very least, until he could free the digimon of the tracking devices. But no one else really needed to stay.

I closed my eyes tightly, and felt around the table in front of me for a piece of paper and a pen. I needed to make a roster. I needed to find which of my friends _needed_ to go ahead of the digimon. The list was admittedly short, but it was something. They couldn't head out with the next lot, since I'd already informed which digimon I was sending, but they could go tomorrow. That would have to be soon enough.

My list really only included three names. Emiko, Momoe and Apemon. All of them would need to go over for Jou's sake. He was stressed enough as it was, I didn't want him to have to worry about his family. I knew what stress did to work habits. He needed to be functioning at full pistons. I wished I could've sent Gomamon too, but it would make my entire argument about keeping Terriermon and Lopmon here hypocritical, and that was the last thing I needed right now. I couldn't do that to them, just send Gomamon and pretend it made sense that _they_ had to stay. So Gomamon would have to remain behind. I hoped Jou wouldn't mind too terribly. It was mostly the fact that his daughter was so young that she got on the list in the first place. I'd sent all the youngest digimon at the start, and I'd sent Masa with them. I needed to get Emiko over there too.

I wished Daisuke would bring Haruki across too, but that seemed like too much for him to handle. He was working awful slowly for a guy that was usually such a go-getter.

"Do you want to see if D'Arcmon has successfully convinced DemiDevimon that he can leave?" Sora asked. She made it sound like an exciting field trip, and I knew if I protested she'd just hang around my side until I let her drag me off, so I saved myself a few hours of pestering and pulled myself to my feet. "I think D'Arcmon misses all of the other neglected digimon. She worries about them, you know? I think it would be good for DemiDevimon too."

I just nodded, and let her lead me out of my inner sanctum. That Council room had at one time been thrilling, to know I had a bunch of digimon that were letting _me_ lead them in their quest to help their world run smoothly. Now it was a prison. I couldn't leave until I did my damn job, and that job was just falling further and further out of my reach, slipping through my fingers every time I got close.

We were stalled on the steps. Natsuni was curled into Miyako's arms as she cried about her father. Sora was instantly on guard, which made me realize there had to be a new development. I discreetly crossed my fingers, hoping he was still alive.

"What happened?" Sora asked gently. Natsuni couldn't answer her. She was crying too steadily.

"She tried calling her dad's house," Miyako explained. "The number's been changed. And his cell number has been disconnected. I think her mother's just trying to keep Natsuni—and by extension the digimon—out of her life. I really think he's going to be okay."

That didn't help comfort Natsuni any.

Miyako helped Natsuni to her feet and declared that she was going to find a nice hot cup of tea to help sooth her nerves and we were free to continue down to the Market. There wasn't a lot going on down there these days. I didn't like it much. I preferred the busy hustle and bustle from before. It was hard to believe the Market was in full swing just last month. Times had changed drastically in such a short time.

I could see D'Arcmon at the other end of the Market, just leaving the square, so I quickened my step. The faster I checked in on my Council member, the faster I could get back to planning the next roster. The world seemed to be against that plan though, because Tinkermon flitted into my face, grinning brightly.

"You'll never guess," she said. I didn't look amused, so she rolled her eyes. "I'll just tell you. Petermon has secured both the Yokomon and Pagumon villages in addition to the Koromon village. They're all safe at Primary Village and now he's working on getting all the Punimon from _their_ village over there. It's great isn't it?"

"It is," I said, feeling just a teensy bit lighter.

"That's not all," she said smugly. "CaptainHookmon is sending an open invitation out to any and all digimon to come and stay in Neverland. It's never been open to anyone higher than an in-training before. Yay for progress! I've got to get going though. There's so much to do and who knows how much time we have. I've gotta fly!"

"She's a bundle of energy," Sora said with a smile as she watched Tinkermon fluttered away. "But it's good, isn't it. I'm so excited about Neverland's involvement. I've never been there. I kind of want to though. Maybe I'll get a chance now that it's a safe zone like the Coliseum and Piximon's place."

"Maybe," I muttered. I wouldn't get to go. I was going to be stuck in this Temple forever. And I wasn't even all that bitter about it. I _wanted_ to be the last one to leave. I wanted to know that I'd done everything I possibly could for these people. I might not live _in_ the Temple, but my house was only fifteen minutes away. I was here every day. This was my home just as much as it was theirs. And I wanted to protect its inhabitants with everything I had.

Emiko ran passed us laughing loudly and Apemon followed quickly behind. I saw Momoe walking with Mimi, watching her daughter like a hawk with a frazzled look in her eye. She was worried. And why wouldn't she be? It was her daughter in question. I contemplated moving them up on my roster again. But it wasn't fair to the digimon that were so excited to go already. Their eyes lit up when I told them. They had their first glimmer of hope since Meiyomon's data streams were destroyed.

But still...

I had to turn away from Emiko before my gut was all tied up in knots. I didn't know what the right thing was anymore. I was just trying to get everyone out of this alive at this point.

"Michael's bringing my parents back. That's why he's taking so long," Mimi was saying happily. I wasn't so sure, but I couldn't fault her logic. If he'd told her that's what he was doing...I was inclined to believe her until it was proven otherwise.

I spotted Shinsetsumon and Shinramon, Meiyomon's brothers as they danced about keeping their spirits up as they continued doing the most boring job ever of standing by the door holding up their shields. They seemed happy enough for now. I just hoped they could keep it up. I couldn't imagine that they'd be able to do that for an entire week—or more—though. Meiyomon was somewhere. I didn't know exactly. I did know that he wasn't nearly as happy as his brothers. They were dancing and he was just moping, waiting for the news that another of his siblings had been located. I knew that Piximon had Yuukimon at the very least, but he was asking around to see if there were more, and I could always ask Tinkermon to have CaptainHookmon keep an eye out for them. I knew Angemon would let me know if any of them stumbled into Primary Village, and Takeru would do the same for the Coliseum.

I didn't know who to contact to get information about the other safe zones. I did know that Kiyoko had a blog up now though, and that _he_ could send a work out for them. I made a mental note to add that to my nightly call to Takeru—which was basically an information exchange.

Hogan caught my attention, leaning against the wall. I wondered what he was doing outside, until I saw Jose, Ilya and Jackie standing similarly around the square. Their arms were crossed, and their eyes were always moving. Biyomon was playing with Palmon, Gomamon, Armadillomon, Goblimon, Betamon, Kudamon and Dracomon. Gennai's men were acting as bodyguards for the digimon while they played their complex and confusing game. I supposed it was a digimon thing, one that you had to be in the know to know about. I guessed I wasn't in the know.

Finally, Sora waved to D'Arcmon, a big grin on her face. D'Arcmon locked eyes with Sora and shook her head before we had a chance to ask. DemiDevimon was in her arms, nestled and sleeping. Then D'Arcmon turned to me. "Have you managed to procure any assistance from your fellow ambassadors?"

"I'm not sure I'm still an ambassador anymore," I told her. "I haven't heard a peep from any of them. What's the use of even _trying_ to get their help anymore?"

"You should give it another shot at least, right?" Sora encouraged. "There's no harm in trying. Oh. Excuse me, I have to take this." She walked away a few feet, greeting Daisuke enthusiastically, before continuing back towards the Council building. I sighed. She dragged me out here to give me _half_ of an inspirational speech and then left me. I might as well have stayed inside for all the good it did me.

"Please, Taichi," D'Arcmon said, cutting off my pointless inner rambling. I turned to look at her. "Please go and ask for aid. We need it, and you must try. If you do not try you will never know. Look around you at all the digimon. _They_ need you, Taichi. Please ask."

"Fine," I said, knowing I could never say no to her. Not when she was so wise and thoughtful and caring. It was like talking to Hikari...you know, if she was older than the Digital World itself and not so quick to ignore my opinions. "I'll go."

And I did. I went straight up the stairs and set the gate so that it would enter directly through the computer at the front desk. I couldn't be bothered to waste my time walking from my parents' place this time around. I needed to get in, ask the damn question, and get out. I had a ton of things on my plate, and having this side mission really wasn't helping.

The secretary literally screamed when I appeared in a sudden burst of light. I didn't actually expect that. I'd done this a couple of times in the past, so it didn't occur to me that it would freak her out. To be fair though, I didn't recognize her face at all. She was new. Oops. I marched right towards Rida's office—still no honorary "ambassador" title, because I was seriously ticked at the guy—and opened the door dramatically.

"Ah, Taichi," Rida said, tapping his fingers together in a way I'd only ever seen villains in movies do. I didn't think that was a real thing. Apparently it was though. "I didn't think you'd be back. You look..._well_."

I knew sarcasm when I heard it. I was still wearing the grubby clothes I'd worn the last time I was here. I hadn't exactly had a lot of free time to sneak out of the Temple using a cell phone to make myself invisible _just_ so I could go and grab a fresh set of clothes. A digimon's life could be saved with the use of that phone, I wasn't going to put my appearance over something as important as that. So yeah, the stains on my shirt would _never_ come out, and there were like a dozen new ones because I kept falling asleep during meals—the only time I let my brain relax enough to allow for it really. My hair was a mess and I honestly hadn't even bothered to look in a mirror at all. I'd be vain when all the digimon were safe. For now, I'd look like a grubby pig. I didn't even care.

"I want help," I said. "Well, the digimon do. They trust you, because you told them they could. You're not living up to your promise. _You_ were the one that sang sweet songs to lure them into your favour, it's time that you started pulling your weight."

"No," Rida said.

"Excuse me?" I asked incredulously. "You're life is still yours because the digimon made it so. And you're telling them _no_ when they need you?"

"Precisely," Rida said with a shrug. "It's nothing personal; helping them would just be bad for business. I'm a man of the people, Taichi. I must fight for what the people want, or else I will be replaced. I happen to enjoy the perks of my position. I want to give the people what their asking for. And it simply contradicts what _you_ are asking of me."

"You're choosing money over potentially millions of lives," I said simply, staring at him with disgust. I'd thought he was alright, but he was a greedy jerk. Jerk wasn't a strong enough word. I needed something stronger.

"I can't risk my job just to help your creatures, Taichi," he said sounding amused, grabbing a glass decanter filled with white wine off the corner of his desk, and pouring himself a generous portion. He held his glass in his right hand, and swirled it around before raising it to me. "I can do one thing for you though. I'd like to accept your previous proposal."

"I didn't make any—" I tried to argue.

"As of now, Earth and your precious Digital World are at war," Rida said, sipping his wine. He smirked at me. "I believe you're familiar with these two fellows? Take him away boys."

I felt the rough grip of his security team grab me, but it didn't make any difference to me. I found the answer to Sora's question. Yes, it _did_ hurt to try. Somehow, I'd managed to make our miserable situation even worse. I was going to be sick.

_**Kiyoko Izumi:**_

I felt guilty. I'd kept my phone that morning, taking it back from Masami and Kazuya, before they could return the pile of communication devices to their wives. Yoshie and Kae had left ages ago, they were probably already at the Temple, or even on their way back—with one less digimon than they _could_ have had. I needed it though. If my plans worked, I could be saving so many more digimon that it would be worth it. But at this stage of the game, with the siege lasting as long as it was, every single digimon counted. We didn't know how much longer the calm would last before the storm hit. And I was scared for when it did.

Not only for the few hundred digimon that still lived in the Temple, or even for the rest of the Digital World. I wasn't entirely selfish—I worried for them too—but I was mostly worried about my friends. I didn't _know_ these digimon on a personal level, so I couldn't fear for their safety in the exact same way as I did for Koushiro—the cousin I'd only known about for a couple of years—or Yoshie—the woman who insisted she was my aunt, and gave me the confidence to shake off my evil oppressor. I was scared for Mimi, and Sora both of whom accepted me for who I was, and cared about me—though Sora was the only one that ever confirmed that she was my friend, being the one of the two of them that realized I actually _needed_ that confirmation to _know_—both for me and for Koushiro. I knew how important Taichi was to everyone in the Digital World, and not just to Hikari, and Takeru and Daisuke. He was friendly, and he included me when he talked about his team. He made me feel like I belonged.

And Miyako was one of Mari's best friends, and she was stuck over there, with her husband and partner still on Earth and Wormmon over here in the Coliseum, waiting for her return. Tatum and Michael and Jenna were all very welcoming people, and I appreciated conversing with two of them—I'd never really talked to Jenna—but that wasn't what made me fear for them so ferociously. It was because they were so important to _Willis_, who I was learning was funny, and smart and so friendly. He acted like we'd been friends for ages, even though he'd only started talking to me when we got here to the Coliseum. I thought at first it was just because I'd been a part of the team that saved him from his boss, but as time went on I realized he wasn't acting the same way with Hideto, and I was pretty sure that meant he actually liked hanging around me and enjoyed our intellectual conversations. He liked working with me, and I'd even invited him to stay for tea one time, since he and I were writing posts for the blog when Team Mom arrived with refreshments. He, Natsuko and I had a good time coming up with clever puzzles, and Toshiko's wit and sarcasm was something he really appreciated.

I felt like a little kid at that moment, showing off my new friend to my parents, and beaming when they approved. Hideto wouldn't ever let me drag him to a tea party. I'd only tried once, but he didn't want to go that day. He didn't seem to have much time for anything anymore. No. That wasn't true. He was always doing something. He just wasn't around me when he did it. It hadn't been all that long since I made him play soccer with the kids though, and I thought maybe he was still sore about that. But with the schedules we set for ourselves, we even _slept_ at different times, so we didn't see each other in the Alias III room—I refused to refer to it as a cell in our case, because it made me feel like we'd been arrested, and with our recent activities, it was a real possibility.

Breaking into a high security, government, secret facility and shoplifting on a major scale weren't really law abiding activities you know.

But Hideto and Mari were always off together, doing some project for Takeru, providing nourishment for Jou and Iori and Noriko—all of whom were permanently in the infirmary. If they weren't doing that, they were chasing down digimon and making sure everyone had a place to call home. They were even in charge of recess now, since soccer was a huge hit with Hideto, and Mr Ogremon had asked them in front of the kids—making it impossible for them to say no. Mari sometimes came and sat with Willis and I while we were working on something, but Hideto had to take those short breaks to help assemble beds, so we didn't see him then either.

I didn't fault him for it.

Quite the opposite really, since he was so dedicated to being helpful, even though it irritated him to no end. He was helping the school children stay happy—including Masa, who had joined the class, simply because the young digimon didn't think it was fair that a kid _didn't_ have to go to lessons—and keeping the Coliseum running smoothly. Unfortunately we hadn't been able to open the secret door to the west wing yet, and I was tempted to call Neo, because _he_ would know, but I didn't. I never had my phone, until now, and I had a secret mission, so I couldn't be drawing attention to myself.

I was trying to be as quiet as I could while I snuck through the Temple halls. I refused to activate the program on my phone that would render me invisible, _just_ in case the DWD would be able to register that small change on their detecting software. I didn't want to be the one that revealed the Coliseum to the bad guys. I'd gotten as far as the corner that would lead off to the infirmary and Takeru's self-claimed office before stopping. I heard Jou talking to Willis. Again.

Willis and I could often be found talking to him, begging him to let us help, even though we knew very little about the fine art of medicine—due to our preferences for computers and technology—but he always refused. He had to do this alone, he said. It was a tricky project, and the more people involved the more likely he was to fail.

My argument of many hands making light work was dismissed instantly.

With something as delicate as this, he was best to do it alone. He didn't want one of us messing it up in some teeny, tiny way that would just end up ruining the antidote and costing Noriko more time. We didn't know what our time frame was, but she wasn't getting better. Her skin was getting paler and she sweated a lot. She kept a smile on her face though—mostly for Iori, Hikari and Impmon, I was sure—assuring Jou that he could take his time and get it right.

This just stressed Jou out more, but her general positive attitude helped put a lot of other minds at ease for the time being. It made it easier to continue on with menial and boring tasks like laundry and dusting when people weren't so melancholy all the time.

It also helped that for the most part, the people—and digimon—that cared most for Noriko weren't in the public eye. I didn't like to take such a critical point of view to the situation—I didn't want her to die, after all—but I had to think with a group mind set, not a personal one. We kept the information from the children, and only a handful of digimon were in the know—just the ones that saw her being brought to the infirmary, and the digimon that _those_ digimon had gossiped to.

Warg and Melga should never be told _anything_ that was meant to be kept secret. They were huge gossips, just like Team Mom—perhaps I should've invited _them_ rather than Hideto to one of our tea parties.

I shook my head and continued onwards. I didn't care if Willis was volunteering his services again. It wasn't my business what he got up to when we took our breaks. If I got too nosey, he'd know what _I_ had planned, and I didn't want that. I knew he'd want to come with me. And I couldn't risk that. I didn't take an extra phone, only one of us could be invisible at a time. He would hate me for it, I was sure, since I would be seeing Lopmon and Terriermon, and he wouldn't. But he'd have Tapirmon and _I_ wouldn't, so I thought it was a fair trade.

Risking Willis' life after risking my own to save him wasn't at the top of my to-do list. I'd just be risking one life, mine. I didn't know if I could get through, but I needed to get there soon. The tanks had been holding siege on the Temple for ages, and I needed to get in there and erect my protective barrier so that Meiyomon's brothers didn't have to stay there, risking deletion, to protect the place. After Willis' testing was finished, we'd worked out the few little snares in the programming. It was ready now, and I was going to protect my cousin, and his friends—my friends, I supposed—and the digimon. I could do that much for them, after all the pain and suffering I'd caused by allowing Sigma to become a part of me. I'd done so much damage with Sigma, it was my turn to do something to make up for it.

And this barrier would be my first step.

After the Temple, I'd be working hard on getting one for Neverland—if I remembered what Tinkermon had called it—and the Primary Village. We'd got the water program well underway, and the blog was a roaring success. There were so many subscribers already, all with customized usernames that would ensure us that they _were_ in fact chosens from around the world, and not mere impersonators. Reports of the state of other countries had flooded in, and it wasn't good.

Oh, there were a few countries, like Canada and Switzerland to name a few, that _weren't_ getting all caught up in the DWD campaign, and still let digimon roam free, unregistered and untargeted. But for the most part, it was a world-wide phenomenon. So many chosen had left comments to our blog posts—mine, Willis' and Natsuko; I refused to take all the credit, even when they tried to give it to me—complaining of the same problems we faced in Japan and in America. We weren't alone, and there were so many other parts of the Digital World that these guys had access to, since they were _from_ the Earth counterparts for the Digital continents.

Once Momoe explained how gates could be opened up between two computers that had been essentially married to one another—though I got distracted imagining a laptop in a top hat and tie while a PC's screen was covered by a white veil—we realized _that_ was why the foreign chosen never came to the Temple when they passed through the gates they made. They just remained in their own sections of the Digital World. Having established that, it was easy enough for me to suggest they move digimon to safe zones across the globe, rather than having to rely entirely on word of mouth from Ogremon and Leomon. They would continue their mission, because it gave them a sense of purpose, but they wouldn't have the entire weight of the Digital World on their shoulders anymore.

I did of course leave a blanket warning on the blog about not digivolving, just in case they hadn't figured it out already. I didn't want them drawing attention to themselves, their partners, _or_ the digimon they were trying to save.

After they set up their safety zones, they were going to be sent the code for the shield program—once Willis or I could come up with a way to send it safely without allowing DWD to get their hands on it. What good would having an impenetrable shield be if the enemy knew exactly how it was made? It took them two days—less even—to figure out how to destroy a data stream _without_ knowing everything about them. It would take hours at best if they got their hands on our program.

I wouldn't let that happen.

Plus, Willis was the best hacker I'd ever met, I was pretty darn sure he could come up with a way to keep the coding safe. He _did_ have that first email set up to delete itself after a mere five minutes. He could do it. He'd have to. I sure didn't have any ideas.

With all the work I'd been putting in, I didn't have any time at all for Tapirmon. I mentally whined and complained about not being worthy of Hideto's time of day, but I was doing the same thing to my partner. I _wanted_ to spend an entire day just hanging out with him, doing whatever _he_ wanted to do and to leave my computer alone. But I couldn't do that yet. Not until the entire Digital World was safe. And then, I'd take a whole week off just for him.

And then Hideto could see what being ignored felt like.

_Not that he's ignoring me_ I reminded myself. _He's just busy._

I wished I was as convincing to myself as Sigma was. I always believed him one hundred percent, because he was so confident, so _sure_ of himself, so _I_ was sure he was right. I could never trick my brain into thinking something else. I just wasn't believable enough! My low sense of self-confidence wasn't helping either. Or my lack of self-worth. My lack of desire to make any assertive decisions. My fear of being abandoned _again_. My desperate need for confirmation of friendship and praise. The ability to feel comfortable around other people or digimon.

I had a lot working against me—and those were just a small dent in my pile of problems.

So yeah, I snuck outside the Coliseum without anyone noticing, and turned myself invisible, _just_ to make sure everyone else would stay safe. I wasn't suicidal, I was just thinking with that group mind-set again. One person was a much smaller loss than the entirety of the Digital World. If my plan didn't work, _I_ would be the only one that was at risk because of it, and Willis would be around to try again later.

Not that I'd really anticipated just how long of a trip it _was_ between the Coliseum and the Temple. I knew that Yoshie, Kae, Masami and Kazuya had lost some weight from all the walking they'd done, but it didn't occur to me that they were walking ten to twelve hours _twice_ a day. For some reason, I thought it was a shorter distance and was prepared to run the whole way there. I ran for about twenty minutes before feeling like I was going to die, and then walked the rest of the way, spending hours alone with my depressing thoughts about what I was totally sure was a failing relationship—even if no one else, including Hideto, could see the signs that I could. I knew theoretically that I was making it all up. So what if he never told me he loved me anymore, and never hugged me longer than two seconds. I didn't _know_ how many days it had been since we'd talked or held hands, and I knew I'd spent more time with his digimon partners than with him—or with my own.

But that was all superficial stuff with everything that was going on around us. I was sure that once everything was prepared, and I'd set up all my barriers to protect the digimon of the world, that we'd have more time to talk about things, to get back the dynamic we had when we were at home. Yes, that dynamic had always included Mari to some capacity as well as three digimon, but it felt more intimate just hanging around them on a couch watching a movie, than anything we'd done since coming to this stupid Coliseum—with the exception of _one_ small fifteen minute period where Hideto had sort of had his arm around me when Willis and I were just getting started on our project, and before I sent him off to play soccer so that I could work.

Okay, so it kept slipping my mind that I was putting as little effort in this as Hideto was, despite all my complaints, but I_ missed_ him. I wasn't confident enough to go hunt him down though. I vowed that I would remind him how much I loved and cared about him when I got back to the Coliseum though, knowing that I had another ten hour walk ahead of me in which I could plan a speech.

The silence was broken by the loudest ringing ever. I knew the phone's volume wasn't any higher than maybe twenty percent, but my walk had been a quiet one. There weren't any signs of life throughout the Digital World anymore. All the digimon from this area had been tucked away in the Coliseum, leaving an empty forest behind. The trees were beautiful, but they weren't enough to keep the chills that were creeping up my spine away. And then my phone started ringing, disturbing the eerie silence. I wanted to cry, I was so scared that some DWD would've heard it. But I just looked at the phone and saw Sora's picture waiting on the screen. I took a deep breath and answered it.

"Hello," I said, trying not to sound like I'd just watched a marathon of the scariest horror movies. I failed. I sounded terrified. Because I _was_. I was so scared it was ridiculous. I came out here to do a mission. And my heart couldn't stop racing. What if she'd called me when I was trying to get passed the tanks? What if she'd blown my invisible cover? I'd be dead. Probably. _Possibly_.

"Kiyoko," Sora said, the relief evident in her voice. "Good. I was wondering why you weren't answering. Yoshie said you kept your phone. She just left by the way. In case you were wondering."

"Okay," I said, confused. I hadn't been wondering, but _now_ I was. I could've just passed her and never known it because she, Kae and the digimon were invisible too. How weird was _that_ to think about?

"It's not really a social call," she admitted. "We need you at the Temple, ASAP."

"I'm almost there," I told her.

"Really?" she asked sounding suspicious. But she pushed her questions aside quickly. "Good. I'll see you soon then. Good luck getting passed the guards, and just come straight to the Council room. Chances are we'll still be there by the time you get back. I've just got to round up everyone before we start."

Then she hung up. Without a goodbye. I took it as a good sign actually, she didn't feel the need to say it because she was confident enough in my abilities to get there in one piece. It was comforting. At least _one_ of us was sure of it.

I did turn the ringer off on my phone though.

Just in case.

I let Sora's lack of parting words lend me the confidence I needed to continue through the trees. They seemed even quieter now that I'd heard someone's voice. I started running again, only stopping when the trees gave out to a clearing. I recognized it as Taichi's lawn, and sure enough when I looked I saw his giant house. I had to be careful now. I couldn't just go running into the thick of things.

I froze when I saw some people in black clothing standing just outside of Taichi's home. They looked quite interested in it all...and then I realized they were using Taichi's own house as the base for their operations. That's where they were keeping all of the soldiers that weren't currently on duty. I glared at them for trespassing into Rei's home. She was one of my closest and kindest friends, and she didn't deserve to have her life invaded in that way. Neither did Taichi, Agumon, Pal and Pul...but mostly I was just mad about Rei.

Did that make me a bad person?

It's not like I didn't know it before though, what with Alias III's past and Sigma and all of the recent side projects we'd taken. But still.

I followed one of the people in black to the Temple. I didn't make any noise—Sigma taught me better than that—and he never suspected I was there. I was hoping I'd get a chance to be there during the switching of their shifts, since I'd heard they swapped out every twelve hours, but I was mistaken. The people weren't just sitting in the tanks anymore. They were wandering around in between, all talking quietly. Every conversation I walked passed seemed urgent and similar. Something big had to have happened. It must've been why Sora was calling.

I hastened my pace.

I was nearly _trampled_ three times by the same big guy, he just kept going from person to person, repeating the same urgent whispering that I couldn't make out. I almost wished he _could_ see me, just so I wouldn't die by being crushed by his massive feet. But eventually I made it out of their ranks. I had a new appreciation for Yoshie and Kae—and their husbands—because they did _that_ everyday too, in addition to the ten hours of walking.

They were like superheroes or something.

Afraid that the DWD soldiers were going to start opening fire on me any second, I quickly slipped across the bridge and into the gates. The door was opened, not all the way, but enough that they could slip the digimon out of it. The DWD soldiers would fit though, and I nearly closed the gate behind me but decided against it—mostly because I couldn't budge it when I tried.

I hadn't expected the Temple to be bustling with life and packed with digimon, but I didn't expect it to be worse than the forest either. At least in the forest there was a reason for it. It was just quiet, not sad. But the Temple looked like a ghost town. Shops were abandoned, and I swear I saw tumbleweed drifting down the streets. All the digimon had left in a hurry, and it showed. The place was deserted. I _knew_ there were just under five hundred digimon here now, but it didn't feel like there were.

It felt empty.

My skin was crawling again, so I raced up the steps to Taichi's hall of gateways—useless at this point, since we couldn't alert the DWD to new gates, and we couldn't change the location of any of the doors, because they could track change. I looked straight ahead of me, not looking at the gates, knowing I'd be tempted to slip into one of them and just _escape_ all of this fear and panic. I was a coward, I knew that. Everyone that knew me knew that. Sigma was the brave one. I was afraid of the _dark_. Of course I was afraid of everything that was going on!

But I made it passed the doors without incident, and stepped into the open Council room door. The place was packed. Taichi sat in his usual place at the head of the table, and Koushiro as usual was at his side. Sora sat on Taichi's other side, and Biyomon and Tentomon were sort of flying behind their partners. Centarumon, Benjamin, Tinkermon and Andromon were the only other regular members of the Council present, and they two took their usual seats. Mimi—with Palmon in her lap—was next to Koushiro, with her hand on his elbow as he typed away at his laptop. Miyako was wedged between Sora and her sister Momoe, who had Emiko on _her_ lap. An Apemon—that I assumed was Emiko's partner all grown up—was behind them, and Tatum was next to Mimi with Betamon, Kudamon and Monodromon surrounding her. Shuu Kido was with Sora's dad, at the table near Centarumon. Veemon, Dracomon, Lopmon, Terriermon and the other three Knights were scattered about the room, some on the tabletop—the twins—and the others leaning against the wall. Dracomon looked scared and nervous to be surrounded by so many people. Armadillomon was also on the table, kind of blocking the view for the girl that sat behind him, but it didn't look like she cared too much. She was just as jittery as Dracomon. I recognized her as Iori's girlfriend—mostly because of the large Goblimon behind her. Starmon, Candlemon and Falcomon of the fight club digimon were there, and I noticed a few glaring absences. D'Arcmon wasn't there—though I assumed she was with DemiDevimon and the other fight club digimon (maybe all of the Temple digimon even)—and neither was Michael, but his sister was. She was sitting, staring to the table with blank eyes.

At first I figured Michael must've just went to visit America, but Betamon was still here, and Michael took him everywhere. Intrigued—and afraid—I crept further into the room.

"Michael still isn't back," Tatum said loudly.

"He said he was going to get his parents. And mine," Mimi said worriedly. "Michael _promised_ he wouldn't be long."

"He told _me_ he wasn't going to get anybody's parents," Tinkermon dismissed. "I'm worried."

"Me too," Betamon said sadly.

"He's probably just doing something he thinks is important." Kudamon said firmly. "He's Michael. He'll be fine..."

"Speaking of missing persons," Sora said slowly. "Daisuke called. He doesn't know where Neo is. He just disappeared on him, and he hasn't seen him since." Dracomon looked horrified, and was looking between Sora and Taichi, waiting for one of them to lay out a plan, to tell him how they were going to find Neo and get him back. But even _I_ knew Sora wasn't done. That Neo wasn't going to be the top priority. He was "just Neo" after all. He was "evil" and didn't need help protecting himself. The digidestind acted like they didn't judge us, but I knew they did. No one was surprised when we showed up with a warehouse's supply of mattresses at all, and they just got excited when they saw everything else. It was like it was expected of us. But even Alias III was granted a leeway that Neo never was. I missed him. And I would worry about him, just like Dracomon, even if the others weren't inclined to do anything about it. "Daisuke said he also stopped by Jun and Shuu's apartment. It was trashed. Jun is missing"—Shuu looked absolutely devastated now—"and so are the digimon."

"Meramon's downstairs," Shuu dismissed. "I brought him with me last time I went home. He was sick of hanging around inside. Jun was walking around in a bathing suit because he was making it so hot, so I brought him with me, to give her a break. I should've left him. He could've helped."

"No," Koushiro said, shaking his head. "He would've been deleted. You _saved_ Meramon by bringing him with you."

"But what about Jun, Otamamon and Gekomon? What about the rest of my family?" Shuu growled. "I have to go. I'm getting Meramon, and we're going."

"That's not a good idea," Sora's dad told him, trying to stop him. But Shuu wouldn't stop. He stormed out the door, nearly knocking me off my feet. Didn't he see me? I figured I must've been of very little importance to him at the moment though, and didn't fault him for it.

"What _else_ did Daisuke have to say?" Momoe wanted to know, her eyes tight. I'd forgotten that Jun was her best friend.

"There's no apartment to go back to," Sora said quietly. "That it was obviously DWD, and that they left the place to burn. He's got a couple of irreplaceable keepsakes, but he couldn't do much. He got there too late."

Momoe nodded, clenching her eyes together, avoiding her daughter's inquisitive stare.

"Any word on Noriko?" Iori's girlfriend asked.

"Not yet," Miyako told her. "I don't even know if they found her fiancé. They were going to. I just...everything's so crazy right now. I don't know if they remember that we want to know."

"Earth declared war on the Digital World," Taichi blurted out before anyone else could ask questions. I'd noticed he was quiet the entire meeting, but I didn't think he was stewing over something that important. That _should_ have been the first thing that was mentioned. I had to tell the others.

No.

I had to save the Temple.

Everyone was being rather vocal about their opinions on the matter. The digimon were shouting and Momoe was freaking out, trying to keep Emiko calm—she'd started screaming when the digimon did. Natsuni—I'd just remembered her name—was sobbing, curled into the arms of her digimon partner, and Mimi was wailing about how much she _hated_ fighting.

Taichi slammed his hands on the tabletop. "ENOUGH!" Everyone stopped and looked at him. "We have to make plans. We need to evacuate faster, we need to get Willis and Kiyoko on the line. We need more invisible phones. We need a defensive plan. We need to get Emiko out _yesterday_. We need to get the Knights and the Council and all the digimon over ASAP. We need to get all the rest of you guys gone too. I'm staying because I need to. Someone's got to stay with the digimon they can track."

"I'll stay too," I said loudly, confused by the fact he thought he had to call me. "I've been working on the shield. I can get it up and running in less than an hour. And I've had _some_ ideas as to what we can use for making people invisible...and why are you all doing that?"

It was rude.

They were just freaking out, looking around the room as if they couldn't see me...

"Oops," I said sheepishly, pulling out my phone and pressing the required buttons, making myself visible once again. They all looked at me, some amused, some not-so-amused, while others just rolled their eyes. "I'll just go get to work...okay?"

I didn't wait for instructions; I just headed for the abandoned market, before making a sharp turn left. I was so embarrassed, it wasn't even funny. I didn't hear the footsteps following after me, because I was too busy trying to find the centre of the whole Temple. I needed to start the barrier there, or else it wouldn't be able to form a dome shape around the structure, leaving us open to aerial attacks.

"Kiyoko," Koushiro called. I immediately halted, feeling my face flush bright red. I refused to turn to face him. "I'm here to help," he informed me. That didn't make me feel any less embarrassed though. "I also have some requests I need to ask of you."

"I'm listening," I said, still comparing the distances between the two sides of the main wall, estimating the centre.

"You have your computer," he noted, sounding pleased. "Good. That means you also have Mask Square. I'll need you to use it. On the off chance that these people _can_ break through your shield—"

"They can't!" I interrupted.

"But if they can," he insisted. "I want you to make sure that _some_ of Gennai's library stays out of their hands. It might be selfish of me to request this, but I really do feel that should the enemy know as much as Gennai knew about this world, then the digidestined, the chosen, the supporters, have no hope of winning."

"I can try," I agreed, making a note of the location within my mind as he told me the address. "And the second request?"

"I can't figure out the tracking devices," Koushiro admitted grudgingly. "I need some assistance. Taichi won't leave until the digimon are free of them, and I swore to myself that I wouldn't leave without him."

I hesitated, thinking about my plans for Hideto and Tapirmon and Willis and Team Mom and Mari, Warg and Melga, Neo, Dracomon and Rei... and then I nodded, agreeing to his request. I could always use more time for planning that speech.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Temporary goodbyes are in order as Momoe and Sora confront less than desirable circumstances.


	33. Temporary Goodbyes

**Y/N: **This is Momoe's only chapter in all of 06: Data. It's exciting, and there's some action going on in there too.

**U/N: **Weirdly, Sora has become one of the most interesting characters for me. I guess our attempts at making her less boring and one dimensional worked. At least in my eyes xD Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 4: War**

**Chapter 33: Temporary Goodbyes**

_**Sora Takenouchi:**_

Biyomon was talking about everything she'd learned while I was showering. She had taken to rallying the digimon of the Temple who had yet to move to the Coliseum and ask them if they'd seen anything. Usually, like today, the answer was 'no' but Biyomon of all people could find a way to make that into a full conversation. Or a story rather, as she rarely breathed to give me room to speak, but I didn't mind. I didn't have much to say, though I was very glad that she was doing something with her time that made her feel included. Not that it wasn't a good idea, gathering information was never a bad thing.

"...and Tentomon was all 'Biyomon, I'm working,'" She was saying, mocking Tentomon's voice, "and then I was like 'Tentomon, I was just asking you a question and you're not listening to me,' and that was really annoying so I found Palmon who is my second best digimon friend right after Mr meany pants Tentomon, and we boxed up all the digimentals and they're ready to go to the Coliseum too."

"What?" I asked before she could say anything else. "Did you ask?"

"Who would we ask?" Biyomon shrugged, "Gennai was really the only person ever in charge here, and he's not around anymore so we took initiative. It's a good thing Sora, they could be dangerous in the hands of the enemy, you know that, and—"

"Only if the enemy is digital," I reminded her, "but I guess if everyone moves to the Coliseum we are going to have to bring them... maybe we should look around for other things we'll need to bring."

"Funny you should say that," Palmon's voice said, drawing my attention to the doorway to the kitchen. Mimi had been sleeping in my room in the motel every night since Koushiro never left the lab, even for sleep. There was a couch moved into his work space so he could sleep there and get up and work immediately following. Palmon was holding a small piece of yellowish paper, her legs crossed as she leaned against the redwood border of the open doorway. Behind her I could see Mimi, her hair messily pulled back as she wrote on a clipboard, leaning back against the arm of the couch, a fuzzy grey blanket thrown over her legs. Her eyes were puffy like she'd been crying, which wasn't surprising. She'd been crying a lot, but not in a way that drew attention, because she always cried when she was alone, like she was trying to pretend she was okay, and refused any help when offered. "I just created a list about that very subject."

"Did you?" I asked as Biyomon hopped off the counter, landing on the tiled kitchen flooring, walking toward her friend to read the paper.

"Yes," Palmon confirmed, "The keys," she said, reading it off. "And that's all."

I sighed, "Really?"

"Yeah," She laughed sheepishly, "There wasn't much needed to bring."

"Tentomon has been talking about the library that Koushiro cares so much about," Biyomon said helpfully, "We could take those books." This was an ancient Temple that I'd not explored nearly as much as Taichi had. I knew it had to contain many wonderful artifacts, but I could not list them off the top of my head because I simply did not know any of them. Surely they would need to be spared as well, and perhaps the digivices. They were crafted here out of the energy of the world with a little help from some of the digimon themselves. They were somewhere in the Temple, we could bring them as well... just in case.

"What is Mimi doing?" Biyomon asked politely before flying over and rudely looking over her shoulder. Mimi didn't seem to mind though, "Another list?"

Mimi nodded, smiling, "It's of the people I know we need to keep safe." She looked back to the list and started reading it off, "Jou, Takeru, Hikari, Hideto, Mari, Willis, Iori and Yamato are at the Coliseum with..." She scanned down the page and found what she was looking for, "Rei, Mr and Mrs Izumi, Sora's mom, Takeru and Yamato's mom, Mr and Mrs Ichijouji and Masa." She looked back to the top of the page, "Sora's dad is here, and so are Momoe, Emiko, Natsuni, Jenna and Tatum, and me, and Sora, Koushiro, Miyako, Taichi and Kiyoko." Then she looked a little upset at her next grouping. "Then on Earth we know the location of Ken, Daisuke and Kurayami... but both Neo and Michael are missing. Then we still need to bring my parents, Michael and Willis' parents, Jou's family, Takeru and Yamato's father, Iori's mother, Taichi and Hikari's parents, Miyako's family, Kurayami's family, Daisuke's mother and obviously Jun." She said Jun's name very seriously, as if daring anyone to question it. "And any friends we have who aren't digidestined."

"Do any of us have non-digidestined friends?" I asked humourlessly.

"Well I _did._" Mimi said a little bitterly, twisting herself so her feet were on the floor. "And there's always Katsue."

"Right, her." I said, just as bitterly. The others all looked up to me, concerned but I smiled and they ignored the issue. Because really, there was no issue. And if there was an issue, now wasn't the time to be dealing with it. "I noticed you only wrote the humans on that list."

"Right," Mimi said, "That's because..." She pulled the paper off of the clipboard revealing an entire list of digimon in need of saving. "The digimon are on this paper."

"You separated us from the humans?" Biyomon asked.

"Segregation, Mimi?" Palmon joined in, both of them clearly joking, "You don't want us around anymore?"

"Don't say that." Mimi said flatly. "Just don't. I love you both and I want you around all the time. The paper just wasn't big enough because there are too many digimon I care about." She was very stern and honest about it and none of us thought to question her.

There was a knock on the door just then and we all looked to where Biyomon had left it wide open on her way back from her mission. Kiyoko was standing in the doorway, a tentative smile on his face. He looked proud, but nervous. I found my hands balling into a fist in anticipation for what he was about to say. This could be game changing information here. This could be very important. "I think we did it." He said with a nervous laugh. "Koushiro asked me to come get you all."

"He couldn't do it himself?" Mimi asked, not upset, just curious.

"He went to get Taichi," Kiyoko explained, "Come _on_!" Mimi jumped to her feet and slipped her feet into her fuzzy green slippers, not bothering to change from the grey shirt she was wearing over her polka dotted pajama bottoms. She did grab a sweater though, following Kiyoko outside. When I stepped out, closing the door behind Palmon and Biyomon I noticed Kiyoko dragging Miyako out of the room she'd been staying in. She looked to us with a half smile as she pulled her gloves up her arm nervously, and then she followed behind Kiyoko who sharply took off at a run, his hand still wrapped around her wrist.

Miyako's eyes never left Kiyoko's hand, her face remaining calm, though just barely. Mimi was rushing after them, holding her sweater closed as she ran, with Palmon and Biyomon in her wake. I was behind them all, noticing how crisp and cool the air was this morning. The sun was just over the mountains around the Temple, and the air was still warming from the dampness of the night. The footsteps of the others was the only sound to be heard in this area of the Temple now, as the land was now a deserted village, haunted with the joy and protection it once possessed.

And we may just be able to bring that back today if all went well.

As I rounded the corner I saw everyone standing in the center of the Town Square. The murals of stones decorating the ground made up an angel's silhouette as she looked off into the dark moon over where Taichi was standing. He was accompanied by Koushiro of course as well as Tatum, my father, Tentomon, Natsuni, Goblimon, Momoe, Emiko, Jenna and D'arcmon who was still holding Demidevimon in her arms comfortingly. Her eyes looked up to me and I quickly averted my eyes. She gave me the feeling she could read my mind and even though I was thinking of nothing embarrassing it just felt wrong.

Mimi took her place next to Koushiro as Palmon and Biyomon joined Tentomon. Kiyoko stood in the exact center of the open square and pulled his computer out of the bag around his shoulder, setting it down carefully. Miyako and I stood on the opposite side to the others, watching as Kiyoko sat down with his laptop and began clicking away. I noticed Miyako rubbing the arm that Kiyoko had held and I took her hand gently. She thanked me with her eyes and we looked back to Kiyoko.

"So you've got it?" Taichi asked for clarification, "Just so I'm sure what's going on."

"We don't know," Koushiro admitted, "We have yet to test it obviously."

"We just thought you might want to be here for the big unveil." Kiyoko smiled. But his lips quivered as though he was afraid he would embarrass himself, as though he had very little confidence in whether or not the concept would pull through. I would have called out to him and told him I believed in him if I didn't think it would further embarrass him, so instead I watched in silence and bated breath just as the others were, waiting for the moment to come. "Well," Kiyoko said nervously, his finger shaking as he lowered it toward the keyboard, "Here goes nothing."

His finger fell and hit the button rather anticlimactically because nothing really happened. We slowly looked around in turn, searching for the change we had been expecting, but it seemed Kiyoko and Koushiro had failed us. I had to mentally repeat the sentence a few times to grasp that it had been true. At least for now, their invention had failed.

"I don't understand." Kiyoko said, looking down to the program as his face turned bright red. "It was perfect. There were no flaws. If this didn't work, I'm not sure what else to try." Koushiro moved forward, taking his hand from Mimi to sit with his cousin as the two stared to the screen, silently. I thought maybe the rest of us should go so they didn't feel watched, but it might seem rude to be the only one turning to walk off.

"There," Koushiro said, "That is not correct." He reached forward and pressed one single tiny little button on the computer, and with a _bang_ everything was blurred in my vision. It was like a great big bubble had grown at hyper speed from the screen of Kiyoko's computer. When it passed through me I felt warm, like someone was hugging me from the inside of my body, and yet I still threw my hands up for protection. When I pulled them away I could see everyone hesitating to lower their own arms, unsure of what they may see. What we all _did_ see was Kiyoko and Koushiro sitting together on the stone floor looking impressed with themselves, their necks bent back and their heads up to the sky.

I followed their gaze and saw that there was a barrier that appeared to be that same bubble surrounding the Temple. It appeared to be made of water in the way it moved gently like a river on a still summer day.

"You two are brilliant." Miyako let out with a laugh. "So how does it work?"

"That's a really good question," Taichi said, looking to the boys.

"Well," Koushiro said, "No one can cross the threshold into the Temple without a digivice now. It can only be accessed if this specific requirement is fulfilled. Simply put, we separated the Temple from the Digital World. It is as if it is a separate world. In theory at least. In reality it still remains in this plain of existence."

"Is there anything you _can't_ do?" Momoe asked with a laugh.

"This was actually Kiyoko," Koushiro said, passing the credit to the younger of the two, "He used his knowledge of Masks Square, and the invisibility protection he had placed upon the Coliseum and put them together. Ultimately it has created a shield."

"Does it work though?" Palmon asked.

"Well I would assume so," Koushiro said, suddenly less content.

"But if it doesn't we could all die still." Palmon reminded him. "How can we be sure it works?"

"We test it," I said with a confident grin. My plan was perhaps rash, but not entirely stupid. I had complete faith in both Koushiro and Kiyoko. They were my friends and I knew they wouldn't let me do what I was already heading to do if they didn't trust their own work either.

"Wait—_wait_!" Kiyoko insisted, chasing after me. I was aware that the entire group was now following behind me as well, but I wasn't about to stop. We had to be sure this worked, because if it did, I had another plan. A better, safer plan than this one. A really, really good plan.

"Sora, where are you going?" Dad called after me, "Don't hurt yourself again." I almost stopped hearing the pain he tried to hide from his words, but I wasn't going to. I had to make sure the barrier worked.

I reached the door to the Temple that was still open slightly to let people move back and forth. I saw the end of the bubble which ended just before the end of the beautiful bridge. There was fog and mist pouring over onto the bridge from the abyss below that pretended to be a moat, and I stormed through it, toward where the barrier ended.

Lucky for me, there was already a man standing by the edge, his hands placed against it. He slammed his fists into it, and then became frustrated. "Well, looks like it works," I told them with a joyous laugh. I turned to the others and saw them all standing in a crowd, watching the men behind the one who had stopped in front of the barrier.

"What worked?"

I spun around and faced him again, shocked. I somehow thought he was unable to hear me, but they'd never mentioned that was a feature of our new protection system so I was unsure where I'd come up with the idea. Thankfully the man was still unable to get through, but he was looking to us all angry. "We're now perfectly safe from all of your stupid attacks." I regretted saying anything. I didn't want to challenge them, and they hadn't really attacked the Temple yet. They'd just been guarding it, as if they were simply making sure we did nothing of any importance, as if someone somewhere else was making all the big movements in the war.

"We'll just see about that." The man said with a wicked grin. He pulled a walkie talkie from his belt and spoke into it, "Fire at will." All of two seconds later we were subjected to cannon fire, and just about any other kind of attack I could think of. There were jets of that horrible purple energy, regular gun fire, balls of what literally looked like fire coming from some of the bigger tanks to the West. My vision was then blocked out by my father who had thrown himself in front of me, hugging me tight, his back toward the blasts. After a few solid minutes of constant smashing and booms, it all stopped and my father released me and turned to face the outside, not moving from in front of me though, protecting me. The man was all I could see outside the barrier now though aside from rolls of dark smoke, rolling up the barrier from all the attacks. Not even the smoke could get through. "Well," The man said, a smug smile on his face, "Looks like you were right." And then he turned and walked off into the smoke. As if none of what we'd accomplished even mattered to him. As if it wasn't important.

I turned back to the others and they were all looking to where he had been standing with the same narrow eyed look I'd previously had. What did that mean?

"Okay..." Taichi said slowly, "Well... I have a lot to do, so I'll leave you all to make up your next plans."

"Taichi wait," I shouted, chasing after him. He didn't stop, so I found myself pushing through Natsuni and Goblimon and catching Taichi on his way through the large doors of the Temple. I slipped through them after him, but he still didn't stop, "Taichi, we can help you if you just let us. You're in the same situation the rest of us have always been in. We're all helpless now. We're nothing but another human to the war that is bound to begin soon. But we're all humans standing on the right side of the war, just stop pretending you're doing this all on your own, okay? We're in this together. You, me, Babamon, Natsuni and even Ken's mother! Everyone in the world is now subjected to this war."

"Yes," Taichi agreed, stopping in his tracks, "But you forgot to mention one little thing. It's my fault."

"No, it's not." I insisted, "They would have declared war with or without your threat. Because they don't need your words to feel threatened. They just _do_. But you're not alone in this just because you made some stupid mistakes. We're all fighting by your side. All of us. I don't think Agumon would be very happy to see you pushing people aside and stressing out all the time."

"Well I wouldn't know," Taichi said, turning to face me now, "I haven't seen him in a _really_ long time. Or Rei, or my parents, or even Hikari."

"Then take a break," I suggested, "Go relax. No one will blame you."

"I'll blame myself."

"Then you're too hard on yourself," I insisted, "Just _go_. Breathe."

For a brief moment it looked as though I might be able to convince him to actually listen to me for once in his life. To take a well deserved break so he could come back with a clear mind and understand that we were all on his side, and that we'd all love to help him. But then he shook his head, "I can't. Just, go do something."

"I've been doing _something_ for the past two and a half weeks," I practically growled, "I've been flitting around making sure everyone is happy and fed and that everyone outside knows everything that's going on, and that you have coffee every half hour so you don't collapse. Sure, this is all well and good, but I want to know what's going on in your head so I can actually _help_."

"Sora," Taichi said, his voice weak, "There's nothing going on inside my head. I have nothing. That's the problem." He turned and stormed off, angry and defeated. I called after him but he didn't stop, so I found myself frustrated and heading back to the others who I found were all waiting just outside the door listening to our conversation. My eyebrows rose at the sight of them and each of them smiled the same sheepish way.

"What's the plan?" Biyomon asked, flying to my side. "I know that look, that's your planning look. Let me know what it is."

She knew me well, because I was already cooking up something good. "Mimi, keep making your list of digimon to be saved, and send it to me when you're done. Momoe, I want you to make sure Jou's family gets here so they can be taken to the Coliseum. Jenna, figure out what happened to Michael. Tatum, Koushiro, Kiyoko and Dad, you all stay here and keep an eye on Taichi, work with him. Tentomon, you stay with Koushiro too. He'll need you. Didn't you guys say you were going to find a way to remove the tracking devices?"

"What about me?" Miyako asked nervously.

"I want you to come with me." I told her. She smiled, but still looked nervous. "We are going to take Kiyoko's barrier program around and set up protection for the digimon safe houses we've created."

Kiyoko looked thoughtful for a moment and then decided that was easy enough to accomplish, and sat down with his computer once again. "I'll need your cell phones if you intend to go unseen."

"We've both already given ours up," Miyako told him.

"Take mine," Natsuni said, "If it helps." She pulled her phone from her pocket and handed it to Miyako. Jenna was quick to give me her phone and then we handed them to Kiyoko as he worked to make our journey a possibility.

"What about me?" Palmon asked.

"You can help Biyomon gather the digimon." I told her, "Like Armadillomon. Anyone know where he went?"

"Last I saw he was sleeping in the courtyard," Demidevimon said.

"And," I said, "Find out if Noriko's boyfriend ever showed up to the Coliseum."

"Roger," Palmon nodded, rushing off, "Come on Biyomon!"

"I'm going with Sora." Biyomon said flatly.

"But she just said—" Palmon tried.

"I know what she said," Biyomon said sharply, "But Sora and I have an agreement. We will work together, and we will go out there together. I want to help, and so does she."

"Well then I'll need another phone." Kiyoko said, his work load piling up quickly. Momoe handed off her phone, happy to be of service. I didn't say much else as everyone else got to work. I mostly thought of all the excuses I could use on Biyomon to convince her to stay. She was never going to though, and I knew my excuses were flimsy at best. I just wanted her to stay here, to stay safe so bad. But she was never going to do as I asked because she had the same desire for me. I was no safer out there than she was, and now that we had the ability to turn invisible, we could actually succeed in surviving calmly.

Kiyoko was the saving grace of these past few months, really.

Soon enough he was handing us his laptop, and explaining the actions we would need to replicate. It was fairly straightforward, and then he was working on the phones. Miyako and I sat together, Biyomon at my feet, all of us silent, just waiting for our moment to get out onto the field and help. I didn't know what Taichi wanted me to do, but I had to do something if he was too stubborn to clear his own mind.

Ten minutes later we were standing at the edge of the bridge, looking to where the tanks were calmed again, the smoke had cleared. Miyako and I were holding a cell phone, and Biyomon had one in Miyako's fanny pack, tied around her waist just in case she dropped it accidentally. This was safer.

"Ready?" I asked. I got no response aside from a nervous sound from Miyako.

"Hey, I can get back in." Biyomon said with a relieved sigh. "I'd been worried when they said you needed a digivice, but since we digimon can go back and forth without one I was curious. It's a good thing we can get in though. Otherwise we wouldn't be helping much by setting them up keeping digimon out of the safe zones." I hadn't even thought of that. But now wasn't the time, I hissed to Biyomon to keep quiet, and felt Miyako's hand searching for my own. I grabbed her hand and she relaxed. It was a good idea to stick together, so I followed the sound of Biyomon's humming and took her hand into my own reminding her once again to be quiet.

And she finally listened. We crept past the guards narrowly avoiding being found out as Miyako nearly tripped once and dropped the laptop she was carrying. It became visible, but she was quick to grab it back into her protection bubble, and we otherwise went on without a hitch in the plan.

After a while, when we were sure no one would hear us, Biyomon was back into her talkative mood. "Where are we going first?" But instead of allowing me to respond, she just listed all of her ideas, and while that was all well and good, I had a pretty good idea of where to stop by first. Primary Village. I told her that too, and she seemed to think it was a good idea, going on and on about how the babies were the first ones that needed to be safe.

The sun was higher in the sky now and the dampness had gone, leaving behind a dry heat not unlike summer. We were nearing the end of spring where summer would come in slowing our movements and making us lazy. Summer was the time we were all supposed to relax on the beach, not worry about our lives. It was all wrong. I'd come back from school hoping to have a perfectly happy life with the peace we were supposed to find. Of course I'd misunderstood the truth. I was under the impression that as we were no longer meant to be involved in the saving of the world I'd assumed that meant we were allowed to be at peace after having been expected to save the world for so long. But that wasn't the case. We were instead subjected to the same fate as the rest of the world. We were not at peace any more than anyone else did. We just had to hold out until Trust came along and saved us all...

"I miss Ken," Miyako said abruptly, cutting into one of Biyomon's rants. "I miss Hawkmon too."

"We can go back and see them soon," I promised. "We just have a few stops to make, and then you have every right to go back to see them."

"No, I don't." She said, "I promised I'd look after Wormmon. I need to go back for him instead. I have to trust Ken and Hawkmon... and I do. I just want our family to be together. All five of us."

"Five?" I asked, a smile spreading across my face.

"I didn't say five." Miyako said defensively. "Really, I said four. I promise."

"Oh, I must have misheard you," I lied. I was so frustrated that I wasn't allowed to get excited about the baby with Miyako. I wanted to go shopping for baby clothes, and talk about baby names and everything else that friends would do when a baby was on the way. Was there something with the Inoue girls that prevented them from telling people about their pregnancies? Jou and Momoe had kept Emiko a secret until days before her birth—one day to be exact. _One_ day. I wasn't around much for Kurayami's pregnancy, but here I was, waiting for Miyako and I to talk about it together, but she was keeping it from me. And not well. I wondered who all she'd told about it. "Well, I'm sure Ken would understand that you want to see him. He is probably expecting it."

Miyako was silent for a bit, and I tried to imagine what her expressions might look like, but it wasn't possible to know for sure. "He isn't." She told me gently, "He left me his gun."

"What gun?" Biyomon asked. "His police gun? Like one that the bad guys have?"

"Yes," Miyako responded quickly. "It can kill digimon. I don't know what it can do to a human because Jou hasn't told anyone about Noriko's state yet. Apparently he's working really hard, but what happens if I shoot a person? That's why Ken left it with me, right? Because I might find myself in danger? I can't kill someone. But he expects me to. He wants me to protect myself and protect Wormmon, because he knows he isn't going to see me ever again."

"Okay, you totally had me," I said, guiltily laughing at her, "Until the end. You're totally going to see him again. I promise."

"You can't know that." She said dramatically. "I've been away from him a long time. I'm not some girl that needs to talk to him every second of every day, and the phone calls every night are nice, but it's not the same as having him there. I'm married, Sora. I sometimes forget that. I forget that I've been married for as long as I have. He's my husband, and so far we've proven everyone wrong. We've stuck this out. We're in love, I think that's clear because I miss him. I just want him to be around me and protect me. I want _Hawkmon_ to protect me too. And even more, I want to protect _them_. I've got some really protective instincts kicking in, and I want to make good use of them."

Subtle, Miyako. Really, really subtle. I didn't say anything, because I didn't know what to say, but Biyomon was quick to jump to my rescue telling a story of how Terriermon and Lopmon were apart from Willis and they could relate to her, so she should maybe spend more time with them. I had a feeling Miyako's one word responses were less optimistic than her voice let on.

While they were talking I found myself thinking of Yamato again and, as much as it annoyed me to admit, Katsue. I didn't know why they were frustrating me so much. Probably because I knew they had chemistry and romantic history. It was clear to anyone with eyes that Katsue had no interest in Yamato, but what if he didn't feel the same? He'd promised to wait for me... and he had. But how much longer was he willing to wait? Why didn't I just say something to him? Why couldn't we just _be_ together? Miyako was _married_, and she'd been that way for nearly five years. She was pregnant with a baby that would become Emiko's cousin. Jou's niece. Jou, who was also married. Daisuke and Kurayami were also married with a baby. And there I was, for once in my life afraid to advance into a relationship.

I'd never hesitated before. But it felt to me like it was because everyone had had such high hopes for me. They'd all sent me off with so much confidence to the school of my dreams where I promised I would find myself and fix all my problems. I thought I did. I thought I was better, happier, smarter and altogether more put together... but what if I wasn't, and I risked everything by being with Yamato who I so badly wanted to be with. And it had been three years of waiting.

No. It hadn't. It had been thirteen years of waiting. Thirteen. He'd waited for so long... so how long was too long? Had he finally lost interest? Was it worth pursuing? Or should I back away from him and close the book of love forever?

"We're here! We're here!" Biyomon sang out, hurrying forward. She landed on the soft ground of the village, and I could tell because the ground bent around her claw shaped feet. Miyako and I followed the dents in the ground she was leaving, trusting she knew where she was headed. Eventually we found a group of Yokomon who were all huddled together, looking either very cold, or scared. "Yokomon!" Biyomon screamed out suddenly. The Yokomon all burst into hysterical screams and ran around in panic. So they weren't cold. "Stop!" Biyomon shouted, pulling her fanny pack off and throwing it to the ground where it too sunk into the surface and bounced off somewhere. "It's me!" The Yokomon all relaxed and screamed with excitement, rushing toward Biyomon to cluster around her. "I missed you all!" She laughed as they all told her the same.

Elecmon burst from behind a pile of large fluffy building blocks and relaxed, seeing Biyomon. Miyako disengaged her shield and I did the same. Elecmon seemed very happy to see us and led us to where he told us we would find Angemon. "Why were you all so frightened?" Biyomon asked the Yokomon as they all followed along behind us.

"Well we don't have Meramon to protect us anymore." One of the Yokomon filled in the story. "Without a bigger digimon we feel scared."

"We have Angemon, but he's got his hands full with the babies now." Another Yokomon said.

"Usually we get along just fine," the first one said. "But now that everywhere is potentially dangerous it just doesn't feel the same anymore."

"Well don't worry, I'll protect you while I'm here," Biyomon told them brightly. I smiled, but didn't let her see. I didn't want her to think I was listening in, though she must've known I was. Elecemon had finally led us to the field of baby carriages where there was loud wailing from every direction. He apologized and rushed off to sooth the children he so carefully looked after. I spotted Angemon speaking with a couple Koromon who were crying as well, but Miyako had seen someone different. She pulled on my sleeve and pointed to where the dark figure of our past sat by a tree to our immediate left speaking with some baby digimon of his own.

Slowly he looked up to us and his eyes fell onto me. "Red haired child." He greeted as politely as he seemed to be able.

"Devimon," I tried to smile curtly, but it came across more of a scowl. He didn't seem to mind though, and he continued speaking with the babies about all the evil things he'd done. "Is that really a good idea?" I asked Miyako, "Having him feed them darkness?"

"Well, the world needs a perfect balance." She shrugged.

It seemed to me that the world was too one sided these days. Too much darkness, not enough light. Perhaps I needed to spend more time with Hikari. Angemon noticed us and waved to us kindly, flying toward us, his Koromon in tow. "Hello Sora, Miyako." His eyes fell to Biyomon, "Biyomon," He added, "What are you all doing here?"

"Setting up a protection barrier," Biyomon explained excitedly, "Kiyoko has just made one and it is really cool," She turned to the Yokomon, "Kiyoko is Koushiro's cousin, and Koushiro is the partner to Tentomon who I can merge with. So Kiyoko is basically a close personal friend." The Yokomon all lit up with amazement that Biyomon could know someone so cool, and both Miyako and I laughed. "We're going to protect all of the babies here, and then everyone everywhere else too."

"Does it work?" Angemon wanted to know.

"Of course it does!" Biyomon said confidently, "We set one up a few hours ago at the Temple. It protected us from the blasts of the enemy tanks. I'm sure it'll be safe."

"For how long though?" A different Yokomon asked.

"Forever." Biyomon seemed sure of it, but truthfully we had no way of knowing. But even if it lasted only a day or two it would be better protection than nothing at all, wouldn't it? I didn't wait for an invitation to set it up either. Biyomon kept assuring the Yokomon that they would be safe as long as she was around and promising to not leave them unprotected as Miyako and I worked together to set up the barrier.

It worked the same way it had at the Temple, creating a big bubble that was warm and beautiful in the way it seemed to live and move just like the digimon. Of course there was no way it was made of digital matter like digimon were because if it had been the guns would have shot right through. "That will protect the children?" Angemon asked, worried.

"Of course," Miyako nodded, even more sure than Biyomon was. "It has to." Suddenly she was back down to my level of unsure. "We can't stay." She said, taking charge, "We have a lot of other places to get to before going back to the Temple. Everyone deserves a chance to be safe. Not just us. And I'm sure Kiyoko wants his computer back." She closed the computer and lifted it from its place on the soft ground.

"Well thank you for your assistance," Angemon said, bowing his head kindly, "it is appreciated. I am sure Elecmon and the children thank you as well."

"Tell them all that it was nothing," I smiled to him, "Well it was nice seeing you Angemon, but Miyako is right, we have to go." We said our quick goodbyes and were turning to leave. We got a fair distance too before Miyako pulled on my sleeve again forcing me to stop. She pointed back to the Yokomon, her eyebrows furrowed nervously. I saw what she was pointing to, though I wish I hadn't. Biyomon was standing amongst the Yokomon, still laughing with them all. "Biyomon!" I shouted, "We have to go!"

She looked to me confused, and flew over to the two of us, "I know," She said, "Didn't you hear me, Sora? I'm going to protect the Yokomon. I promised them. They trust me like they used to trust Meramon. I am going to make sure they stay safe."

"You have to come with me." I found myself saying.

Biyomon shook her head, and her eyes narrowed, offended, "I thought we agreed we would not tell each other what to do? That we were equals? I want to stay and help my friends. How is that any different than you going around helping the rest of the digimon? Besides, you get what you want this way. I'll be safe here."

I tried three times to form a sentence that I was happy with before I found one that worked. "I trust you." Was what I said. I knelt down and hugged her, "I love you."

"I love you too." Biyomon said, hugging me back. "I promise I won't let the Yokomon get hurt, either."

"I promise to come back to see you as often as I can." I told her, kissing her forehead. "I'm not forgetting about you."

"You're the best." Biyomon said, hugging my legs before the Yokomon had swarmed her again each of them ranting separately to her about some exotic seed they wanted her to try. Miyako took my hand and looked to me, aware that it was difficult to leave a partner behind. I hadn't realized how hard Taichi really did have it. Not being around Agumon for as long as he had must have been really painful. Because even now I felt upset, just walking away from her... but I knew she'd be okay. Because I really did trust her.

_**Momoe Kido:**_

Sometimes, for very brief moments, I wish Miyako was never given a digivice. If she wasn't, then she wouldn't be in danger all the time, and I wouldn't have ever gotten wrapped up in this, and I wouldn't have a daughter that I was terrified of losing all the time.

But then the moment passes, because I _wouldn't _have Emiko, and that idea was more painful than the constant fear of losing her. I also wouldn't have met Bearmon, or Jou. My Jou. My _brave_ Jou who was fighting for Noriko's life as I stood here watching Emiko play with Apemon. I wanted to be at his side, helping in any way I could, even if it was just to provide a calming presence while he overworked himself. But I knew that wasn't an option anymore. Sora had given me a mission, and I was going to do the best I could to ensure I succeeded.

I just wished I didn't have to go so soon.

Yoshie and Kae—fellow mothers that I knew feared for the safety of their children—were coming soon. I didn't know when exactly. Their schedule was a little off lately. I knew it was because they were tired. They were getting far more exercise than the housewives were used to getting. And they weren't exactly spring chickens anymore. They weren't excessively old or anything, but they were _older_. And they weren't as spry as Yamato and Iori had been when they were doing the same thing. Or so I was told. I hadn't actually _been_ here at the Temple all that long. Longer than I wanted to be, sure, but not as long as Taichi, Koushiro or Miyako had been.

Miyako.

My baby sister was gone now. I didn't know where she and Sora were exactly, but I knew they would be gone for a few days at the very least. Everything took so long to get to in the Digital World when you couldn't just get your partner to digivolve and carry you to where you wanted to go. I didn't know if they'd gotten as far as Primary Village yet or not. I hadn't exactly had the chance to explore the Digital World and find all of these places Jou and his friends were always talking about. I just hoped that I would still have that chance in the future, and that the DWD didn't ruin everything this world stood for.

Like they destroyed Jun's apartment, her _home_. Maybe even her life.

No.

I couldn't think that negatively. Shuu and Meramon were out there searching for her. So was Daisuke. They wouldn't _allow_ something bad to happen to her... but I should be out there too, looking for my best friend, instead of sitting around debating whether or not I wanted to go and start my mission or not. But Emiko was my baby, my sweet little girl and I'd have to say goodbye to her. She didn't know her mother was leaving her in the hands of strangers, counting on these women to bring her to the Coliseum and safety. I needed to bring myself to trust them. To know they would take care of Emiko with as much concern and caution as they would give their own children. I cursed my traitorous mind when it reminded me that Kae's eldest son died. It wasn't her fault. I knew she couldn't control the circumstances, but the little dark voice in my head reminded me anyway. Her son was killed by a car, she let him out and about without constant supervision and he died.

I shook my head harshly.

He died because a driver wasn't being cautious at a school crossing zone. Osamu and Ken weren't the only children on the road at that time, and Osamu made sure Ken wasn't hurt before he'd been struck. It was the driver's fault, no one else's.

So why was I so scared to hand my daughter's life over to them?

I didn't really know them. I knew their children though. And I would trust Ken with Emiko. I had done so plenty of times in the past, once Sigma was gone. Miyako had wanted to catch up with her goddaughter, make up for all the time she'd missed when she'd pushed her away, afraid for her safety. I knew I could trust him. And his mother raised him. So theoretically Kae was safe. Yoshie on the other hand... I didn't think I would ever trust Koushiro with watching over Emiko. Ever. He was always too preoccupied with something to take good care of her. I knew logically that Yoshie wasn't like him. She was quite different. She was also responsible for a large percentage of the personality changes in Kiyoko. And those had all been good changes, if slow going.

There really was no reason to debate this though. I had no choice. Emiko was on the list to head over to the Coliseum today. Taichi promised her a spot, stating that the smallest needed to get out now—digidestined, Knights and Council members excluded—and that Emiko was really his top priority because she didn't understand what was going on like all the digimon did. And that was dangerous. I was worried though, because the number of cell phones available to use was growing. It was a good thing, because more digimon could be transported with each trip, but it wasn't helping ease my conscience. Yoshie and Kae would have their hands full. With the exception of the three phones that Sora, Miyako and Biyomon had taken, all phones were in use bringing digimon to the Coliseum. It would still be ages before all the digimon were free though. There were twenty five phones once they were able to pry Katsue's out of her hands. And I knew that Masami Izumi and Kazuya Ichijouji took Kiyoko's phone back with them the previous night. Twenty three digimon could be moved at once. That was a lot to look after. How could I be sure they could handle taking care of Emiko and Apemon when there were twenty one others that demanded their attention?

But I couldn't be selfish and demand they take her across alone. That wasn't fair to Yoshie and Kae who had walked all that distance, and it certainly wasn't fair to the digimon on the waiting list. We were under five hundred, just under four hundred and fifty even, but still. That wasn't enough. Not now that the enemy was willing to open fire at the barrier that Kiyoko and Koushiro had put up. I'd done the math. It would take ten days to get all the digimon across, and only _then_ would we be able to worry about the Knights, the digidestined, the Council members and the digimon with the tacking devices. Did we have ten days?

With the DWD's new stance on attacking humans, somehow I doubted it. I added a new task to my mission, send as many cell phones—maybe iPods, I'd have to ask Kiyoko what the requirement was—back with whomever I send as possible. I needed to help save the digimon. And sitting around her panicking over trusting Emiko with two women I barely knew wasn't going to help me do that.

I knew that Jou was expecting me to come with Emiko. And to bring Apemon and Gomamon with me. I hated to disappoint him, but I couldn't disagree with Sora's idea. It made the most sense, and I knew that Jou would be really happy when I brought his father and family to him when I finally met up with him. I knew what I had to do. I just had to do it.

So I hunted down the secret lab in the basement—way harder to find than I thought it would be, with the door being hidden in the back of a broom closet and all—and requested answers from Kiyoko.

"What do you need to make people invisible?" I demanded. I felt bad almost immediately for doing so since he was freaking out so much, but I couldn't take my harsh tone back. His eyes were wide and he was looking to Koushiro like he'd have to save him from me, because I was _so tough_, but I tried to find a small semblance of patience within me. I knew he was damaged from his years playing host to the demonic spirit of a dead fairy king that mutilated my little sister. I tried not to hold that against him. I tried really hard, but it wasn't easy, you know, since I'd _seen_ the damage that fairy had done to Miyako's arms and emotions. But it technically _wasn't_ the boy in front of me that did it.

"A program that I converted into a phone feature," he stammered.

"So it's like an application on an iPod or something," I summarized happily. I had plenty of music devices at home, and I knew there were several of them laying around at the Coliseum, since Alias III had gone all out to make the place feel fun and inviting.

"It could be applied as one, yes," he said, a spark igniting in his eyes. He caught on to my train of thought and was already logging a computer on to a web chat program. Koushiro glared at me half-heartedly for taking away his partner in science—and I _did_ feel bad about it, because they were working on something super important: the removal of the tracking devices—before realizing the sheer brilliance of the plan and nodded to me. I took that as a sign of approval, and grinned before racing out of the room and up the stairs. I'd helped the digimon cause, _finally_. I'd been able to come up with an idea that not even the resident whiz kids could, and I was actually really proud of myself for doing so. Even if there were only ten iPod's in the Coliseum—I was estimating, I hadn't seen the place very well—that was twenty more digimon each day with the two trips made. That was an accomplishment.

And I would make sure that number grew steadily by sending whatever I could find with _whoever_ I could find.

But, in order to do that, I would have to say goodbye to my little girl first, and send her out there without me. I almost cried at the thought, but I had to think about this from Taichi's point of view. He had his sister, his girlfriend and his digimon partner all at the Coliseum, and had his parents on Earth with Kamemon. He and Dorumon were here. Their family was spread so far apart, and in order to help get _them_ together, I would need to get the digimon across faster.

I thought about Sora's family, spread across _just_ the Digital World, so close, yet so far. Mimi's parents and Minervamon were still in America, with the missing Michael. Hopefully he was still just wandering around New York, I didn't want to think of any other options. But even Michael's family was scattered so far apart. It wasn't just _me_ that was in this boat. Not one of the digidestined's whole family was in one place. But I could help to change that. By sending Emiko, Apemon and Gomamon to Jou, I was helping to complete our family, since it was just him and Bearmon at the Coliseum right now. And then I would go and get his father, his step-mother, brothers and step-sisters while I was on Earth, and I would get Jun too, because she was his brother's fiancé and my best friend, and she deserved to be found.

Then I would start on Daisuke's family, because he was Jun's brother, and a fellow parent to a young child that deserved the safety just as much as Emiko did. He was only a few months old. He should've been one of the _first_ ones delivered to the Coliseum, not one of the last. So I would try and get him there, and Daisuke's wife and mother since they were still out there too. I knew this because Mimi had given me a list of people and digimon to bring back as soon as Sora had given me the mission of saving Jou's family. She was thinking on the same lines as me. There were more than just Jou's family to be saved. Mine included.

I couldn't keep putting it off. I had to say goodbye, knowing full well that I wouldn't be able to rest properly until I got confirmation of her arrival. I wouldn't be able to get that though, because I'd given up my phone so that Biyomon could be invisible. I didn't regret that decision either, but I did wish they would've left _after_ Emiko was safe.

But I couldn't change the past. I just had to look forward to the future, however bleak it may appear. I pulled Apemon aside while he was playing hide and seek with Emiko. "Apemon," I whispered seriously, knowing he was able to act with purpose when spoken to the right way. "I need you to watch over Emiko. Don't let go of her hand the entire way to the Coliseum, and don't let anyone hurt her. But don't let yourself get hurt either, okay? Emiko needs you. Jou and I need you. You're part of our family, and I need to know that I can trust you to keep our family safe. Do you understand?"

He nodded, but pointed to me curiously.

"I'm not going with you," I admitted, knowing he was asking that very question. "I have to get the rest of our family. But I know I can trust you. Right? Because you care about Emiko just as much as me. And you'll make sure she gets to her daddy."

He nodded again, hugging me briefly and then wiping away a stray tear he'd found on my cheek. He looked sad, and I knew he was afraid of how Emiko would react to the long walk without me. But I needed to know he could keep her quiet when she needed to be. I didn't want her calling the attention of the bad guys.

"I'm going to find her, okay?" I told him, taking over his role in their game. I found her shoes tucked under a pile of dirt. She was a clever girl though and created distractions like this to keep the seeker off her scent. She was very competitive. I found her after ten minutes of searching, tucked away in a garbage can giggling. I pulled her out and put her shoes back on her feet, much to her disgust.

"Emiko," I told her gently. "We need to talk."

"No," she refused.

"It's not up for debate," I said firmly. "Do you know who you get to see today? You get to see Hikari and Daddy and Bearmon. Isn't that exciting?" She grinned and nodded. "But you need to be good, okay? It's really important. How about you and Apemon play a quiet game until Mrs Izumi or Mrs Ichijouji tell you that it is okay to stop? That sounds fun, to see which one can be quiet the longest. I think you can do it, but I think Apemon's sure _he_ will win."

"Nu uh," she said shaking her head and crossing her arms.

"You'll just have to prove him wrong then," I told her simply.

"You play too?" she wanted to know and my heart clenched as I shook my head. "Why not?"

"Because I'm not going," I told her. "You're going to have to go without me. You and Apemon have to take care of each other, and Daddy will be so proud of you, to see how far you walked all by yourself. And you can tell Bearmon and Hikari all about your adventure. An adventure of your very own. That sounds really exciting, doesn't it? You'll have to tell me when I get _my_ turn to go. We can compare our journeys. That'll be fun, right?"

She shook her head and her lip was quivering. She was getting angry. She never seemed to just get sad like other kids. Anger was always her first reaction.

"I have to take care of Grandpa Kido, and Grandma Aimi," I told her quickly. "They need my help to get to the Digital World. And your Aunts, Eri, Cho, Kazue and Chiziru need to come, and Uncle Mantarou, and Uncle Shin. Uncle Shuu just ran away without telling anyone where he's going, so I have to go get him back. And Auntie Jun is missing, sweetheart. She's playing a not-fun game of hide and seek and she needs me to be a seeker too. I'm going to get you lots of people to play with. And we'll have lots of fun when I get back. I promise. We'll get lots of little digimon together and we'll _all_ play hide and seek. How does that sound?"

"Fun," she admitted grumpily.

"And for now, you'll have Bearmon, Hikari and Apemon to play with," I assured her. "And Masa's over there too. Oh, and I'm going to talk to Gomamon too, to see if he'll go with you, instead of waiting like he planned."

"I like Gomamon," she said quietly.

"I know you do baby," I told her kissing her head, and wrapping my arms around her small frame. I squeezed her against me and never wanted to let go, peppering her face with kisses and trying to keep a smile on my face until she _made_ me let go. "It's not goodbye," I assured her.

"Just see ya later," she finished with a grin. "I love you mommy."

"I love you more," I told her with a watery smile.

"Nope, 'cause I love _you_ most!" she said before rushing off to play with Apemon again. I was torn between happiness and unrest. I was happy she was taking this so well, but I was also upset that she wasn't sad to leave me behind. I knew I couldn't have it both ways, and this option was better, but I guess I just wanted a little more from our emotional goodbye.

But I had a digital seal to track down, and I didn't want to stir the pot when it was already in my favour. Gomamon was sitting with Mimi, Palmon and Betamon. They were all listing digimon in a way that seemed totally random, but I knew they were just listing off all of their digimon friends. The one thing about Mimi was that she just collected them. From what I'd gathered when Jou told me all his old stories, any digimon Mimi talked to was added to her ever growing friends list.

"Oh, oh! Chuumon and Sukamon!" Palmon shouted.

"Eww," Mimi said, but she put them on the list with a somewhat fond smile.

"Digitamamon and Unimon should be added," Betamon suggested.

"Good one," Mimi said. "I'd forgotten they weren't already at the Coliseum."

"Hawkmon might be a good one to add too then," I suggested, startling the four of them.

"Momoe!" Gomamon said. "Is it time to go yet?"

"I just came to make sure you'd take my place and go with Emiko," I told him. "And then I'll be on my way."

"You're not leaving me behind," he said.

"That's exactly what I'm doing," I corrected him.

"Do you know how mad Jou will be with me if I let you go by yourself? He'd want me to keep you safe. So I'll go with you, you know, to make Jou happy," Gomamon said with a shrug.

"I'll be fine," I told him. "You can go see Jou, that would make him happy too."

"Maybe, only until he finds out I let his wife go face unknown dangers alone where she could get shot at any second," Gomamon said. "Then he'd banish me from the Coliseum and I'd be doomed to roam the Digital World alone forever."

"That's not true and you know it," Mimi laughed. "Jou doesn't want either of you to be in danger. He cares for both of you. You know that."

"Exactly," I said. "And since I'm human and will therefore have a better chance of simply blending in, I'm not likely to get shot at. I'll be fine. You might not be."

"You're not going to leave a digimon behind because you think it would be easier, are you?" Gomamon asked slyly, raising his eyebrow at me, taunting me, daring me to say something he could claim was similar enough to a DWD theory and could blackmail me into letting him go. He was clever. Emiko got it from _him_, I swear. I kicked the ground and let out an angry growl.

"Fine, you can come," I told him. "But _only_ because you're making me take you. Mimi, when Yoshie and Kae arrive, make sure they know I didn't take him willingly. Get them to tell Jou."

"That's cold," Gomamon said, pouting. He didn't want Jou to be mad at him, and he was upset that I'd stoop so low as to tattle on him. But I didn't care what he thought of me. I didn't care if he thought I was that filmy, scummy layer you find on top of the water in a swamp. I just wanted to keep my family safe, and he was making it impossible for me to do that! I wanted him to take care of Emiko on the trip, and then to be safely under Jou's watch where he could actually _help_ Jou find a cure for Noriko. Because Gomamon and Jou were a team. And I was being forced to split that team up further than it already was. And I didn't like it.

So he could be mad at me all he wanted.

I just didn't care.

Not anymore.

I stomped my way up the Council building's steps and knew Gomamon was trailing behind me. My goal was to get there fast enough that I could leave without him. I knew I couldn't just _order_ him to stay. He wasn't my partner, and while he was family, I didn't give birth to him, so I wasn't actually in charge of him. He was his own digimon, and had his own thoughts and opinions and wanted to risk his life to keep me safe from a bunch of humans that had no idea I had a digimon partner at all, and therefore wouldn't attack me in the slightest.

But whatever.

I got stalled though, when I was talking to Taichi, trying to get the gate to open close to, if not directly _in_, one of the homes I was planning on visiting. He set it up so I would head to my parent's apartment, and I was all set to go when Gomamon pulled on my pant leg, clearing his throat. I narrowed my eyes at him, but had to give in.

And then we stepped through the gate, ending up in my old bedroom, which had been converted into Dad's office. The blinds were closed, which was perfect, and it made me think Dad was _hoping_ one of his youngest daughters would come and visit him by way of the Digital World. That gave me hope at least.

Gomamon and I walked out of the office and straight into the living room. It looked like Mom was hosting another party. How many times was she going to demand that her kids visit her in a somewhat formal social manner? But it wasn't really that. She was inviting her two _unmarried_ children over constantly, not her youngest two. I narrowed my eyes at the scene and wished Gomamon would have just stayed in the office room.

"Momoe, what a wonderful surprise," Dad said, coming over and hugging me, kissing the side of my face. I smiled up at him, and fixed my glasses, which he'd knocked askew. Chiziru was up and hugging me next, and finally Mantarou towered over me, hugging me close—and whispering questions about Gotsumon's wellbeing. I smiled at him, trying to convey the fact that he was fine without actually voicing it. He said his girlfriend wasn't really on board the digimon train after all, and she was sitting on the couch next to Ichiro—Chiziru's boyfriend—with her eyes focussed entirely on Gomamon.

"Why'd you bring your pet?" Mom asked me in a sweet but demanding tone.

"I'm not a pet," Gomamon argued.

"And Gomamon's not hers," Chiziru continued. "He's _Jou_'s partner."

"Of course," Mom said sounding bored. "But why is he in my home?"

"It's Dad's home," I countered.

"And I don't mind," Dad concluded, reaching down and patting Gomamon on the head, offering him a happy smile. Dad had sure come a _long_ way from when Emiko was born. He was mad that Miyako was getting married so young, and that I'd hidden my pregnancy from them. And then the next year the wedding happened, and _Chiziru_ was pregnant, and he was better then, but now? He was amazing. He'd really taken our devotion to our digimon seriously, and made great strides to make accommodation for them in his life. He was determined to keep his kids around, and if that meant befriending digital monsters, he was down for it. Mom wasn't. She just didn't understand that we were all serious. Though I seriously doubted Mantarou's dedication to his partner if he was willing to date someone he _knew_ wasn't fighting for digimon rights in the slightest, but I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Having a party?" I questioned, looking down to my grungy jeans and sweatshirt. I knew my digivice was tucked safely in my pocket, because I could _see_ the bulge in the fabric. My socks didn't match, and my slippers were kind of a bold fashion choice that didn't hide that fact.

"We _were_, yes," Mom said, still using her "sweet" voice.

"Come in," Dad said. "What brings you to our humble abode?"

"I want you to come with me," I said, starting simply. I could see Mom ready to outright refuse, so I focussed entirely on Dad's face, trying to convey my desperation through my eyes alone. "I'm offering safety to my family. I know Jou and Mimi offered it to you before, but things are different now. Ichiro could come too, I don't want you to leave your lives behind entirely, but I really need to know you're safe."

"Just Ichiro?" Mantarou scoffs. "Nice to know how you feel about _my girlfriend_."

I ignored him. I was _not_ offering safety for her. She didn't even like digimon, he said so himself. I wasn't going to bring an alleged digimon hater into our safe house.

"What's different?" Chiziru wanted to know.

"Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon desperately want you there, for starters. Masa got a partner, and you weren't there to see it. He really wants you and his dad—because he does call you that, Ichiro—to come and meet him," I said, pulling facts out of thin air, even though I knew they were most likely true anyway, especially about Masa, I'd heard him once. But it wasn't enough, so I pulled out all the stops, and told them of my biggest fear. "Oh, yeah, also there's this girl. She's younger than Miyako by two years. Her life's barely started, and she's lying on a hospital bed as Jou tries everything in his power to save her, to keep her from dying," I said fiercely. "Because he's all she has. You know why? Because she was shot by the guns that they made to shoot the digimon! And it wasn't just some random shooter this time. It wasn't just an activist. It was a police officer. The chief of police actually. He's supposed to keep the street safe! But instead he's shooting innocent, young girls! She's supposed to be getting married soon. And we don't know if she'll make it. I don't want to find out that the same thing happened to one of you. I don't want to have to tell Emiko that her uncle died, or her grandmother. I don't think I could handle that. And you're making me do it, because you won't take this threat seriously!"

They were silent. Mom even looked unsure, which was a far cry from a definite no. Mantarou was concerned, and Chiziru and Dad looked ready to agree, but Yorokobi started clapping her hands.

"Bravo," she said with a little laugh. "You almost had me there."

"What are you talking about," Gomamon demanded. "She's telling the truth."

"Sure she it," Yorokobi said, rolling her eyes. "It's obviously a ruse to get you guys to follow her wherever she wants you to go. It was almost believable. But the DWD do _not_ fire at humans. Even _I_ know that, and I barely follow these digimon politics. They couldn't have hurt an innocent girl. Chances are Momoe here made it up, the girl probably doesn't even exist."

"Her name is Noriko Kawada," I said, glaring at her. "And you can look her up. She's real."

"Fine," Yorokobi said. "You made a sob story and used one of your friends to make it _seem_ real. It doesn't mean that your family is in danger. Because the DWD don't hurt humans. That's their goal. Keep the humans and get rid of the digimon, isn't that right? Somehow I think shooting humans goes against it. And the chief of police, really? That's the most unbelievable part. Saying the police are against you...doesn't your brother-in-law _work_ for the police? Are you calling _him_ DWD?"

"Now really, Momoe," Mom scolded me. "Don't bring lies into my house. You almost had me with that sob story. I can't believe you would try and pull one over on your family."

"I didn't," I growled.

"Enough, Momoe," Mom shouted at me. "I don't want to hear anymore of this talk in my house."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get her in trouble," Yorokobi said, turning her big, tear filled eyes—amplified because of her glasses—onto my brother, and he caved like the sucker he was. What happened to our big, strong, free-spirited brother? I missed him.

"I don't know," Chiziru said. "It seems serious."

"You know how dramatic Momoe and Miyako can be," Mantarou kidded. She was convinced enough to stay behind, even though her boyfriend wasn't so sure. He looked at Yorokobi like he didn't even know her anymore. I was proud of that small victory. He didn't really know me very well and he was willing to believe me over Yorokobi, simply because of the flippant way she'd dismissed a woman's life.

"Is there any way I can be of assistance, Momoe?" Dad asked, and I turned a bright smile to him, only for that smile to be shattered seconds later.

"Don't you dare, Tadashi," Mom shouted. "You're always turning my children against me. You're not doing it again. Not in front of company! We have always shown a united front and we're still going to show one. You're on _my_ side, with Mantarou, Yorokobi, Chiziru and Ichiro. Not Momoe and Miyako's. Got it?"

"Why don't you just go, Momoe," Mantarou said. "Your ploy didn't work, and now Mom and Dad are fighting. Thanks for that, by the way."

"Gotsumon's going to be so disappointed," I said. "He thought better of you. You're disregarding someone's _life_, because you're so brainwashed by your stupid girlfriend! She's the one that's got our family fighting, not me. And you know what? She's probably one of them. The DWD." He looked angry at me, and Gomamon and I stepped back towards the front door, but I looked him straight in the eyes, defiantly. "You can choose, you know. Right here, right now. Me, Emiko, Miyako and Gotusmon, or Yorokobi. It's your choice, just know that you won't be seeing Emiko again if you make the wrong one."

He was torn, it was evident, and I knew it was a horrible play to make, but it was my last chance.

"I wouldn't make you choose," Yorokobi told him in a soft, whimpering sort of voice, but when I looked at her, she didn't look sad in the least.

"You're right, and that's why I choose you," he said, smiling at her.

"There you go," I said. "You're never seeing Emiko again. I don't want poison like Yorokobi in my daughter's life, so you've just said your goodbye."

"You can't do that to him," Mom hissed at me. I turned to her and glared.

"You just said your goodbyes too," I snapped, and turned on my heel. I went to the closet and picked out Mom's longest and most expensive coat, wrapping Gomamon in it and draping him over my arm—if a stranger were to look, they'd just assume it was a chunky coat—and ignored all of her complaints and screams. I was done with her. She'd had her warnings, twice they'd been given. If she didn't take them seriously, that was _her_ problem.

It didn't lighten the stinging that my heart had to endure at the thought of my family staying here in danger despite multiple requests not to.

Once I was on the sidewalk, walking away from the building I looked back. I knew I shouldn't, but I couldn't help it. This was goodbye for who knows how long, and I'd told two of them they'd never get to see my daughter again. Things would never be the same between us ever again. But I stood by my decision. If they wanted Yorokobi, they could have her. But I was there when Hideto saw her again. I saw the way he fled. If _Hideto_ was afraid of her, then that was enough of a sign that I didn't want her near my daughter. And that was _before_ Jou told me about Mantarou's "heart-felt" speech about how he loved her and wanted to stay with her even though she didn't like digimon, and he had a freaking digimon partner. Did he not see this ending badly? He'd end up having to choose between Gotsumon and Yorokobi and I was scared for Gotsumon. He was such a loving digimon that he wouldn't mind whichever decision Mantarou made, but no matter what Yorokobi said just now, she _would_ make him choose.

And I would decide _then_ whether or not he was redeemable, depending on which choice he made.

But yes. I looked back. And I was frightened by what I saw. Yorokobi was standing there, smiling down at me, waggling her fingers, waving goodbye to me. She'd done it on purpose, just like I'd thought. And she was flaunting her victory. That wasn't the part that worried me though. The phone she had pressed up against her ear was the problem. Was I right in my rash accusations? Was she really DWD? I had Gomamon with me. She'd better damn well _not_ be DWD. She'd seen him after all.

I turned away from the window and immediately fought off all of the emotions that wanted to take control. I didn't have time for them. I'd deal with them later, when Jou had finished healing Noriko and could just hold me for an hour and then we'd watch a movie after kicking everybody out of the living area of the Coliseum and pop some popcorn, and just sit with Emiko, Bearmon, Apemon and Gomamon and just have some family time. It was a dream, so it didn't matter how unrealistic it was. Logically we'd have about a hundred or so digimon in there with us, and maybe even Jun and Shuu and Miyako and Ken, and Shin. We'd have a merry old time.

But I had to keep Gomamon away from the DWD for that to happen. Once I'd walked out of sight of the apartment, I started running. I knew the way to Isao's new house, I did. I just had trouble finding sometimes. But I would get there. I didn't slow down until I made it to their street. They lived in what was basically a pre-retirement community, not that I'd ever tell _them_ that. There were just a bunch of people that would retire soon enough, and wanted a nice, cozy home to do it in. It was the reasoning Isao gave when he bought the place.

"Are we almost there?" Gomamon asked sulkily.

"Wishing you didn't come?" I asked with a smirk.

"Wishing I wasn't being used as a ragdoll," he corrected. "Though I wish I could've helped you with your parents and brother and sister."

"Don't worry about it," I said, though the cheer sounded completely unreal. "We're almost there. Just a few minutes more."

"Good," he said, and I felt him shift into a comfier position in my arms. I laughed—and then cut that short. In my peripheral vision, I could see a van, a completely black van. It was unnerving and eerie and I wanted to get away from it. I looked over pointedly, trying to judge whether the vehicle was really following me or if I was being paranoid. The van stopped, and I calmed down, continuing my walk. Only the van inched forward every time I took a step. I stopped again, waiting for the van to be shut off—and it was. The side door opened, and a young man got out, older than Jou, maybe closer to Shin in age. He had dirty blonde hair that had a gentle curl to it, reaching down to his chin. He also had a sort of goatee. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of glasses that, when the sunlight hit them, turned to sunglasses.

"Good morning," he said. "It's such a nice day."

"It _was_," Gomamon grumbled. I shook him, and smiled at the man.

"If you'll excuse me," I said, continuing my fast pace, determined to make it to Isao's house, where they couldn't follow me inside.

"I was wondering if you could show me your coat," he said.

"No," I told him, forcing my voice to stay casual. "It's just a regular coat."

"Then you shouldn't have any trouble showing me," he persisted.

"You're asking strangers to show you their coats now?" I questioned with a light laugh. "What, is the DWD _that_ unstable now?"

"I'm not DWD," he said, though it was an obvious lie. I snorted.

"Sure you're not," I said sarcastically. "That's why you're stalking me with a creeper van."

"Just give me the coat!" he pleaded.

"Not on your life," I shouted at him.

The van pulled forward again, this time with the driver's window down. There was a woman driving, she was just as blonde as this guy, though she was older, by a long shot. She also bore a striking resemblance to a certain girlfriend of my brother's. Her hair was long in the front, short in the back, framing her face perfectly, and her makeup was done to match the shade of her glasses.

"I wouldn't go around threatening people, my dear," the woman said. "Not when we're so much more adept at it. Just get the coat _now_ Puraido!"

"But—"

"But nothing, it's imperative to our mission. NOW!"

"Yes Mom," he said looking at me in an almost apologetic way. He advanced towards me and I turned and ran. I didn't care how tired I was anymore, I was getting Gomamon out of here.

What I didn't expect though, was for him to dive at my ankles.

I fell to the ground, smashing my nose against the hard sidewalk, and I _felt_ my jeans ripping at my knees. Gomamon—coat and all—was flung in front of me in my attempt to _not_ crush him.

"RUN!" I screamed at him. "I'll hold him off. Get to Isao."

"I'm not leaving you," he argued.

"Don't talk back to me young man," I scolded. "Now run!"

"Not so fast," the woman sneered, holding an honest to god _net launcher_ and shot one straight at Gomamon. "Got you. Grab it, Puraido. Let's see what we need this _thing_ for."

"Yes Mom," he said, reaching down and picking Gomamon up with a surprising gentleness. It didn't make me feel better though. I was pinching my nose, trying to stop the bleeding, but I could still fight. I pulled myself to my feet, slamming my fists against this Puraido guy, and kicking him with all my might. Gomamon started biting him through the net and it looked like we were winning the fight, until Puraido's mother took off her stiletto shoe and stabbed the heel into my leg multiple times, pushing me off of her son. She pushed Puraido and Gomamon into the van and looked to me triumphantly.

"Do not mess with DWD," she warned me. "You'll just lose."

"We'll see about that," I said sounding so much more confident than I felt. "I'm going to get Gomamon back. Just try and stop me."

"I'll succeed," she promised, before getting in the vehicle.

I pulled myself to my feet again, trying to ignore the cuts on my knees, my bloody nose, the stab wounds that littered my leg, and tried to hobble after the van, trying desperately to get Gomamon away from them. How was I supposed to tell Jou that I let him be taken?

But the van was too fast for me.

I wanted to break down, but I knew I couldn't. I had to continue my mission and get help wherever I could. I needed to get to Isao, now. They knew I was looking for him now, so he had to be evacuated. And I really needed him to bind up my leg before I started searching for Jun. He would tell Mimi and Jou and all the others that Gomamon was taken, and that I needed help getting him back. And I would do it. I wasn't going to let Yorokobi win—and that woman looked too much like her for it to have been a coincidence that they showed up. Yorokobi sent them. I would make sure _someone_ got Gomamon if I couldn't, just like I promised that woman.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Yamato and Miyako are on the same mission with different outcomes as they search for some digital companions who are in need of assistance.


	34. The Return of DSS

**Y/N: **I don't know if you'll remember the reference made in the chapter title. It's from 03, actually, and it's just a chapter title there too, and was absolutely ridiculous. But it was funny.

**U/N: **I can't remember a time when we ever gave Matt a legitimate plot line. This is an attempt, I suppose, but I've always felt like he was left out of the planning stages. In 05 he had some minor things, like dating Katsue, outing the digimon secret and his feud with Neo, but nothing has ever revolved around him the way it has with other characters... oh well. Here's him again :P

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 4: War**

**Chapter 34: The Return of DSS**

_**Yamato Ishida:**_

"This just isn't working." Katsue said with an enormous sigh. She fell back into the leaves lining the ground behind us, her hair tied into a braid that draped over her shoulder as she landed. She wiped some dirt off of the knees of her tight blue jeans, and crossed her arms, her top loose and flowing. Monimon was sitting on a rock in front of her facing out to the open field where sun was beating down on the herd of Monochromon that were peacefully eating grass recording their every move. "I just need them to do something."

I couldn't help but laugh as I ran my hand through my hair, and then sat next to Katsue, "Well they're kind of boring digimon. They just sit around and stay calm and eat things."

She looked disappointed. "Monimon, stop recording." She told him, waving her hand passively. "We need to find digimon that will interact with one another in a friendly positive way."

"We already did that," I groaned, "why can't you just use the video of the Woodmon and the Floramon?"

"Because a Vilemon was raiding the village in the background!" Katsue roared dramatically, her hands in the air.

"Then edit them out, or stage a meeting," I suggested, "We can use Goblimon and, like, Agumon or something random. It'll be fine."

"We can't stage something," Katsue said, her eyes narrowed through the frames of her glasses, "They're not that good at acting and you know it. And I'm not going to fake anything anyway. You know how much I hate false advertising."

"We're not advertising anything," I pointed out, but apparently she didn't care because she'd already hopped to her feet and walked out into the open field. "I feel the need to remind you that Monochromon are easily frightened."

"Yeah yeah," She said, waving her hand, but otherwise ignoring me. I stood with Monimon as Katsue shouted out to the Monochromon who all jumped in start but relaxed seeing Katsue. That wasn't a good sign. Just because a human was wondering about did not mean that it was safe to confront them anymore. Digidestined and Chosen were no longer the only ones with access to the world. Didn't they know that? They had to have. The word was well spread... Katsue stopped to talk with one of the digimon, but I heard nothing due to the distance, and finally she laughed along with the Monochromon who seemed to agree with whatever it was she was saying. Katsue finally turned and waved to us to follow her.

I quickly scooped up Monimon and chased after her as she already set off, this time with the entire herd of Monochromon in her wake. What was she thinking? We didn't have room in the Coliseum for them all, where was she taking them? Weaving my way through the crowd of content digimon I finally found Katsue at the front, marching along. "What are you doing?"

"Well that's not exactly the reaction I was expecting," She admitted, "I thought this was the plan. To save the digimon?"

"Well yeah," I groaned, "but where are we going to keep them?"

"We can find a place." She said with enough certainty to stop the conversation. I ran through a few ideas and decided on Piximon. He could come and transfer them to his own place, which was simple enough with that weird bubble thing he had used for us in the past. Travelling with others was a possibility for him and that was a good thing. The digimon needed hiding places, and there were only so many hiding trees in the Digital World. Sure the digimon seemingly all knew where those were, which was amazing for them, but if they were all wandering about they would all sooner or later be caught. And that wasn't okay.

Katsue took Monimon from my arms and pressed a button next to his eye and his screen began playing back what we'd recorded thus far. There were a few good shots, one of a flock of bird digimon flying through the sky, but there was no way of seeing that they were even digimon let alone which kinds, so that was of no use. "We have nothing." Katsue said snappishly. "We don't have what we need. We've been out for hours and still, nothing."

There was nothing to say to comfort her. I wasn't particularly good at that kind of thing anyway. I wasn't much of a people person, and she was right anyway. We didn't get any footage that we could use to make the movie she was hoping to show the world about how wonderful digimon could be. When we reached the river we sent all the Monochromon into it to travel that way so their footprints could not be followed. It wasn't a good idea to leave any trail to the Coliseum since that was where we were keeping everyone _safe_. It was hardly smart of us to even be walking around outside let alone leaving a perfectly good trail to our hideout.

We arrived at the Coliseum after a short walk down the river and we led the Monochromon into the open area that would usually be used for combat. They seemed upset that there was few spots of grass for them to eat, but I promised them they would be better protected soon. The only others outside were Lunamon and Coronamon who were playing up in the stands getting some fresh air.

Down in the antechamber where I was hoping to find Takeru to tell him to contact Piximon was a very upset looking Hikari, standing alone in the center of the room with the single light shining directly onto her. She could not have looked more dramatic if she tried.

"Momoe, _please_ calm down." She begged into the phone pressed against her ear. "Tell me what's going on." There was a beat and then Hikari gasped, "What? When? _Yesterday_?" She looked up to me, her eyes filled with worry and my entire body shook with panic. My mind went blank, wondering what could be wrong, and Katsue patted my shoulder and rushed off down the hallway, hopefully taking care of the Monochromon situation. "We'll go find him. I promise. I'm going right now." Hikari hung up her phone and looked up to me, "Gomamon." She said sharply, not letting me get a word in. "He's been taken, and she thinks she knows who it was."

"Who?" I asked quickly.

"Hideto's family." Hikari said nervously.

"He has family?" I asked.

"Apparently," She nodded, taking my hand and quickly dragging me down the hallway. It was painfully loud in here and annoying to say the least. It was always a treat to get out to do something—anything. I wasn't sure where Hikari was leading me, but when she stopped in front of the living area where Hideto was working to fix the television. He looked up to her with a kind smile but it fell when he saw her expression. "Hideto, tell me about your family."

"I don't have a family," He said flatly.

"Exactly as I thought," I said, but Hikari elbowed me.

"Hideto, I'm serious." Hikari insisted. "Tell me." He looked annoyed, and looked over his shoulder as if making sure no one was listening, and then sighed. He took Hikari by the shoulder and dragged her off to explain all he knew.

It was painfully obvious that I wasn't welcome into the conversation so I set off to tell Jou but Takeru appeared by my side stopping my movement. "Takeru, can you help?" He didn't respond. He didn't even look at me. He was still upset. Of course he was. Why was it that I had to screw up every relationship I had going for me. "Takeru, you know I'm sorry for what I said." He still didn't say anything, but I knew he was listening. "Gomamon is in trouble." I told him flatly, "We're working on it though. For now, I need you to call Piximon."

"What?" Takeru asked chastising himself for forgetting to ignore me.

"There are like thirty Monochromon outside that need a place to stay." I explained, and he was already off to make sure it got done, and I was left once more to the direct path toward the one room hospital we kept here in the dingy Coliseum as if we were starting a civilization and not just a temporary hiding space. It had become nice in here though. There were rugs and curtains and multiple kitchens, and so much food and many games, and beds and everything one would need to live. The digimon were better off here than they were in the forest for many reasons. At the fork in the road I saw Gabumon and Rei searching the hallway for Neo's secret West Wing, wearing colanders and other padding and protection as they knew how dangerous the place could be. Gabumon looked up and smiled to me, waving excitedly and I smiled to him as honestly as I could without setting him off. I didn't need him to be worried just now. We could save Gomamon. We could get him and bring him back and no one would have to know. I even hesitated, my hand over the silver door knob of the hospital. Maybe Jou didn't have to know either?

But I knew it had to be done. I would be infuriated if someone decided against telling me about Gabumon if he was missing. Which he was once... stupid Hideto and his stupid Melga. I pushed the door open and stepped inside. Jou looked to the door from where he sat wearing goggles over top of a pot of something purple.

"Oh, Yamato, I really need space." Jou said, shaking his head. "Only Impmon, Iori and Tamotsu can come in. And Hikari whenever she stops crying every time she does." I looked to Noriko who smiled to me politely. She was so strong, laying under the covers wearing the clothes she'd been shot in. She was paling and her skin was drier. She looked like she'd been vomiting for days. Maybe she had. No one really knew what was going on in here aside from those Jou allowed in. Impmon had clearly been crying, and was now curled up in Noriko's arms sleeping. Iori nodded to me curtly but made no other indication I was there. "So can you go?"

I knew he didn't mean to be rude, and was just stressed, but seriously. It was still rude, "I actually need to talk to you."

"Can it wait?" Jou asked loudly, "I'm kind of busy." I noticed the sweat coating his face as his wide eyes stared to me.

"It can't." I said, "It's important."

"So is this." Jou said as though I hadn't realized that.

"Momoe just called," I told him, and his face fell instantly.

"Did something happen to Emiko?"

"Gomamon." I said, wincing. I had zero tact. How would I want someone to tell me? Well I didn't know that, because I wouldn't want to be told at all. But if anyone would know how to tell me it would be Sora. She was good with people and emotions and what people wanted. I didn't know. I just had to tell him quickly, like a band-aid. "He was taken." Jou's knees weakened and he fell down into his chair, ripping the goggles from his face and throwing them at the counter. His shaking hands ran through his hair and he breathed deeply, "I know you've got a lot on your hands, I just thought you'd want to know. Stay here though. I promise we're going to do what we can to find him." Jou looked to me like he wanted to kiss me, so I took that opportunity to leave, "I'll keep you updated." I told him as I slipped through the door, closing it behind me.

"You can go," Noriko's voice was impossible to ignore as it wafted through the cracks around the door, "Go save Gomamon. Maybe you just need a break to figure this out." But it didn't sound like that's what she was saying. What it sounded like was that she was giving up. That she knew he couldn't do it—but Jou had never failed before. She'd be in for a big surprise when he saved her life.

She'd been in there for days. Three days.

I found Hikari staring blankly at a wall, thinking. I startled her when I approached and she spun around sharply, "Oh good," She said, but the unhappy look on her face clearly said it was not 'good' at all. "Hideto says he hasn't spoken to his family in a long time but that he's not surprised that Momoe thinks it was them. They were apparently horrible."

"Well, that explains why he never talks about them." I said, agreeing.

"But if they're part of the DWD like they claim to be," Hikari said slowly, "They have to be taking him somewhere they all meet. Where would they take digimon they find on Earth?"

"Well they can rip apart the fabric between the worlds Hikari," I reminded her of my previous findings, "They can take him anywhere in either world. If he's here in the Digital World he'll be wherever their camp is. There has to be a way to track that."

"You're right," She said, "Takeru and I will look into that, you take Mari or someone to Earth. As far as I'm aware Moretsuna, Ken's boss, is part of their team. High on their team at that. Either following him or forcing information out of him would be a good place to start."

"Right." I nodded, thinking quickly. How was I supposed to force information out of a police officer? I'd figure it out later. Katsue showed up again and had Monimon in her arms. When I turned back for Hikari she had already gone, disappearing into the crazed crowds of the Coliseum. We really needed to find that damn West Wing to make more room. "Come with me?" I pleaded. She nodded in that way that said she was obviously coming without question. I mentally thanked her and didn't bother asking what she was up to. It really didn't matter right then.

On the way out of the Coliseum we passed Willis complaining loudly to Takeru about how everyone was dropping everything to save Gomamon, which was good and everything, but that no one wanted to save Michael who was also missing. Michael had been _very_ vocal about his love of digimon and he was stupid enough to go missing too. Who knew where he could be? He had a point too. We needed to find Michael. And Neo too, wherever the heck he was...

Babamon yelled at us in the antechamber about how we shouldn't leave while visible but we ignored her since we weren't leaving anyway. Then the doors opened and at first I didn't recognize the face, but quickly remembered him to be Tomotsu, Noriko's fiancé. "Uh, were you just sitting out there?" I asked, catching his attention.

"Yeah," He said simply. He had been crying, that was obvious.

"Look," I said awkwardly, "You can't just do that. It's not really safe. We can't have anyone knowing where this place is."

"Sorry, man," He said, shaking his head faintly, "I just..."

"I know," I told him flatly. It wasn't a lie. Not a complete lie. Sure I couldn't know what it was like to have my fiancé falling apart in front of me and being helpless to stop it. But I knew what it was like to hear that the woman I loved was never going to be there again. Not the same, but similar enough to relate to. "Just make sure you're invisible, or Noriko won't have any chance at all."

He looked to me, frightened, then nodded, a tear falling down his cheek. He quickly wiped his face and turned away, "I'm sorry." He said before moving out of the room. I groaned. It was so depressing to see him like that. Someone had to give him more hope. Well, he was heading in Takeru's direction...

Katsue used her digivice—which was infinitely cooler than anyone else's because she'd picked it up in the past, or maybe it was the future, she'd never known—to bring us back to Earth. The door had been set to a standard location in Japan, though I couldn't immediately recognize it. Katsue seemed to know exactly where we were though, and she grabbed my wrist, pulling me along. "Where are we going?" I asked, but she ignored me. She had Monimon in her arms and I finally got a good look at him. He was wearing what looked to be a silicone black casing with a stupid hat like thing that made him look more like a camera. I figured that was where she had gone in the Coliseum. Unfortunately it wasn't good enough. To me it seemed even more obvious, like she was purposely hiding something.

"We're going to find that black haired boy," Katsue filled me in, "Ichijouji."

"Ken?" I asked, but it hit me hard and fast. That made perfect sense. We would get to Ken and ask him to help us. Hikari had come up with a perfectly good plan that was impossible for Katsue or I to pull off, but Ken could do it. Ken could help us. He was in with them. Sure he was scared of Moretsuna, and when he'd first told us I was a little skeptical, thinking he was over dramatizing it having spent way too much time with his wife, but now it was clear that Moretsuna was someone to be feared. "Where will we find him?"

"I don't know, we can use our digivices." She suggested.

"Katsue." I said stopping in my tracks, pulling her to a stop as well. "The Coliseum is filled with digivices."

"Yeah, I know." She said, "I've been thinking of that already. If they can start tapping into the signals the digivices give off they can easily find our location. We'll have to fix that as soon as we can. We'll deal with that later. I don't know this Gomamon fellow, but he's in danger. We need to help him right now." I nodded, and she was rushing off again.

I figured it would be good to start at the Police Station, but in reality that was just more dangerous. If we brought Monimon to the central location of the people who scoured the streets searching for digimon, we were basically setting him up for imminent death.

So what were we supposed to do? Walk around and wait for Ken to show up? No I could call him! I did so, but he didn't pick up. He wouldn't do so if he was on duty. Or maybe if he was at home? I called there too, but there was no answer there either. Katsue seemed to have a plan, but she always looked like she had a plan. I knew her well enough to know she made things up as she went, creating random ideas and plans with a confident smile on her face. It was part of being a malicious force in the media.

"There's one," She muttered, pointing to a man walking down the street. He was wearing a uniform. So our plan literally had been to just find one? How could she walk around with such bravery and smugness when she was as lost as everyone else? She marched straight up to him, tucking Monimon under her arm, facing behind her. "Excuse me, Sir." She said politely, "Where might I find Ken Ichijouji?"

"Ah, Kenny?" The man laughed, "Are you his wife?"

"Oh, God no." Katsue said quickly, "No. Where is he though?"

"Around here somewhere I hope," The man said in his friendly way. "He's my partner, so he's gotta be here somewhere."

"Right," Katsue said, "That's perfect. Now where did you last see him?"

"Over that way a bit." He said pointing over his shoulder as his eyes fell to Monimon. "What... What's that?"

"Camera." Katsue said flatly, her arm tightening around her partner. "Thanks for the help, have a nice day."

"No, what's that." The man said sharper this time. "Let me see." He reached for Monimon and Katsue slapped his hand away.

"Excuse me," She said appalled, "that is unwanted touching which sounds very much like rape and or thievery. If you attempt to touch me or my things one more time I will be forced to call out for my nearby police friend. This is my expensive equipment, granted to me by my wonderful boss who trusts me explicitly to deliver news to the public." Katsue was sweating, realizing she was stupid to bring Monimon at all, but being too nervous to leave him anywhere without her. Her usual razor sharp tongue had dulled and she was losing whatever exchange was going on.

The man reached forward again and I panicked, reaching back and punching him in the face. Katsue screamed and ran across the street, leaving me no choice but to chase after her. I just punched an officer. I could be arrested for that! And Ken might be the one that had to do it! I knew having a friend in the force was a bad plan. We were basically forced to do things against the law all the time. Like killing things for instance. We'd killed loads of digimon! We were serial killers! And now I was on the run from an officer that was chasing us.

Monimon was screaming in a panic, unintelligible words mostly until finally he screamed out, "GUN!"

Once more Katsue screamed as a shot was fired. It blasted into a nearby shop and bricks exploded falling down around us, one piece hitting my shoulder hard. "No!" Katsue screamed, stopping in her tracks as she realized she'd taken a wrong turn. It was a dead end. Of course it was. How cliché.

Katsue turned quickly but was unable to escape, the officer had stopped us, an angry scowl on his face, his silver gun held high. "Move." He said, "Give me a clear shot or I'll shoot you too. The boss man shot a girl, so I can too. I can do what I want and not get in trouble. He's happy he hit her. He'll be happy if I hit you too. Did she die? That girl? I know you know. Tell me what happened. I want to know if she's dead. Boss'll be so happy if she did."

"You're filth." Katsue said loudly, shouting now. She had tears in her eyes. She was better at grasping serious situations than I was. But maybe, with my clear mind I could find a way out.

I didn't have to though. Shots were fired all around us, but they weren't from the man who had been chasing us. He too cowered, throwing his hands above his head. I looked in shock to where Ken stood in his uniform, his gun held high. "Don't move Yakuin." Ken said boldly, "I'll shoot you."

Yakuin, the man, stood tall, "Yeah right." Ken shot his gun and the violet light narrowly missed the man's left ear. He screamed in shock, "What the hell?" he screamed, and then he laughed, "You wouldn't kill me."

Ken shrugged, dropping his gun, and Katsue gasped as my fists balled up. Then Ken pulled out his other gun. The black one, the one that would shoot tracking devices. And then he was shooting. Three well aimed balls of red plastic hit Yakuin. One in the leg, another hit his shoulder, and the third hit his forehead, knocking him out cold completely.

Katsue, Monimon and I stared to his unconscious body, fearing he could be dead, but when his arm twitched Ken caught our attention. "Look, I don't know what you were all doing." He said, "But I'm going to trust you knew what you were doing."

"Not really," I admitted.

"Well," Ken said, his voice sharp, "I just lost my place in the Police Department saving you. So come with me. The streets aren't safe for digimon. You know that."

"We do." Katsue said apologetically. "But thank you for saving us." She was hugging Monimon now.

"My pleasure." He said kindly. "Honestly, it's nice to see you guys. I feel pretty left out of everything to be honest." I realized it _had_ been a while since I'd seen him. "Come on, this way," He pointed down the street and let us lead the way. "Tell me what's going on."

_**Miyako Ichijouji:**_

Sora didn't really think her plan through. I didn't either though. We spent all of yesterday running around the Digital World, erecting barriers around hidden spots. Or we meant to. But it took a _long_ time to walk to all of these places. We made it to Primary Village no problem, and now knew for sure that Biyomon would be safe. Sora confused me though. I knew she didn't want Biyomon coming with us in the first place, but when the chance came along for her to be safe, Sora didn't want that either. I didn't really understand. I'd give an arm and a leg—if I could be sure it wouldn't affect my baby—to have Hawkmon be where Biyomon was now, to _know_ that he was safe behind a barrier and protecting all of the Digital World's babies.

Instead, Hawkmon was gallivanting Earth, exercising his rights as a free digimon to be on whichever world he wanted to be. He said he was protecting Ken, but I knew he was just looking for an excuse to have a few days away from me. I'd been insufferable after the fashion show riot. I'd kept him close to me at all times, and I didn't give him a long leash. He wanted some alone time, but he was being too polite to just tell me. Instead he was in the danger zone, and I couldn't do anything about it.

Ken promised he'd take care of Hawkmon though, stubborn and rebellious as he was. But Ken was too busy working all the time. Working for a man that was fast becoming a murderer. He shot Noriko. And that was the man I let my husband go to work for everyday. Not that I had a choice. Ken's dream was to be an investigator. He needed to get some experience under his belt or that dream would never come into play. Not that failed dreams would be out of the norm for the digidestined lately. Sora's fashion show was a bust, and Mimi's restaurant went up in smoke. Yamato was kicked out of his band, and my love of editing went with him. Takeru couldn't publish his book with the world the way it was, and Daisuke's noodle-cart was demolished. Taichi's dream of keeping peace between the worlds was toast, now that the other ambassadors had voted to go to war against the Digital World. I knew Koushiro wasn't suffering despite the lack of available funds for his paycheck, but Jou was probably rethinking his dream right about now. I knew Hikari wasn't enjoying herself as much as she wanted to, and I didn't even know what Willis' dream was. Or Kurayami's. Or Neo's. Or Michael's. I knew Iori still wanted to be a lawyer, but with all the time he'd dedicated to being in the Digital World lately, he was missing so many classes, and Alias III were still trying to work things out.

What was one more failed dream though?

We fought and fought to protect the people of Earth from all outside enemies, and this is the way they repay us. They rip our dreams out of reach and they threaten to kill our friends. More than threaten. How many digimon had been killed because of their fear and ignorance? How many more would fall at their hands? And what about Noriko? It wasn't just digimon anymore. They were firing at anyone that stood in their way. It was easier when it was just the digimon. We could hide them away, we could protect them. Now that they were willing to attack us too it made it so much harder to keep our digital friends safe.

Who knew what they were doing to other people while we stuck around here in the Digital World, protecting the digimon. My parents were out there, Chiziru, Mantarou. I knew that the DWD had broken into Natsuni's childhood home, had taken out her father. Was he still alive? No one knew. We did know that we could count her mother out when it came to listing allies. We could probably add my own mother to that list, as much as I didn't like it. We could put her name right next to her precious Yorokobi.

"How close do you think we are?" Sora asked.

"Eight point six minutes remaining," I told her, trying to put that regular teasing element back in my voice but finding it incredibly difficult to do so.

"I'm sorry I didn't plan this better," she said. I shrugged my shoulders. What did it matter if we had to walk all the way back to the Temple for food and water? I should have planned ahead myself. I should have packed some healthy snack options in my backpack and made sandwiches and grabbed water. I needed to stay on a specific diet plan, I needed to make sure my baby got as many nutrients as possible early on, because we didn't actually know how long our food supplies at the Coliseum would last. Everyone seemed to be thinking positively. Mari's plan for gardens would work. They say so anyway. I knew that gardens took time to grow though, and if they didn't start them right away, there could be a good long while without any supplies before the vegetables ripened.

But I didn't want to rain on their parade.

I couldn't help it though. Being pregnant was making me even more likely to panic than usual. I could tell, and I knew other people were picking up on it. I wasn't stupid. I knew Sora had guessed. She'd made up some beds from sand, moss and leaves the night before, and mine was a heck of a lot softer than hers was. She didn't put nearly as much effort in hers as she did mine. That told me she wanted me to have a good night's sleep and she was worried about my back, among other things. She kept glancing at my stomach, and looking away quickly, afraid I'll catch her staring. It didn't help that my growing anxiety was making my tongue looser, and my brain muddled. I mean I'd just about told her yesterday that there'd be five in the family soon, instead of four. I could've kicked myself for that slip-up.

The first trimester was ending soon though. Just a couple of days. I was so excited to just tell Ken, and then everyone else. I wanted to have someone else I could bask in my happiness with. Momoe would be a good choice, but Sora was already so obviously excited, and besides, Momoe didn't let me bask with her when she was pregnant with Emiko, so I didn't think I needed to do her any favours.

If Ken didn't make it into the Digital World by then though, I knew I wouldn't be able to tell anybody else. _He_ needed to be the next person I told. I'd already let it slip to Iori and _Hideto_ of all people. Having two people know would've been great, but neither of them was at the Temple with me. They were where I _should_ have been, at the Coliseum with Wormmon and Masa.

But I couldn't let myself get upset. I wasn't going to be the clichéd pregnant girl that had hormonal bouts of sobbing. I couldn't afford to do that now. Maybe with the next one.

Huh.

I hadn't even had the baby and I was expecting to have another go at it. The idea put a little extra spring in my steps. I hadn't realized I'd wanted more children so quickly. But it made sense. Both Ken and I were younger siblings, and he missed that experience as he grew up, since Osamu passed. I was stressed by being the youngest, but I was sure I would have at least three. The fourth was a little questionable. Did I want to expose a child to the harsh position I was submitted to as a kid? Always the last one, always forgotten...

"Miyako," Sora hissed, stopping me in my tracks. My eyes bulged at the sight in front of me. We were at the Temple, and I'd almost walked right into a large DWD man. If Sora hadn't been holding my hand, I would've been caught for sure. We would've lost the one advantage we had that they didn't know about. If they found out about the invisibility...everything would be lost. The Coliseum and all the digimon and people that were hidden within its depths.

We stayed entirely still for a minute and twenty six seconds, until that man left without searching for the person that whispered my name. We both let out a sigh of relief and tiptoed our way through their ranks and through the Temple gate. Once inside, Sora dragged me off towards the make-shift cafeteria. It was a jumble of a bunch of different food shops around the Temple and Marketplace. We didn't have most of the chefs left, but the digimon liked to eat, so they worked together to create a small cafeteria that would serve as if it was a buffet style restaurant. It was a sense of normalcy that they all desperately needed. It was hard on them too, not just us digidestined. Sometimes I forgot that, but they too were being ripped from their homes and stored away in secret locations, only it was worse for them, because _they_ were the ones with the giant targets on their backs. The DWD so far as we knew only attacked humans that were known to be keeping digimon from them. Granted my only basis for such a conclusion was that Noriko was protecting Impmon, Natsuni's father was protecting Armadillomon and Goblimon, and Jun—who was missing too—was probably caught with Gekomon and Otamamon.

That didn't make me feel any better about having Hawkmon at home with Ken though.

I could lose the both of them in one fell swoop at any second. They could already be gone and I just didn't know it yet.

So yeah, I understood the fear the digimon were going through, not knowing where their friends were, where they would be, come morning, or whether they'd even make it there. I knew we'd lost at least one digimon so far during our great migration. A Yanmamon that I never met, but sorely missed not having the chance to get to know him. And I was sure we would lose at least one more if he didn't get out of that crazy library and join the rest of the digimon that were waiting for their turn. That elderly Wormmon hadn't been seen amongst them yet. I knew. I had Candlemon and Taichi both keeping an eye out for him, and neither had spotted him yet.

"We can probably turn the program off," Sora suggested. I pulled out my phone and stopped the program from making me invisible. A couple of digimon looked excitedly at us until they realized we weren't the pair that would be taking the next group across. My gut twisted, knowing that our phones _could_ be used to save more of them at a time, but we needed them. We needed to put up protective barriers around all of our safe houses. We'd gotten Primary Village and ShogunGekomon's palace so far, and it took us hours upon hours into the night to get that last one—and a forty minute ride in a pedal boat shaped like a swan.

I wished we'd thought of bringing a car into the Digital World too. It would save so much time!

"Do you want to eat first, or would you rather have a nap?" Sora asked. "I know you didn't sleep very well last night. I didn't either."

"I'm not sure we can waste time on a nap," I admitted, though I did feel like one would be welcome. She didn't want to pressure me, but I could tell she was worrying about my health. I was pretty sure I was made of tougher stuff than she thought I was, and I wasn't even three whole months pregnant yet. When I was, maybe I'd be more worried, but as it was, I wasn't too bothered about having a nap. Not when we had so many digimon to save.

She seemed to understand, and we headed over to get whatever the special was today. Turns out there was a soup on, though it didn't really strike my fancy, and some sort of digital version of fried potatoes with a leafy salad. I chose that, and Sora took the soup, and we headed over to find a seat. I almost tripped over my feet when I noticed that Isao was sitting there. His hair was peppered with a lot more grey than the last I remembered, and his perky little wife was at his side. I thought her hair looked a _little_ unnaturally blonde—it was platinum—but it didn't look _terrible_ on her. It helped that she had a very pretty and kind face to distract from the glow of her hair.

Sora sat down next to Aimi, and exchanged pleasantries, so I sat opposite to her, next to one of Aimi's three daughters. I didn't know which was which, since Jou had never introduced us. I ate heartily—though I tried to keep my manners—listening to Sora and Aimi talk about fashion and hair care, as Aimi was hoping to try a more subtle shade after some rude child at the supermarket had made fun of her. Sora was being her usual helpful self and telling her all she knew about finding the perfect shade—which was surprisingly a lot, considering she'd never dyed her hair in her life—and Aimi was listening with rapt attention.

"Miyako," Isao said, having finished his meal. "I don't know if you've met my step-daughters." I shook my head, covering my mouth after taking a huge bite of what I supposed was meant to be lettuce. It wasn't too bad. "This is Kazue, she's the eldest, a little younger than Shin."

"A year younger, yes," a pretty blonde girl said. She was mature, and wholesome. I could tell just by looking at her. Her hair fell down passed her shoulders and was entirely straight. It shone with the light of the sun and I loved the look of it. I was almost entranced.

"I'm Cho," the girl beside her said. Her hair was longer than her sister's and was tied back in a braid that trailed all the way down to her waist. I could tell she was the most free-spirited of the three by the sight of the earrings that rimmed her entire ear and the multiple beaded necklaces that surrounded her neck, but she was whimsical and sweet. She also had a spattering of freckles across her nose. She, unlike Kazue, did not use makeup. Interesting—most women did. Even I put on a little bit most days, just mascara and lip gloss, but still, Cho didn't even have that.

"And that makes you Eri," I told the girl that was right at my side. She nodded quietly, and I classified her as the shy sister. Her hair was shorter than either of her sisters'. Unlike the other two, hers had curl to it. She had a book tucked on her lap and I smiled warmly at her. She was a bookworm, like Mari—albeit a less confident one.

I couldn't imagine why Jou didn't like them.

But then I also couldn't figure out what Iori had against Yamato and Takeru, and I'd known them longer than I'd known these three. I guess I just wasn't mean to understand the workings of a joined family.

"When did you arrive?" I asked.

"Yesterday afternoon," Aimi said solemnly. "I was so sorry about leaving her behind."

"She wanted us to, though," Cho said. "We wouldn't have changed her mind."

"I wish we'd have tried at the very least," Kazue said agreeing with her mother.

"I patched her up, and she wanted to go. Her best friend, Shuu's girlfriend, is missing my dear," Isao said, patting Kazue's hand and she immediately perked up. "She had to go find her, to bring her back here. Without her our family can't be complete."

"What about Shin?" Eri asked in a whisper.

"I'm sure Momoe will find him too, just give her some time," Isao said comfortingly.

"Momoe?" I asked in a strangled voice. What did he mean he "patched her up"? What happened to my sister? When did she even leave? It must've been right after Sora and I left, if she managed to send these guys back by the afternoon.

"Yes," Aimi said sadly. "I'm sorry I couldn't convince her to come. She was being rather stubborn. She needed to save Gomamon. And I did understand that. I know Isao here would do anything to save Unimon, and to see her so full of love for her partner's digimon has really inspired me to bond more with Isao's. But I do hope she is able to get Gomamon back to Jou. I know he'd be lost without him."

"They have Gomamon?" Sora asked in the same strangled tone that I'd used.

"Oh yes," Kazue said in the same way her mother talked. "It broke my heart to hear it. I do hope she's found Shin and that he's out there helping her. I know he would. He's such a sweet guy."

"Very helpful," Cho agreed, spearing a piece of fried digi-potato with her fork.

"You'll have to excuse me," I said abruptly, pushing my chair back and grabbing my plate. I dropped it in the wash bin and walked off towards the Temple. It only took Sora thirty seconds to catch up to me. But she couldn't stop me. Something bad had happened to my sister, and my brother-in-law's digimon partner had been taken. I wasn't going to sit around and let Sora bully me into taking a nap, I'd be going out there and doing something about it.

Or at least asking Momoe if she'd let me.

"Miyako," Sora called. "Wait for me. You can't just barge into Earth without a plan! We're on a mission, remember? We're saving thousands of digimon lives. Momoe has this covered. I know she does. She would have _called_ us for backup if she needed us."

"How could she?" I demanded, whirling around to face her. "Biyomon had her cell phone. And now _we_ have it. She could be in trouble right now, and I need to help her. She's my _sister_ Sora. She's the only family I have that's bothered to show up in the Digital World. Ken and Hawkmon and Mom and Dad and Chiziru and Mantarou all chose to stay behind, and Wormmon, Emiko, Masa and Jou are all at the Coliseum. I only have _her_. And now I might not even have that. Do you know how that feels? Do you!"

"You know that I can't," she sighed. "I don't have any brother or sisters. But I can relate it. Biyomon stayed behind. I can't guarantee her safety anymore. Mom's at the Coliseum, and Dad refuses to leave the Temple, no matter how much I beg him. Takeru and Hikari are like my little brother and sister and they're both over there, and I don't know where Michael and Neo are. I count the digidestined as a family. We're all one big, unorthodox, _crazy_ family, and we're missing links. Ken, Daisuke and Kurayami are still on Earth. Michael and Neo _could_ be, or they could be here. Jou, Takeru, Hikari, Iori, Willis, Hideto and Mari are all safe, I know that, and I can kind of relax, but I know that Noriko is out there suffering and I get tensed up again. Our digimon are scattered everywhere, and I worry constantly for _everyone_ that's still here in the Temple. And Yamato! I don't even know what I _think_ about him right now and I'm so scared that he's left the Coliseum for another stupid stunt like welding Myotismon's door shut!"

"That was a good idea," I reminded her, kind of floored by her speech.

"I know," she said. "And that fact is the only reason I didn't rip all of the hair out of my head. I think I might be picking up some of Taichi's bad habits. The point is, I don't _know_ what it's like, Miyako, but I can understand it. I include Momoe in our family you know. She married Jou. He's been one of my best friends for forever. I knew she was going to be a part of this from the first time I saw them together. And I'm going to see them together again. I know it. So Momoe is going to be fine."

"I need to know," I pleaded.

"We can go check in for a few minutes. We'll go to your house, and we'll call around, try and track her down. She might've teamed up with Daisuke or Shuu by now, if she's looking for Jun. Once we finish making the calls, we get back here, we hunt Tinkermon down and we start planning out our next routes," she said. That was her offer and I'd be a fool not to take it.

"Deal," I said. "But if we're taking some time to plan things out, we'd better leave these three phones—at the very least our extra one—for Yoshie and Kae. They'll be here any minute. And three phones means three more digimon."

"We'll need them later," she warned.

"And Masami and Kazuya can bring them back tonight," I reminded her. "Three digimon, Sora. That's important."

"You drive a hard bargain," she said with a teasing smile. "But fine. We have only until the two dads come back to plan this next trip. I want to get more than just Neverland included."

I grinned and we rushed up the stairs. If we were going to be on a time limit, then I wanted to get as much done as we could. I was a hard worker, whether I was pregnant or not. We found Taichi looking absolutely miserable in his chair at the Council table. D'Arcmon and DemiDevimon were with him, and Natsuni. She was looking worse than Taichi. She was worrying over her dad and Noriko. I could just tell. I wanted to ask if they'd got confirmation whether Noriko's fiancé was there or not, but thought it wasn't the best time to ask.

"Miyako," D'Arcmon said by way of greeting. "And Sora."

"Hi D'Arcmon," we chorused.

"Momoe gave us the first name we can use," Taichi said monotonously. "She's got two. We know two names for DWD, and we can't do anything about it. They got Gomamon."

"We heard," Sora said, walking over and laying a hand on his shoulder. "We also heard she got pretty beat up while it happened."

"I should've been there," Taichi said. "I shouldn't have let her go. Not with him. I should've made him stay. He would've hated me, but at least he'd be here."

"You cannot dwell on the past," D'Arcmon told him wisely. "We can only hope for a brighter future."

"All the hope in the world won't make this future bright," Taichi snapped, standing up angrily. "Nothing's turning out like it was supposed to."

"On the contrary," D'Arcmon argued. "It's happening _exactly_ as it was meant to. We just don't know why yet. The Digital World is run firmly by the crests, Taichi. You're forgetting that one of those is destiny. Everything that happens has been foretold. That is why the fairies were able to provide you with so much knowledge before. They had access once upon a time to such prophecies. They do not have access any longer. We are acting blindly for the first time in a _long_ time. But it is all happening for a reason. It _must_ be."

"I know," Taichi said, his voice breaking as he collapsed back into his chair. "And that's what scares me the most."

"Hikari would want you to keep your hope alive," I told him. "I know I do. I look to Daisuke most of the time, I know, but he looks to _you_. And if you have no hope, most of us won't. I'm struggling to keep it alive now, Taichi. Don't take it away from me."

He looked to me, and I wanted to cry at the broken look in his eyes. I knew that I never wanted to see that look on anyone again. He was at the end of his rope. He didn't have much strength left to continue. He'd been booted out of his ambassador title because Earth got scared, and so many digimon and people alike were counting on him, and it was all too much for one man to handle.

"Maybe," I said slowly, trying to keep the tears I wanted to shed out of my voice. "We can use each other to build up our hope. You and me and Sora. We can count on each other. It's not fair to make you carry all this weight. Not when we voted _Daisuke_ the leader," I teased pathetically. "I was one of the fairies chosen three. It meant something before, and I have to rise to it again. I'm not being fair."

"You're being fair," Taichi said. "I'm just failing."

"She's right," Sora agreed. "It's like I've been telling you all along. You've got me. And Miyako is here offering you the same thing. Just take the offer, Taichi. Loosen your grip on the reigns and share the responsibility."

"Maybe," he said, but Sora and I knew he was still being stubborn. D'Arcmon was thanking us for our effort with her eyes alone. She would continue our battle without us. We had a mission of our own to take care of while she handled this one.

"When Yoshie and Kae show up," I said to Natsuni. "Make sure they get these. Tell them we need them back when their husbands come."

"Okay," she said a little hollowly. I couldn't help but think that Natsuni and Taichi could probably help each other dig their way out of the pits they had dug themselves. They were both so emotionally and physically drained. It would be a good team building exercise or something.

"By the way," Sora asked. "What were the names?"

"Puraido and Yorokobi," Taichi said. "She said that Miyako would know who the girl was, then she said something about the guy being her brother."

"She's bad news," I told them. My mind was reeling. She was dating my brother. My brother was dating a confirmed DWD member. Ha! I totally called it. Only knowing it was true didn't make me feel happy, like I'd expected. I just felt miserable. Especially because she'd be after Hawkmon next. If she knew about Gomamon, and his connection with Jou, then she would know about all of our digimon. She was crafty and had my mother wrapped around her little finger. She could've extracted any amount of information from Mom without Mom ever knowing. Mom could've inadvertently caused Gomamon's kidnapping, or even worse. What if they weren't keeping Gomamon alive? What if he was already dead?

"Breathe, Miyako," Sora suggested.

I raked in an unsteady breath. Right. We were heading to my house already anyway, and Hawkmon would be there. Yes, Yorokobi probably knew where I lived, and since Ken's boss was DWD as well, she probably knew Ken's schedule. But, there was something my mind had forgotten in my panic. Mom hated the idea of digimon so much that she wouldn't admit that her family had any to anyone, even under extreme torture. Yorokobi might _assume_ that I had a digimon, but there was no way Mom or Mantarou would confirm that fact.

Hawkmon would be there when I got home, and everything would be fine. We'd find Momoe and talk to her, and then go back to the Temple to plan our next mission. It would be easy. It would be safe. _Hawkmon_ would be safe.

I left the room then, not bothering to continue the conversation. I'd have time to fill them in on all the finer details about Yorokobi later. Sora was following after me, and I stopped at the gateway, unsure of how to proceed. Sora fixed it all up for us without waiting for me to ask. She had much more experience with the gate, I'd never actually needed to set the exit location myself before. Soon enough the doorway was open and we were stepping through the closet door beside the front door to my apartment. I quickly raced to the kitchen where I took our phone off of its cradle and tossed it at Sora.

"See if you can find Momoe," I told her, before heading into the first bedroom. It was Wormmon and Hawkmon's room for now, but I was afraid we'd need it to be converted into a nursery too. Wormmon already just slept wherever he fell asleep anyway, so that wouldn't be a problem, but Hawkmon was very particular at bedtime. I knew Ken and I could keep the baby with us for at least the first year though, so he'd have time to get used to the idea. I knew exactly where we'd put a crib in our room and everything.

And I decided to go take a look in my room, since Hawkmon wasn't in his. I looked everywhere for him! There weren't a lot of places to look though. There was a small television on the floor—at Wormmon's height—and exactly three movie cases left on the rack beside it. Wormmon slept on a dog bed when he was in his room, with a silky blanket. They were gone though, since he brought them with him to the Coliseum. Hawkmon's nest was still here though. He had a cushion in the centre of a swirl of blankets. I supposed he _was_ a bit similar to the birds on Earth, even though he was far more intelligent and articulate—he couldn't sing worth a darn though. There were a couple of puzzle boxes on the floor too, one puzzle half finished and abandoned.

That was it.

They didn't need a dresser, and they liked their small beds. It was kind of a boring room, but they were happy with it.

I peeked in mine and Ken's bedroom, and it was far more cluttered in there. Ken didn't make the bed when he left for work this morning, so I made it up for him while I called out for Hawkmon, hoping he was hiding in the closet, or behind a dresser. The next room I searched was the bathroom, but no matter how many times I checked, he wasn't hiding behind the shower curtain. I was getting desperate when I checked under the dining table and he wasn't there either. He wasn't in the living room, and he wasn't in the kitchen.

Where was he?

"Miyako!" Sora called excitedly. "I found her. She's fine. She's with Daisuke for now. Neither of them can find Shuu though. He must be looking in all different places than the ones they're looking at, but this is great! Momoe's okay."

"That's wonderful," I said honestly. "But we've got another problem."

She said her goodbyes on to who I assumed was Daisuke, and wished them the best of luck with their search, and calmly put the phone down before asking me what was wrong. I told her how Yorokobi took Hawkmon and she tried to keep me calm. I wanted to start throwing things, and to call Ken at work and get him to come and help me find him. Sora demanded I take four deep breaths, and she counted them too, until I was calm enough to think rationally. It helped too, that she found a note written in Hawkmon's very own scrawl. He had truly awful penmanship. It was like chicken scratch.

_Ken,_

_I've gone out to the garden._

_I'll be back later if I'm not back before you are._

_Hawkmon._

"What garden?" I asked confused.

"Lalamon's garden is here somewhere, right?" Sora said snapping her fingers. "We just need to find it. Do you remember how to get there?"

"Yeah," I said. It was Mari's special place though, I didn't really want to intrude...but if Hawkmon was there, then I needed to get there too. I needed him to stay indoors. Now more than ever.

We rushed off through the streets, I had to keep fixing my bandana as it continued to fall from its place on my head. Sora rolled up the sleeves of her cardigan and we were off. The sun felt so much better here than it did in the Digital World. Sora informed me it was because it gave me vitamin D—a fact I filed away, promising to find a bottle of vitamin D to substitute for the sun when I got back to the Temple (I had to stay healthy for the baby after all!). We hurried along, trying not to garner attention, but we were wearing dirty clothes. We wore them all of yesterday when we camped out on dirt and moss, so they weren't exactly spring fresh.

"Miyako!" Sora called, grabbing my hand and pulling me over off of the sidewalk and onto the lawn of the park. She was pointing to a chunky child wearing a long, oversized sweatshirt with the hood up covering his face and a raincoat overtop. He was carrying an umbrella and wearing rubber boots too. It had to be Hawkmon! And I would've been thrilled by that fact had he not been facing an angry police officer holding a gun out and pointing it at him.

"I know you're one of them," the officer was growling as we got closer. "We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way."

"The easy way gives me a zero percent chance of escape," Hawkmon said, pretending to think the options over. "So I think I'll go with the hard way. It's only hard for _you_ anyway."

"That's it," the officer snarled, getting ready to pull the trigger.

I acted entirely on instinct. I ran at the man, karate chopping his arm so that his shot hit the ground instead of my partner, and then I pushed the man away, sticking my leg behind his knee so that he fell to the ground. Then, I kicked him while he was down. It wasn't very nice, or honourable, but neither was shooting poor digimon! I pulled my foot back and kicked him again.

"How dare you attack a child?!" I shrieked loudly so that all the onlookers would know I was the hero and not the officer. "That is my son! He's never done anything wrong."

I nearly blew the facade when people started muttering and murmuring about what I was saying as I scolded the guy. Then I went over and scooped Hawkmon into my arms, placing him firmly on my hip, and cooing at him, making sure he was okay. It wasn't just an act though; I really needed to be sure.

"Did that mean man hurt you?" I said playing up the baby talk.

"No," Hawkmon whispered. "You got here in time. Thank you."

"I _know_ I told you that you can trust the police," I said sounding aghast. "I really thought you _could_. He must be a bad apple. You don't trust that one again. Let's get you home. I'll make a fresh batch of cookies, how does that sound."

"Please don't," Hawkmon said seriously. And I wasn't even offended. I was a terrible baker. I still insisted I was getting better, but that was mostly because there was no possible way that I was getting worse.

"He's not a child!" the officer was shouting to the crowd. "He's a digimon. I know it!"

"You think my _son_ is a digimon," I growled, forcing the bitter, _mean_ tone out of my mouth. The words tasted horrible on my tongue, and Hawkmon could tell, because he started patting my back. "How _dare_ you accuse him of something so...I can't even say it."

"There, there," Sora said, patting my back. "Let's get you two home. Nothing to see here folks, break it up." She leaned in to me and whispered into my ear. "Bravo. Stellar performance. I think it worked. Let's get back to the Temple, okay?"

I nodded, and we started walking idly through the park. We had to make it seem like we weren't fleeing from the scene, especially after I made a fool out of that police officer revealing him for the bad guy he was. I wished though, that we had run, because the park was suddenly a hotspot for the police force. They were everywhere, and we couldn't exactly just hide. That would make us seem the most suspicious. Sora _did_ take her cardigan off though, and tugged my bandana out of my hair and tied it around her neck. It wasn't much of a disguise, but if the officer had mentioned a description of us through his walkie-talkie then we'd throw them off our trail a little bit.

We forced our pace to remain calm until we'd made it out of the park and onto the sidewalk where we intended to walk down the street before bolting back to my place. We just didn't get to act out that particular part of our plan. I could see the reflection of an officer following us in the glass of the phone booth as we passed it. I nearly screamed. It wasn't just an officer. It was the chief. I'd recognize him anywhere, gruff, mean and deadly. I clutched Hawkmon closer to me.

"We've got a tail," I told Sora out of the side of my mouth. I could see she was tempted to look, but thankfully refrained from doing so. I suggested a stroll around the pond, and led Sora towards it. It was a sort of addition to the park where kids could feed the ducks bread and stuff. It was one of the few places around town I couldn't wait to bring my baby, and now I was spoiling it with bad memories of being chased by a potential murderer—potential only because Noriko hadn't died, and she was my only confirmed victim that he himself had shot at. I grabbed Sora's hand and pulled her with me through crowd gathered around the exotic bird cages. People were taking pictures and getting close to the cages. We did the same, getting lost in the crowd, and when I was sure we'd lost Morestuna, I nearly tugged Sora's arm out of the socket with the haste I exercised in our quick getaway.

"Get back here!"

"He's found us," Sora not-so-helpfully informed me. I would've glared at her for stating the obvious if I wasn't so panicked. Hawkmon was getting heavy, but I wasn't about to let him down. He ran a lot slower than I did with those silly rubber boots on his feet and he couldn't fly with all of his layers. I took his umbrella though, and threw it back at Morestuna. I heard it bounce off of him and while he was distracted, I turned into the first alleyway we came too.

Darn.

It didn't have an exit at the other end. Just an oversized dumpster. I pushed Sora behind it, and handed Hawkmon to her. And then I did the one thing I never thought I'd have to do. I pulled out the gun Ken had given me and got ready to fire. Only if he got too close. I had to protect Hawkmon. I had to protect Sora. And I had to protect my baby.

I didn't _want_ to use it. But I would if I had to.

"You don't think you can hide from me, do you?" he called in a mocking way. "You're trapped. You have nowhere to go. Did you really think you could call that thing your _son_ and get away with it? You made a fool out of one of my officers. One of my best. You turned the public against one of the few people they can trust, for an abomination."

I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to keep myself from blurting out everything I was desperate to say. That Hawkmon was _not_ an abomination. That he was my friend. And damn right he was my family.

"It's not even a real entity. You could have a real baby, or adopt a puppy. That would give you far more joy than loving a piece of data. It can only do what it is programmed to do. It can't love. No matter how much you beg it to, it will never love you. It's not able to. And you're willing to die for it. How _pathetic_. You're going to die today, and for what? A piece of rubbish? You've wasted your life."

He was close now; I could hear his footsteps getting closer. He was checking _inside_ the dumpster. We weren't there obviously, so he continued around to the side. I could see the tip of his shoe. He was coming.

"And now you die," he said maliciously, aiming the gun straight at my stomach.

I pulled the trigger, and a blast of purple light hit him on the chest, knocking him back against the hard, brick wall that made up one side of the alley. No one threatened my baby and got away with it.

My hands were shaking and the gun fell from my grip, crashing to the paved street beneath us all. I looked up to my victim and gasped, feeling another panic attack rising. If he died that would make me a murderer... Sora grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet, dragging me while my feet tried to remember how to work. I knew I'd have a full blown panic attack later, but for now I just had to get my friends to the safety of my apartment. I had to be sane. We'd write a note for Ken, and then we'd get to the Digital World.

I had done the right thing. It was him or my baby. And I _had_ to pick my baby.

But then why did it feel so wrong.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Ken and Jenna take on the next chapter searching for the missing pieces that could put a more desirable puzzle together while the DWD and their forces slowly take their allies out of the running.


	35. Missing Pieces

**Y/N: **Ken's chapter was pretty fun this time. It's strange how easy writing Ken has become after hating him for so long. But this chapter had an actual plot that Ken could work with, that actually involved _him_, so that was cool.

**U/N: **Okay, so I wrote both Jenna and Jou here apparently. I don't remember the actual process of writing Jou's, I just know that the end result wasn't something I was totally proud of I guess. Jenna's is fine though. It fits her and gets some actual progress on the sidelines done, so that's cool

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 4: War**

**Chapter 35: Missing Pieces**

_**Jenna Washington:**_

It was almost selfish of me to be waiting there. There was so much trouble in the Digital World at that time. So much that it seemed horrible that I'd abandoned them. I had to constantly remind myself I was doing nothing of any great value at the Temple to settle my mind. Relationships had to take the back burner here while so many lives were in danger. But something about it said that it was now or never. I'd never been in a serious relationship before but somehow this seemed to be everything to me. Was this how everyone felt in every relationship? It would explain all of the stupid decisions made by those people in the movies. But I wasn't going to let Chi and I drop everything because of a stupid fight. That fight was easily reparable if only we'd get together and talk about it. So it had to be done. I wasn't going to let a group of jerks make me feel like my life was over.

The fact that I'd made sure I looked particularly nice had nothing to do with it. I even curled my hair at the end of my side ponytail. I was that fancy. And I was acting like such a typical girl, but no matter how much I tried to force myself to stay calm I couldn't stop looking around nervously as if he wasn't going to show up. Of course he was going to show up. Why wouldn't he?

If he didn't I'd have to go on my mission alone, and I really didn't want to do that. I promised Mimi I would do it though, I just didn't feel safe walking around alone all the time.

"_Mimi," I said awkwardly. I didn't know her too well but I remembered her from the time she'd spent with my brother when she lived in America. I sat down next to her where she sat, leaning against wall of the kitchen in the council hallway. I'd only gone in because I'd heard her crying. I assumed I would find a digimon, but it was a grown woman. I couldn't say anything though, I knew it was hard on everyone. It was hard on me! "Mimi, why are you crying?" I said, looking around to where dough appeared to be dripping down the walls slowly. There was flour everywhere as if Mimi had ripped open a bag and thrown it around. Was she baking? _

"_My cookies taste horrible." She said, looking the floor and wiping her eyes. She hadn't heard me come in. "They're too salty."_

"_I highly doubt you're upset about cookies." I told her, trying to be mature. A mature person who had things put together always made me feel better when I was upset. I sat down next to her and grabbed her hand, rubbing my other hand over hers gently. "Mimi, it's okay to be not okay."_

"_I know," She said firmly, looking to the door to make sure no one else was around. "Jenna, can I talk to you?"_

"_Aren't we talking now?" I asked._

_She didn't wait for a more definitive answer and instead just started, "Michael is gone. I'm scared he's hurt. He promised to get my parents and now he's gone. Gomamon is missing too, and Palmon is freaking out but trying to stay calm about it but she's not and it's freaking me out. Just a few minutes ago she said she was going to go sweep the courtyard, but I saw her crying through the window." She pointed over her shoulder to the window. "She's doing the same thing I am. Pretending she's okay when she's not, and that's not okay! I'm not okay Jenna. Whenever I felt sad as a kid, whenever I was this distraught my mother would hug me and tell me it was all going to be fine. I just really need someone to hug me." _

_Suddenly I found myself hugging her even if I wasn't a particularly huggish person. She was crying into my shoulder and then she fell limp like she had suddenly died. I actually was scared for a moment too. "Mimi?"_

_She jumped back and wiped her eyes, "I'm alright." She said smiling, "Let's make some cookies?"_

We did make cookies, but that wasn't the end of my day. Because I'd made a vow to bring Mimi's mother back to her, so she could make her feel better. I could tell while we were baking that I wasn't doing a good job. I wasn't as comforting as a mother could be, apparently, as if I knew what that meant. I'd never had a mom. The closest I could remember was Mary, Willis' mom, and she was about as soft and cuddly as a porcupine.

So I'd gone to New York to get her parents, to get my parents, possibly find Michael, and to apologize to Chi. So coming wasn't an entire waste, no, but I still felt like I was running away from everyone else's problems to deal with my own. Even if, like I said, I wasn't doing anything helpful at the Temple.

I'd left Kudamon behind of course because it was so unsafe in the human world for a digimon to be wandering about even if he did appear to be dead every time he fell asleep on my shoulders. They'd been hunting them a while, I was sure they would come to the conclusion sooner or later that digimon dispersed when they died instead of becoming corpses like humans. But even with Kudamon still at the Temple it was easy to pretend the Temple didn't exist. Like digimon didn't exist and that the problem we were facing was nonexistent. I was not proud of myself for retreating to that place of mind, but it helped keep me calm. I didn't want the digimon dead any more than anyone else, but sometimes it was hard to ignore the obvious solution of keeping the worlds separate forever.

I loved Kudamon like the brother I'd never had. I knew I had two brothers, but Kudamon was like one that was better than they were. I loved him and I didn't want to see him go, but maybe that was for the better. No one else even thought that way so I didn't dare bring it up... but they'd been separated from their partners before. Why? Because the world was rebooting. But they met up again, and then were forced to say goodbye when Gennai thought the humans and the digimon posed a problem in each other's domains. At the time he was wrong, but his intentions were good. Now he was right, and he wasn't here to tell them that he told them so. I'd never met the guy, but everyone made sure that all allies knew the stories of the past inside out and backwards. As if I was involved really. The most I'd done was bring the water back to the Digital World, and really that was more Tatum than it was me. I just wanted a normal life... but one where digimon were included.

But you can't always get what you want. Sometimes life makes the choices for you and all you can do is learn from the experience...

I was pulled from my horribly depressing thoughts when I looked up and saw Chi walking toward me. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his leather jacket, and his jeans were ripped. He looked worried, and was paying little attention to where he was going. He kicked a crushed can that once held some kind of soda, and watched it bounce down the sidewalk that was nearly sizzling from the direct heat of the sun in the clear sky. The can stopped a few feet from me and Chi stopped, looking up, noticing I was standing there.

"Jenna," He said, his voice weak, "You look nice."

"Thank you," I said, nervous by the way his voice sounded. Was he aiming for something different than I was? "Chi," I said, stepping toward him, and placing my hands on his shoulder, "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm sorry for putting you into a position that made you feel uncomfortable. I'm sorry for obsessing over something that made me feel a little insane."

"Jenna," Chi said, shaking his head, "Don't apologize. I know why you're so intent on figuring these things out. I'm sorry I haven't been there for you. I'm sorry I haven't been more supportive. I want to be there for you, and be your best friend. But I just can't go everywhere that you can go. I'm not as brave as you are, I'm not used to this kind of thing. This is a whole new world of experiences for me."

"Me too," I admitted, "I guess I'm just taking to it really well." He grinned down to me and kissed my forehead. "I'm really sorry."

"I'm sorry too." He said again. "Now, do you want to get something to eat?"

I froze and took a step back awkwardly. I really should have asked Chi to meet me _after_ my missions. What was he going to say if I ditched him for another one of my tasks? "Actually," I said awkwardly, and his face fell. "C-could you come with me somewhere else?"

"I don't know," He crossed his arms, his face both nervous and frustrated, "Is it back to Veronica's house?"

"Nope," I smiled as optimistically as I could, "I promised someone I'd bring her parents to the Digital World."

I took comfort to see that Chi looked relieved with my response. His arms fell and he reached out to take my hand. His was warm and sweaty, like he'd been really nervous about meeting with me today, and somehow that was cute, even if it was also sticky and gross. "I'd love to help with that." He said, nodding.

We were walking together, looking and feeling more like we were boyfriend and girlfriend than we ever had, and the day was lovely, with just enough heat to feel like early summer, but with enough freshness and beauty to feel like spring. The gross people that screamed at us on the sidewalk were barely noticeable through everything. I just felt elated. I felt perfect.

Today was perfection.

So far, anyway.

I decided to stop at my parents house first since it was closer, and perhaps they could give us a ride to the Tachikawa residence. Chi had never met my parents before and I thought maybe we could pretend we weren't dating just to make it less awkward for their first meeting, but I really didn't want to let go of his hand, so I just pushed the door open when we arrived.

It seemed weird to me how small the house was now. It used to feel so big in comparison to my friends houses, but now, living with Willis this house was small and modest. And I was literally standing under a chandelier that cost four thousand dollars, so that was saying something. Willis really needed to be more careful with his money.

No one came immediately to the door so I released Chi's hands to take my boots off, dropping them in a corner. Chi followed suit and put his converse next to my shoes, then I took his hand again and stepped into the open kitchen area. No one was in the kitchen which was strange because Mary was always in the kitchen unless she had company over. So the next obvious place to check was the sitting room. Before I'd even pushed through the glass panelled door I heard voices from within. They were all sitting on the two large sofa's that were facing one another. I saw Dad and Mary facing me, speaking with two red haired people whose faces I could not see. Dad's face lit up when he saw me, "Jenna!" Mary looked up and smiled as well. It was a nice smile. She'd been a lot more tolerable lately, especially when I came to see her and not the other way around. When they came over for dinners it was borderline intolerable. "What brings you here?"

I looked nervously to the red haired people. Could I trust them? "Who is that?" I said bluntly, pointing to them.

"Jenna," Dad almost gasped out, "That's rude." He took a sip of the white wine that he was holding elegantly in his hand and then pointed to Chi, "Who's that?"

"Rude," I smirked and Dad let out a low chuckle, "Guys, meet Chi. Chi, meet Dad and Mary."

"Hello Dad and Mary," Chi said awkwardly in such a way that he was trying to be a confident bright young man, but was not showing any of his usual qualities. Such as his intelligence, his uniqueness or his gentle behaviour. Instead he just sounded a little cocky to be honest. Dad looked amused at this behaviour though, and I figured he could see right through it. He was very good at knowing people. He looked to me with his eyebrows raised and I knew he'd have a talk with me later about coming forth with my suitors more quickly next time though. And then finally the two red haired people turned around.

"Hello," the man said kindly. He had a mustache and glasses. He looked a little dopey with his big ears, but the smile lines carved into his pale skin told me he was a friendly guy. His wife was just as cheery. A little rounder than he was, but not as big as Mary had been. She was adorable and motherly and looked like she might poop out cookies and rainbows. "I can't believe this is the first we're meeting you."

"Okay," I said, unsure how to respond.

"Oh, dear," The woman said, "We're Tatum's parents."

"Oh!" I shouted, a smile on my face, "It's nice to meet you! Every time I complain about my dad, Tatum always goes on and on about how good you guys were at raising her." Dad looked annoyed, but then laughed again. "You guys can come too. I'm sure Tatum will be pleased."

"You know where she is?" Mrs Jefferson asked, perking up. I'd thought she was already quite perky, but the way her smile glowed and her eyes sparkled was insane now.

"Yes, you should come to her." I said, "We're making sure everyone is safe." They looked confused, but their smiles never faded. "It's in the Digital World. There's a safe house where everyone will be gathering. I'm sure Tatum would love it if you both joined us there. She'd be pretty annoyed if she was stuck in the safe house with no way of seeing you." They looked to each other, contemplating the concept and then nodded to one another. "As long as you like digimon of course."

"Oh, like little Monodramon?" Mr Jefferson asked. "We love him!"

"He's the cutest thing!" Mrs Jefferson giggled, giving me the impression that their unfaltering enthusiasm had something to do with the large empty glasses in front of them. "I brought a sweater for him, hoping to see Tatum but she wasn't home. Would you like to see it?"

"Later," I told her. "I'm sure it's awesome. If you guys are coming you should pack up some stuff from home. Meet me here in an hour, okay?"

"We'd better get going!" Mr Jefferson cried out, "We've only got an hour?"

"I'll drive," Mary said brightly, setting down her glass of water. "I think it would be best." She smiled at me, and then led the others to the front door, "Are we going too?" She asked on her way past.

"I hope so." I told her. She smiled at me and then was gone, leaving me with dad. "You're drunk too?"

"Uhhh a bit," He admitted.

"Damn." I sighed, "I need a driver."

"Ah, well." Dad said, clapping his hands, "Smithie! Come forth!" I shook my head fervently but it was too later, Mr Smith was already stepping into the room looking flattered that Dad had called for him. His face was flushed in his cheeks and he was grinning like a fool. He was wearing a perfectly tailored suit too. He looked like he belonged in this house more than my dad who was wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt. "Would you drive my daughter and her charming boyfriend wherever it is they were heading?"

"Charming?" Mr Smith asked, looking to Chi, his eyes scanning him up and down. "Would be my pleasure." His voice was dry and his eyes cold. "Come along children."

"I'm pretty much an adult," I reminded him, waving to my father, and following Mr Smith out the door of the sitting room. He said nothing in response and was walking straight toward the garage door. Chi and I hurried to get our shoes and then followed Mr Smith to where he had thrown open the door watched as he got into the sleek black car my dad liked so much. "Get in the front." I told Chi quietly.

"That would be so awkward!" He hissed back, "I don't know him. You get in the front."

"I don't like him!" I said back sharply. We stood, staring at each other in silence and then both climbed into the back seat without a word. "To the Tachikawa residence, please." I asked him.

"Yes ma'am." He said, his eyes rolling. He started the car and set off when the garage door was opened. "I'm not a taxi service you know," he told me in his whining voice, "I feel as though you're taking advantage of me."

"Sorry your feelings are hurt." I said without sympathy. "Could you just get to Mimi's house please? I need to kidnap her parents." Mr Smith rolled his eyes, not amused with the way I spoke, as always. He'd never liked me. Well that wasn't true. When I was ten he liked me, then my dad told me that I reminded him of my mother and Mr Smith decided he no longer cared for me. Because he was in love with my dad or something. He didn't like Mary either. Or Willis, or even Michael actually, which was weird because he and my dad were similar in a lot of ways. Mr Smith stopped the car in a traffic jam, and I blamed him even if it wasn't his fault. "Go around." I commanded.

"Little girl," Mr Smith said sharply, "I am in the middle of a grouping of vehicles. How do you suppose I do that?"

I stuck my tongue out and was quiet as we waited. Chi took my hand and Mr Smith saw, rolling his eyes. I didn't care if he was unimpressed by my boyfriend, because I was amazed with him for the both of us. If only my brother hadn't gone missing randomly I'd be in a much better mood. "So we found Willis," I said, making conversation.

"Oh that's right," Mr Smith said, a smile forming on his face. I thought for a moment he actually cared, but noticed the cars pulling away, and knew he was only happy to be rid of the two of us sooner rather than later. "He was missing wasn't he?"

"Yeah," I told him, "Now Michael is. Guess it's my turn next—"

"Michael is what?" Mr Smith asked, his foot slamming on the brakes. We lurched forward and I smashed my face against the back of the passenger's seat. Mr Smith looked annoyed into the rear-view mirror as if the people behind him were honking for no good reason. He started to drive again, his eyes not leaving me through the reflection. "What did you say?"

"Michael is gone," I said very slowly so he would understand. "Michael, my brother, has gone—"

"I _do_ know what you mean!" Mr Smith snapped loudly, "Explain further. Tell me what happened. When it happened."

"I don't know exactly," I said through gritted teeth as Chi calmed me by squeezing my hand, "Last I saw him was the nineteenth. So, like three days ago."

Mr Smith was calculating something in his head carefully and then he slowly said, "Me too."

"What?" I asked sharply, leaning forward in my seat. "He went to see you? Where did he go after?"

"He didn't come to see me, no." Mr Smith admitted, "I never really _saw _him either. I spoke to him. When I get my hands on him I'm going to give him a piece of my mind though. That boy is going to get it this time."

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"He is not permitted to set foot outside without my permission."

"Well if you weren't such an annoying little crap-face he wouldn't go behind your back all the time." I snapped. I didn't mean to be so rude, but if he had heard from Michael, then I wanted to hear the whole story. I wanted to know what was going on with my brother to know if I could help in any way. If he was just doing something, on a mission, then I would let him be. I could trust him. But what if he was in danger? And what if Mr Smith knew something? What if he didn't know he knew something? I needed the story, and him being difficult like this was just going to frustrate me further.

"I'm going to fire him from our firm." Mr Smith said, ignoring what I was saying. "He'll be out of a job."

"He hired you." I reminded him, "Well, Dad did."

"Then I'll cut ties with both of them. I am so sick of people walking all over me." He said dramatically, "I try and I try but no one ever gives me what I want." My eyes found the diamond encrusted watch my dad had given him for his birthday, but I said nothing. "I want a client who brings me money and fame."

"And you'll get that," Chi said, trying to comfort him. I slapped Chi's hand away when he tried to pat Mr Smith's shoulder, and I shook my head. Chi let his hands fall to his side.

I leaned forward again so Mr Smith would understand the seriousness of what I was about to say. "Stop complaining right now and tell me everything my brother said to you."

Mr Smith looked annoyed again and then sighed, "Very well." He said nothing as he turned a corner, but eventually, as if it caused him much pain, he said, "We spoke on the telephone and he assured me he was not out in the public eye. The liar—" "Stop." I interjected—"We spoke of Betamon for a while, and then he stopped talking to me. I thought maybe he'd hung up the phone, but I could still hear things through the line. Like the phone was in a pocket, I heard muffled noises, and then there was a crash."

He stopped.

"That's all?" I asked, becoming aware that my hands were holding the fabric of the seat tightly. Chi was staring at me, worried, I saw through my peripheral vision, but I didn't take my eyes off of Mr Smith. "What happened next?"

"Well the line went dead," Mr Smith said with a sense of finality. I was going to blame him and get frustrated, but then he said, "But not before I heard something."

"And what did you hear?" Chi asked before I could bite Mr Smith's head off for being so dramatic.

"A man spoke" Mr Smith said, "He said, 'What do we do with him Ronnie?'"

_Ronnie_.

It was Veronica.

The little _whore_. Michael, not Veronica. He went to the shoe factory. I wasn't stupid. I'd seen where the other light was on his computer. He went to put an end to the stupid tracking devices. He went alone too, and now he was in trouble because Veronica—and I assumed Marshall was the man—was punishing him for trespassing. For loving digimon. And _everyone_ knew Michael loved digimon. His twitter bio said _"Digimon are awesome. I love them. More than chocolate."_ It wasn't a surprise that this would happen, but knowing who had done it helped a lot.

"We're here," Mr Smith said as if he'd delivered inconsequential news. He was pulling in to a lovely little mannor house. The lawn was the neatest lawn I'd ever seen, and there were flowers growing beautifully around the house, along with bushes and trees. The house itself was made of stone and there was the perfect amount of ivy growing along it. "Do you think Michael was working an acting job?" Mr Smith asked as he was pulling to a stop, "It was a play, wasn't it? And he's doing things without me... he's going to quit on me! I'll be out of a job."

Chi looked confused, but I shook my head. Mr Smith had just threatened to fire him, and was now scared he'd quit. He was a confusing man. Before the car was fully stopped I had jumped out, leaving the door hanging open and was rushing up the porch of the house. I was in a hurry now. I had to help Mimi so I could get to helping Michael.

My fists slammed into the door as Chi hurried to stand with me. I assumed Mr Smith would wait in the car. Hopefully he would. I didn't want to deal with him right now. Mr Tachikawa threw the door open, a smile creeping onto his face, "Aren't you that Washington, girl?" He asked.

"Jenna, yes." I told him. "Can I come in? I have a lot to talk to you about." He welcomed me in quickly and led me to their sitting room, which was much more my style. There was a comfortable looking couch and fancy picture frames and everything lame that my parents had, but there was a television. And that was pretty cool. Satoe Tachikawa was sitting in a regal looking armchair, reading a book by the light of a nearby lamp. She looked up and smiled, welcoming the surprise. "Hello," I greeted. "Will you come with me to the Digital World and join your daughter in safety. She really misses you both."

Satoe stood up and reached beside her chair, pulling the handle of something and walking forward. "One step ahead of you," She said revealing that she was pulling a large, bulging suitcase. She then pointed through an open doorway where I could see her digimon partner Minervamon stuffing more dresses into a matching suitcase that went with the rest of the enormous pile.

After attaching a trailer to the car, which I was sure Dad would be upset about, we loaded up all of their stuff and hurried back home where Tatum's parents were waiting outside. They informed us that Dad and Mary were just finishing up packing and then we could be on our way. Five minutes later, we were standing amongst all of the things everyone thought to bring along with them and I was ready to head back to the Digital World.

"I don't want to go," Chi said softly into my ear. "I have to get home." It sounded like he was making up an excuse, but I didn't mind. We were on good terms again, and I was happy about that. I kissed him goodbye and my dad elbowed me to stop, so I broke apart and waved goodbye. Chi stepped aside to stand with Mr Smith who also had no intention of joining us, and then I was opening the portal.

We all emerged through the light of the portal and were standing around the council room hallway again. Coming up the stairs directly to our right was Koushiro and Kiyoko, talking to one another excitedly. Koushiro paused and looked up, a smile on his face when he saw who I'd brought. "Mimi is in the kitchen." He said, then to Tatum's parents. "Tatum's down here." He quickly spun around and he and Kiyoko helped Tatum's parents find their daughter, but when I turned around Satoe and Keisuke were already heading to the kitchen. I followed them quickly and saw Mimi baking, sniffling loudly. Palmon was sitting at the table looking sad too, but then she looked up and broke into a grin.

"Mimi!" She said brightly.

Mimi spun around at the sound of her voice and dropped the wooden spoon she'd been stirring with, breaking out into tears again as she ran toward her mother, throwing her arms around her neck. "Mom! Daddy!" She pulled her father into the hug and cried loudly.

"I'm here, Baby." Satoe said softly, "I'm here. You're going to be alright. I promise."

"UGH!" I spun and saw Terriermon coming from the Knight's training meadow, Lopmon by his side. "Sure, _you're_ here, but no Willis?" They both looked up to Willis' mom, not hiding their annoyance.

"Soon," I promised them. "You'll see him soon."

_**Ken Ichijouji:**_

Huh.

For future reference, I would have to make a note to _not_ ask Yamato to fill me in on everything I'd missed. He was the bluntest person I'd ever met, and I knew Koushiro. Koushiro at least made some blundering attempt at tact when it came to delivering bad news. I remembered when he told us all Sora had died. It wasn't exactly an easy to swallow pill, and he hadn't put _that_ much effort, but he put some! Yamato didn't even bother with that.

Momoe was attacked by someone that was in DWD who took Gomamon from her. Incidentally, the person that took him was also Hideto's family member. Alias III broke Willis out of wherever he was trapped. DWD could break Meiyomon's data streams, and were camped out in front of the Temple. Kiyoko had made some magical shield that was going to protect everybody, and my wife was supposedly out putting them into action. Michael was gone and no one knew where he was, or what might've happened to him. Neo disappeared while on route to Jun and Shuu's apartment, where Daisuke learned Jun was missing too. My _mother_ and father were ferrying digimon from the Temple to the Coliseum whilst invisible, and Noriko was the mysterious girl that was hit by Moretsuna.

Oh yeah, and the worlds were now officially at war.

What was I even supposed to _say_ to something like that? There was so much information that I didn't know what to think. I closed my eyes tightly and ran a hand up my face and into my hair. Okay. I had to take things one at a time. Starting with the least disastrous, and working my way up. It was the only way I could handle this.

It was Noriko. Okay. Not exactly the least disastrous, but it was one that I knew about already, at least partially. Moretsuna had announced to his officers immediately after it happened. He called for backup. I was one of the first to arrive on the scene. If he was shooting at civilians, I wanted to be there to see what I could do to stop him. I was too late to be of any use to whoever it was—now I knew it was Noriko—but I _was_ able to identify the people that had saved her. The way he described them—because they were now on our most wanted list—there was no way it _wasn't_ Iori and Hikari. It should've clicked into place when he described the digimon, but he didn't see them as individuals. Most of his descriptions were "purple scum", and "disgusting beast". How was I meant to know that meant Impmon? If he wanted to draw up some old fashioned wanted posters—and he actually did for Hikari and Iori—then he needed to give _accurate_ descriptions.

But knowing he shot someone, and knowing who it was were two completely different things. Knowing that it was Noriko, having a face to put with the idea...it was hard to comprehend. When did Moretsuna lose what was left of his sanity? He was against digimon, yes, and scary as all hell, but that didn't mean he was crazy. He had the wrong ideas, but he _had_ morals. I supposed those were gone now.

I shook my head, moving to the next event. I couldn't handle dwelling on Moretsuna now.

Willis was okay. That was good. It was something someone could have shared with me ages ago, so that I didn't keep worrying whether he was alive or not, but I was just happy he was safe. It wasn't a bad thing. Knowing it was Alias III that saved him made me question the legality of it, but if the police were shooting digimon—and Noriko—then I didn't really care about what laws Alias III broke. Clearly as an officer of the law I wasn't obliged to actually follow the rules anymore anyway.

Mom and Dad were playing a huge role in rescuing digimon lives from potential disaster. It was surreal to think about. Dad had never shown any interest in being involved with my adventures before. I wouldn't call what was going on an adventure, by any stretch of the imagination, but it was nice to know he cared. I knew Dad was jealous of Coronamon. He wanted a digimon of his own too. I just hoped he was able to find his. With all the digimon being deleted, there was no longer a guarantee that there was a digimon available for everyone now.

I didn't even want to _think_ about the invisibility thing. It wasn't fair! They always pulled out the cool ideas when I wasn't there to enjoy them.

But it didn't stop me from worrying about them. The only thought that could dull _that_ panic was the idea that so many others needed to _share_ it.

The only other slightly positive thing was Kiyoko pulling off his magic trick. I supposed Piedmon was rubbing off on him. He'd made the whole Coliseum disappear before after all, and now he could keep our guns from getting through the gates. Was there anything that _wasn't_ possible in the Digital World? I kind of wished I was there to see it happen, instead of being stuck out here in Japan. I knew it was my choice to stay here, and that Taichi wouldn't have faulted me if I wanted to run, but I needed to do all I could to pull my weight in this fight—though I didn't think there was much use of me staying anymore...

But maybe I could be more help in the Digital World, now that I knew Meiyomon's secret weapon was useless. That was the reason mine and Koushiro's parents were walking the rather large distance over and over again. They were going to exhaust themselves. And there wasn't even enough room in the Coliseum for all the digimon they'd found. Not yet anyway. I didn't think they should stop just because of that though. It didn't matter if the digimon had to have a few extras in their little "apartments" if it meant those few extra digimon could be saved. I was sure everyone else shared that same opinion. It wasn't just the digmon from the Temple that were in the Coliseum either. They took in whichever digimon they could, sending only the larger and most vicious ones over to Piximon where they could have a bit more space to move freely. I wanted to _see_ it though, not just hear about it. I wanted to see the community they'd created within the confines of a once horrible place. I wanted to be a part of that community, to live amongst the digimon and understand them in a way I didn't yet. I cared for them, and still felt guilty over all I did to them in my black spore days, but I didn't think I _knew_ them. I wanted that chance, and I was so happy that they were safe and would be waiting for me—not literally though, because most of them didn't know me and it would be really weird.

My mind took a darker turn though, knowing that Momoe was injured, Gomamon was kidnapped and three friends were missing. I knew I was using friends in a loose sort of way. Michael and I were pretty close actually, but I didn't think Neo cared too much for anyone, and Jun was Daisuke's older sister, so I knew her mostly because of that. But knowing they weren't all close to me didn't help dull the ache I felt. I was supposed to be here helping the people undercover as an evil policeman. But I wasn't even able to help my friends.

And now my partner, Yakuin, had been planning on _shooting_ two other friends of mine—three, I'd forgotten Monimon was just in a camera costume, not actually a camera. It wasn't even that good of a disguise either. I was so mad at Yamato for not making Katsue keep Monimon at the Coliseum. She put her partner at risk bringing him out where she _knew_ that the police officers were having an open season on all digimon. She wasn't just putting Monimon at risk either. By bringing a digimon, she was putting herself at risk—look what happened to Noriko!—and Yamato too. We needed Yamato alive, thank you very much! He was our friend and the bearer of the crest of friendship—which we would probably _need_ in the coming months or so.

I wasn't delusional. I knew it would be months at the very _least_ before anything was fixed at all. It was an all out _war_ between the worlds and while the Earth hadn't exactly sent their military through the gates, they had their own little army in the DWD. And they were still killing digimon left and right. There were so many digimon that were still in hiding here. I'd tracked down the Psychemon that I'd pretended to shoot for Yakuin's benefit. I'd sent him along through to the Temple, promising his partner that he'd be safer there. I was doing everything I could to get these digimon to safety, but I was just one person. One of many police officers, and I was the only one that was trying to help. Oh, I knew there were at least two others that weren't keen on shooting the digimon, but they weren't actively going against Moretsuna either. I knew they weren't. I was scared of him, but they were terrified.

I supposed there was at least _some_ benefit of saving the world multiple times. I had a thicker skin then they did. It wasn't much of a consolation prize though, when I heard that they'd got another two digimon during the last shift alone. I wanted to save them all but I couldn't.

Because I'd _shot_ my partner and was now a traitor and a turn-coat. I could never pass for one of them now. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant saving Yamato and Katsue, but I still wished that I hadn't needed to do it. I wanted to stay here and continue saving digimon. I didn't want to abandon them. But I also couldn't stay here myself. Not now. They'd break down the door of my apartment and Hawkmon was still here. He made Miyako leave him behind, and while I wasn't thrilled by the idea, it had been nice to have at least one member of my family with me. We did a puzzle every night before I collapsed in my bed. Sure, he did most of it during the day, he liked no less than a thousand pieces in his puzzles, and I just didn't have that kind of time after my twelve, thirteen, sixteen hour shifts. They were getting longer with each day, and at times I thought it was because Moretsuna hated me. Or that he trusted me. Or that he suspected me. I never knew what it was, and now I never would.

It felt like giving up.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Katsue asked as we crept along the sidewalk, watching our backs and trying to seem completely casual all at the same time. I thought I was pulling it off...kind of. Them, not so much. It didn't help that Monimon looked completely ridiculous and not at all like the camera I'd originally mistaken him for. I felt really foolish for even _falling_ for that stupid costume. I would never admit it to anyone. It was too shameful.

"Nothing," I lied, because my head was still filled with the panic of shooting my partner! Yakuin trusted me to have his back, and I'd liked him once, before Moretsuna filled his head with all this DWD rot. He'd been a good guy and we talked for hours during patrols about everything under the sun. I'd classified him as my first, real, non-digidestined friend. And he'd chosen the dark side.

Not that I could really fault him for that, having originally been on that side myself, and Moretsuna had brainwashed him slowly over time. But I wanted my friend back, not this cruel version of him. I missed him. Now I'd shot him, and he'd never forgive me for it. I'd lost any chance of getting him back, and in the process, I'd given him more ammunition to use against the digimon supporters. We shoot police officers now, so that meant we were bad.

The word would spread across town as quickly as the story of the police officer who targeted a child in the park this morning, claiming it was a digimon. I felt sorry for the kid. I knew how cruel my fellow officers could get when they thought they spotted a digimon. It was barely after noon and there were two stories already that would be the talk of the town. A child-hater and a turncoat. It didn't make me feel any better knowing I wasn't the only one.

"Where are we even going?" Yamato wanted to know. "We're going to attract attention if we keep sneaking around."

"You think we should just strut around," Katsue asked incredulously. "There will be officers after our heads. Creeping around is the better option."

"Shut up," I hissed. "You're drawing a crowd."

It wasn't entirely true. A pair of women were just talking to one another and walking together across the street. They'd stopped when they noticed us. They looked vaguely familiar.

"What are _they_ doing out of prison?" Yamato asked a subtle growl to his voice. Right, I knew who they were, even if I didn't actually remember their names. They were Mimi's old friends; the ones that helped start the fire and created the riot at Sora's show, all because one of them was jealous and spiteful of Mimi. I booked them myself. They weren't due out for at least another week.

I cursed as I realized Moretsuna would never keep DWD supporters behind bars. He'd want them out on the streets patrolling for digimon and recruiting people to their cause. If I could have gone back to the station to check, I was sure I'd find paperwork letting them out early for "good behavior". I wanted to be sick. This wasn't what I signed on for when I went through school to become an officer of the law. I wanted to help people and keep the streets safe. I wanted to catch small time robbers and muggers. I didn't want to be part of a corrupt system.

"Keep moving," I suggested. "Maybe they don't recognize us."

It was no use. The one that used to work at the restaurant—Michan I suddenly remembered—was whispering frantically to her friend. Her friend actually looked like she was saying no to whatever Michan's plans were. Michan looked frustrated, and before she could do something stupid, like attack a police officer—which I still was, even though I'd also attacked one—I pushed Yamato and Katsue along, making sure Yamato was blocking their potential view of Monimon. I stayed behind them, though I held their shoulders, making it look like I was going to haul them back to the station and book them. This was enough to make Michan happy, and I rolled my eyes at how simple it was. She really was an idiot.

Keeping as inconspicuous as possible, we made it to the parking lot of the nearest bank. It was where I'd stashed my truck after leaving the station at six that morning. Yeah. Six in the morning. That's when my shift started. I knew I wouldn't be done until at least ten o'clock tonight. Or I wouldn't have been if I hadn't shot my partner. I supposed I was free to do whatever I pleased with my time now. I spotted my truck, we were home free!

"Damn," I sighed. I'd spoken too soon. I could see someone was leaning against my truck, holding his side and talking into his phone. "Double damn."

"What?" Katsue asked.

"Stay hidden," I ordered them. "It's the chief."

"You're kidding," Yamato said incredulously.

"I wish," I sighed. "Stay against the wall. Keep Monimon hidden as best you can, and don't look suspicious." Moretsuna was looking around, his eyes lit up when he saw me. I whispered out the side of my mouth. "If things look bad, leave without me."

"Ichijouji!" Moretsuna said jovially. It was kind of freaking me out. He _never_ acted this way, even when I asked him for another refill for my tacking gun—I fed him some excuse about how I preferred to play with my targets before deleting them, he gobbled it right up. "Just the man I need. I've got a little predicament. Someone decided to shoot me with one of our own weapons."

"The tracker?" I asked sounding hopeful.

"Unfortunately not," Moretsuna sighed. "I got blasted right in the chest. Hurt too. Makes me appreciate our work even more. Imagine how much it hurts the little monsters, if it causes this much pain to a human when they weren't designed for us. It's exciting, don't you think?"

"Definitely, sir," I said. "You said you needed me?"

"Yes," he said. "I need you to administer the antidote. I'm afraid I can't do it myself. If I could, I would. You're here, so I need you to do it for me. I've got them right here. It'll be good for you, to see how this works. You are the most likely to be shot, don't you think?"

I took offense to that. I'd been in training since the academy, and had even stepped up my game now that the digimon were in danger. I knew I still wasn't the toughest guy on the force, but I was far from the weakest. I'd say I was even in the upper half. I wondered if Yakuin had already woken up and called him. Did he already know what I'd done?

If he did, was this a warning about what he was about to do to me?

"I'd like to hope not, sir," I said honestly.

"Good, a positive attitude is a good thing," he said. He pulled a brown little pouch out of his jacket pocket, and opened it. I peered inside and saw four tiny needles with plastic caps. There was a swirling, sea foam green serum inside them, looking like it was moving of its own accord. "I need one directly injected into the crook of my elbow. It's the best place. You can see why I need assistance."

"Who shot you, sir?" I asked. His eyes flashed at me and I quickly added, "If you don't mind my asking."

"I do, actually," Moretsuna said gruffly. "I'll tell you this though. It was one of our weapons. I handed those out to a small few. My team and other trusted individuals. Someone's betrayed us Ichijouji, and they'll be wishing they hadn't when I get my hands on them."

For a moment I was excited. He was fisting his hand, and rolling up his sleeve, readying himself for the antidote I now held in my hand. I had four doses that would save someone from the purple blasts of the DWD guns. I could run with them right now, and leave Moretsuna to find more. But even if he was weakened by a blast, he was still the scariest man I knew. And he was expecting me to play the part of his loyal little follower. I had to do it too, or else I risked Yamato and Katsue and Monimon's safety. So I pulled out the does and injected it carefully into his arm. I pressed the syringe, watching as the swirling serum disappeared into his bloodstream. It was hypnotising.

I almost didn't notice when his phone rang, and when he answered it. The call was brief, a few seconds at most before he hung up on whoever it was. His eyes narrowed slowly and I watched him grow angry. It wasn't a good call. It had to be Yakuin. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I was trying _so_ hard to keep my emotions in check, to _not_ give him any reason to suspect me.

"The shooter dropped their weapon," Moretsuna informed me. "I sent it to station, had an officer run the serial number of the gun. I have them logged, did you know?"

"I didn't," I told him. "Very impressive."

"You won't think so long," he assured me. I gulped. That wasn't a good sign. "See the gun in question was carelessly handed off to a civilian. It got me thinking, who would do such a thing. I've got my answer now. The gun was registered to one Ken Ichijouji. Does that sound familiar?"

I was cursing every swear word I knew in my head, while outwardly trying to pass as shocked and betrayed, like I hadn't been the one to hand my gun off to someone, like I'd been framed. But I knew I wasn't. I knew who I'd given my gun too, and I was terrified.

I doubled over, shocked, when Moretsuna's fist pounded into my gut. I let out a grunt and tried to catch my bearings, noting that I'd dropped the remaining three doses of the serum. But Moretsuna didn't give me a chance. He brought his knee up, smashing it against my face. My hands instinctively covered my nose, and I was blinking away starts when his next kick landed on my knee, causing me to fall onto the pavement. He kicked me before I'd even landed.

All the while my own anger was brewing.

And my anger was just as all consuming as Iori's once it got going. It took a lot to get me on edge. I was generally a pretty easy going guy, but Moretsuna already had a head start on most people, with his corruption and disregard for digimon life. For shooting Noriko. For brainwashing Yakuin. But this was unforgivable. Because he was shot by my wife. I knew that Miyako never wanted to fire that gun, she'd told me she never planned to do so. But she had.

That meant Moretsuna was threatening her life. But in order to do that, she must've done something to set him off, such as come to Earth to visit Hawkmon. That's all it would take. If Moretsuna saw her with Hawkmon he'd have enough reason to attack her without hesitation. His mind was twisted that way. If he was attacking Miyako he was attacking Hawkmon too.

He attacked my _wife_, who was carrying my _baby_ and was most likely with one of _my_ digimon.

And I did see Hawkmon that way. He wasn't my partner, no, but he was mine anyway. He was a part of my family. And Moretsuna here thought it was a good idea to _threaten_ most of that family. He had another thing coming. I saw his next kick coming and rolled out of the way, scrambling to my feet as quickly as I could. His leg was still extended, having just kicked the air where I used to be. I swung my own leg around and kicked the leg that was still firmly against the ground. He fell backwards, slamming into my truck. I was in front of him in an instant, one hand on his shoulder and the other balled into a fist, repeatedly smashing into his face. How _dare_ he hurt my wife, my child and my digimon and think he could get away with it.

"Chief!"

Damn it.

Yakuin had arrived. He was here to spill the beans of my actions, but was obviously appalled by my newest betrayal. Moretsuna was too busy having my fist in his face to be able to answer Yakuin's call. I heard Yakuin run up behind me and he grabbed me from behind, his hand grabbing my fist while the other circled around my waist, yanking me hard away from his boss. He wasn't my boss anymore, and I was tired of calling him that. He wasn't worthy of the title he'd been given and I no longer had to call him by it.

"Ken! What's gotten into you?" Yakuin demanded.

"He attacked my wife," I snarled, trying to force my way free of his clutches. He was surprised enough to let go, but it was Moretsuna's turn to escape my attack, sliding sideways along my truck, causing my fist to slam into the hard metal frame. It hurt. A lot actually. But I was too angry to take the time to see if it was broken. I had a man to destroy first.

"Ken, stop this, its madness," Yakuin shouted. "Attacking me, attacking the chief...I don't even know you anymore."

"I could say the same thing," I told him, stepping closer to Moretsuna again, who was ready for me. I swung first, but he pushed my arm aside, landing his own blow to my cheek, causing my head to whip back painfully.

"Shoot him," Moretsuna ordered Yakuin. "Now."

"But he's my partner," Yakuin stammered. Maybe there was something redeemable in him after all.

"Did I stutter?" Moretsuna roared.

Yakuin reacted immediately, raising his gun to me, trying to get a good shot, even though I'd expertly—if I do say so myself—ducked under Moretsuna's arm and was now standing behind him, using Moretsuna as a human shield. I'd be taking him down with me, come hell or high water.

Moretsuna spun around, hitting me with all his might, before grabbing my arm and twisting me into a full nelson hold, spinning me around so that I was an easy target for Yakuin. Yakuin's gun was still shaking slightly, and he was trying to calm himself so he wouldn't miss such an easy target and hit his boss instead. I wondered how Moretsuna would feel if he got hit twice in one day. It probably wouldn't help him any. I lifted my feet up, using them to swing myself away from him, trying to slip through his grasp, but he just held tighter, causing pain to shoot through my shoulders and down my arms. I allowed my feet so swing back down hard, curling them as they fell, so that I could slam them into his thighs. He was knocked off balance, but didn't let me free even when he landed, hard, on the ground. I tossed and rolled, and turned, but I couldn't shake free of him. Yakuin's hands were steady now, and I closed my eyes—never stopping my struggling, because I would _not_ give up—and tried very hard to see my family within my mind.

Mom and Dad—even Osamu, though he hadn't been around for so long—were standing next to Miyako, who was holding the tiniest baby wrapped in a gender neutral, yellow, blanket. Momoe was next to her, with Emiko on her hip, with Jou standing behind them. Miyako's mother was faded in the background, though her father shone through, his arm on both of his daughter's shoulders. Masa was on Ichiro's shoulders, who had his arms wrapped around Chiziru—I was shocked to realize he was there. I didn't even really know him that well, but I considered him a part of the family regardless. Mantarou was there too, he was alone though. I'd only met his girlfriend the one time, my work schedule hadn't allowed for more. Miyako didn't like her though, neither did Momoe, and I trusted their judgement explicitly. Wormmon and Hawkmon were standing together, with Monmon between them, wrapping his tiny monkey arms around them. Coronamon stood with Gomamon, who had obviously just told a joke. Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon were dancing together at Mantarou's feet.

It was perfect.

I waited, still struggling, for Yakuin to pull the trigger, but it never came. I opened my eyes and saw that he was preoccupied. Yamato had intervened to save _me_ from Yakuin this time, repaying the favour from earlier. He was wrestling the gun out of Yakuin's hand—or trying to at least. Katsue was sneaking over to grab the fallen leather pouch. I decided to let Moretsuna keep a hold of me until she'd grabbed it, lessening my struggle just a touch. When she got it though, I put even more effort in, pushing myself up towards his face as best I could, and continually stomping my feet onto his kneecaps. After the fifth attempt, he finally released me and I rolled off of him. Yamato landed a firm hit against Yakuin's face, and I scrambled to my feet, tasting the blood that was spilling from my rapidly swelling lip. My eye stung, and I knew it would be swelling soon too. _Great_.

I headed over to Katsue, and led her towards the building again. Yamato joined us in an instant, but then I heard a blast coming from behind us, and threw myself at the other two, sending us towards the ground just in time for the purple blast to go careening over our heads and explode against the side of the building. I was so glad for my finely tuned instincts. We got to our feet and Yamato and Katsue started running to the building at my request. I turned to face Yakuin.

"He attacked my wife, Yakuin," I told him. "Don't listen to him. He attacked an innocent woman. A _good_ woman. A _pregnant_ woman." His eyes widened, and his resolve wavered. Moretsuna was shouting orders at him though and while I'd managed to conflict him, I hadn't won him over. He pulled the trigger, and I ducked out of the way, turning around as I did, so that I could chase after the blast, hopefully escaping in the process. Only Yamato and Katsue hadn't made it around the corner just yet, and while Yamato was able to jump out of the way, Katsue didn't see it in time, and it landed a direct hit to the little television digimon disguised poorly as a camera. I was glad I'd followed the blast, pulling out the pouch and handing a needle to Katsue. She uncapped the serum and injected it instantly into Monimon. It took maybe a second for it all to happen. She'd moved so quickly, I'd barely seen it happen. We waited, watching Monimon for a reaction, but had to move. Yakuin was taking another shot at us when he realized nothing had happened. We raced around the corner, and continued running until we made it the six blocks to my apartment building. We were panting, and hiding under the stairwell just inside the door.

"It worked," Katsue said. Her voice was shaking and I was startled to find that she had tears silently streaming down her face. She cuddled Monimon to her, clinging to him, and looking for all the world like she'd never let him go.

"Okay," Yamato said.

"I have to find Miyako," I said. "If she's still here, she's with Hawkmon, and Moretsuna knows I work with you guys now. He knows where I live. He'll hunt her down. If she's already safe, then I'll find Momoe. He can make the connection, I know he can. My parents are already safe, but my wife's family is almost entirely _here_. I have to make sure they stay safe."

"If what I heard was true," Katsue said. "The DWD will keep all of them safe, except maybe Momoe. She's got them wrapped around her finger, she's not going to lose an in like that. She won't let Moretsuna risk it. They know things that the DWD will want to know since some of them have partners."

"Then I'll find Momoe," I said. "You guys go do what you need to do."

"We'll find Gomamon then," Yamato agreed. "We might be awhile."

"I can only hope the serum gets there before it's too late," I agreed. I watched them go, worried about Monimon's safety, wondering what the effects of the _human_ antidote would have on the tiny digimon, but I couldn't dwell on it. I had to find out if Miyako and Hawkmon were safe. That was the most important thing.

_**Jou Kido:**_

"Jou, please." Noriko insisted, "You can go."

"Noriko, I trust my friends. If they say they're looking for Gomamon, then they probably are." I explained, "I can do no better than they can, so I will let them search while I fix you up."

"Jou?" She said in a whisper.

"Yes?" I said, without looking to her.

"Thank you."

I half looked over my shoulder to show I'd heard her, but said nothing. What could I say? 'You're welcome?' I hadn't done anything. I didn't deserve a thank you. Nor did I even want to be here. Not just because I wanted her to never have been shot, though that was definitely a strong reason. I wanted also to be out looking for my partner. I hadn't lied to Noriko. I did trust my friends. But that didn't stop me from wanting desperately to be out there looking for him.

After Yamato had graced me with his tactless information I called Momoe, and she told me the whole story. She told me my parents were on their way, and she told me that Gomamon had been taken while trying to help make that a reality. He was trying to help, and even though I was proud of him, I was also very angry. How could he be stupid enough to go out in the world like that? Without being invisible at _least_? We literally had the ability to cloak ourselves with perfect camouflage and he somehow decided it was okay to just go out there wrapped in a coat? Not even! Momoe had been the one to wrap him up. I wanted to blame everyone though. I wanted to blame Momoe for taking him, and blame my friends for letting her do so. But it wasn't anyone's fault. Except Yorokobi's fault.

I'd always told Momoe I thought she was a bad egg. Turns out she comes from a whole family of bad eggs. Except Hideto who was the only egg I'd be socializing with in the future. If I ever saw Yorokobi again, whether or not we found Gomamon I'd punch her. Who cared about chivalry and gender roles? I was a person. And she was another one. A bad one. And that bad person needed to be wacked upside the head two or three times. Even if there was no real proof that it had been her that had done the ordering of her family. What if it was a coincidence? What if they weren't even her family and just looked like it?

I didn't believe that for a second.

I also found it difficult to believe that Mantarou still had any feelings for her after what she had done. Did he know? How could he not? How could he not leave her alone in the streets and come to join his sisters here in the Digital World? How could he not come join his partner and realize he'd struck out with this girl? He needed to move on. He needed to bring Chiziru and Momoe's father with him. Ichiro didn't have to come if he didn't want to, but Masa needed his mother.

A boy couldn't grow up without his parents. It just wasn't right. Not when she had the capability to be there for him. Some people didn't have that choice.

I had to make a tough choice too though, and I too was choosing to part from someone who was as close to me as Masa was to Chiziru. I couldn't go to Gomamon even though I wanted to. Because Noriko was relying on me and there was no one else here that could do for her what I could. I slowly looked down to the stone countertop where a metal pot was sitting. Inside was a swirling mess of pink and purple. It was practically glowing and it was beautiful to look at. Now if only it would do what I needed it to.

I was very familiar with remedial science. I had worked in a pharmacy briefly during my schooling to make money, and I could put together what I needed to. I knew the ingredients. But that was simple concoctions for human ailments. This was something entirely different. There were no charts or graphs that my predecessors had left behind for me after their work, created by their genius minds. I was looking to a wide open world of possibilities. The Digital World had a much more basic system for creating medicine. D'arcmon had taught me all about it in the past. She showed me different plants that could do many wonderful different things. But never had she said to me _'This plant can stop the symptoms brought upon by the crazy guns the humans have created.'_ If she had, my life certainly would be easier.

Instead, over video chat, she had only said, _'I do not understand the workings of this machine. Koushiro is far more involved in the mechanics behind this weapon. Please, allow him to guide you, and know I am behind you. I wish you luck.'_ As if that was helpful at all. Koushiro helped a lot, thankfully, even if I still had no idea what was going on. I had Koushiro's information in front of me, printed out, and taped to the stone wall. I could see his quick drawings of the gun's insides, and how it worked, but that was of no use to me. What I needed was the chemicals and codes that made up the actual bullets.

They were neither digital, nor made of human materials. They were both, and as such I could not grasp them. I had a basic understanding, at worst, of both worlds, but nothing could have prepared me for this.

I turned around finally to see Noriko, sitting against the wall, her pillow propped up for comfort. The sheet she'd been using was thrown to the floor and she was resting her head back, her eyes closed. Her legs were crossed and for a moment I thought she might be meditating. Then she opened one eye and smiled kindly. I turned sharply away and looked back down at my work, knowing I would not see something I hadn't before.

The worst part of it all was that I didn't even know if she was dying. I had yet to see anything really go wrong with her body. It was possible she would get better on her own. She was not a digimon and so the program did not work properly on her. She could not be deleted, and so it might have no effect on her at all. Perhaps it was merely a bug and her body would fight off whatever it was doing to her. But the way she winced every few minutes told me she was in pain.

But _what_ pain? How was there pain? I'd checked the wound time and time again. There was a scorched mark between just under her collar bone. It was small, like a ping pong ball. Smaller than the blasts were. Like only the center was designed to kill, the outer shell being strictly energy radiating off of the blast. It was shocking to think about. How much energy could be filed into one of the blasts?

I had Koushiro's notes. I knew how much could be put into them.

So much that the pain was still affecting her greatly, though she tried to hide it from everyone. She wasn't hiding it well. But I'd looked the wound over again and again. It looked no different than a common burn, but any remedies I'd tried had not helped her. I checked her heart and found it was beating normally, maybe a little faster than normal but she was clearly panicking. I couldn't say I didn't expect it. She was functioning normally. She was just in pain. There was a pain that was impossible to fight, and that did not sit well with me since I'd studied for _years_ to be able to put a stop to people's sufferings.

"Jou," Noriko said quietly, catching my attention. I turned to face her again, spinning on the black chair Hideto had got for the infirmary. She looked to me like she had a million things to say and had yet to decide which one it was. She always had that look on. Or at least recently. Every few hours she'd have a list of new things to say to Iori, or to Impmon or to Tomotsu. But this time I was the only one in the room, and I'd be the one who would be gifted her next thoughts. "Do you think I'm a bad person?"

Well that was less philosophical than the questions she'd been asking Iori, but maybe that was for the better. I shook my head. "No, Noriko, I do not."

"I do." She said with a big dramatic sigh. "I think I'm a bad person who does good things sometimes."

"I disagree," I insisted, "There is no such thing as a bad person... you are a _person_ who does both bad and good things. Just like everyone else. It is your choice which side you take. And in current world news, you are a good person. You're one of the few who chose to accept digimon for exactly who they are. You're smart, and you're open minded and loving. You're a little intense, sure, but you dedicated your life to helping children make their start into the social world."

"Oh, lucky them." She said with a bright laugh, which was hard to hear. It was hard because of the way her skin looked like she had seen a ghost. Or that she was a ghost. She was pale and sweaty, her hair pulled messily back with a headband, her eyes bloodshot, and still she was happy. "No one's ever put it that way. Can you imagine how Iori must have always thought of me wanting to be a teacher? He was probably so scared I'd show them how to stalk people." I smiled with her, though I heard no humour in what she had to say. "Oh, lighten up. You're never going to get anywhere with this unless you relax. You need an open mind. So smile." She pointed to her mouth with both of her index fingers and smiled brightly.

I tried, but failed. "Noriko," I said loudly, "How can you be so optimistic?"

"I wouldn't say I'm optimistic," Noriko said with a sigh, unimpressed with my behavior. "I'm just happy is all. It's hard to not be happy when I'm getting married soon. Impmon and I had this really big fight a few months ago and recently we made up, Hikari and I have become pretty close friends... this year, my class is less horrible than last year—there are so many things to be happy about. I find it hard to be put off by something as silly as this."

"As dying?" I asked her sharply.

Her face fell and she swallowed thickly, she tried to speak but found she couldn't, and I turned back around, mentally punching myself in the face repeatedly. They'd taught me bedside manner. Really they had. I was apparently not very good at it is all.

The door to the infirmary opened suddenly and Iori stepped inside. "Jou," he said, his voice solemn, but slightly more optimistic than when he had left with Impmon for some fresh air and a meal. Impmon hopped back into the room carrying a bowl of soup for Noriko. "You should come with me for a minute."

"Iori," I told him, shaking my head, afraid something else had gone wrong. "I really need to stay here. Whatever it is, can you handle it?"

Iori looked thoughtful, then he said, "Wait right here."

"That's what I said, yes." I said as he left. I turned back to Noriko who held the soup up questioningly and I nodded. "You can have that, yes." She looked ravenous as she stared down into the bowl. It would be heartless of me to not allow her to eat. Especially if there was nothing wrong with her. It was very possible that was the case, too. "I'm sorry Nor—"

"Don't worry about it." She said, cutting me off in between gulps of the soup Impmon had brought for her. "I get it."

"Good," I told her, "Because I don't." She grinned, happy to hear me joking, but it felt very wrong. It was a horrible feeling to toy with a girl about her possible life or death situation. I hardly knew her but suddenly cared about her as if she were my sister. It was a strange part of my job. Whenever I was treating someone I cared about them more than I even cared about myself. And right now I wanted to make sure Noriko lived more than anything. Then the door opened again and a great big yellow and red monster walked through the door. "Apemon?" I asked as a giddy six year old followed him inside. "Emiko?"

"Daddy!" She grinned, rushing over to me and jumping into my lap. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," I said softly, kissing her forehead. Iori was back in the room now with Tomotsu. "Is this what you wanted?" I asked him and he nodded. Emiko was telling everyone about her dangerous journey across a big pit of despair as she made her way to the Coliseum. I figured she had to be talking about the moat around the Temple, there was no other chasm on the way here. Then she explained how hard it was to be quiet, but in the end she won the quiet contest. Apemon protested, and I figured since he'd never really spoken, it had really been him who had won the game. Then she told me about a funny digimon that was like an egg that had arrived with Dad's Unimon on the trip over and Iori explained that Yoshie's Digitamamon had come along with his Tapirmon. "Where is Mom?" I asked.

"She left." Emiko told me, suddenly less enthusiastic. "I dunno where. She just literally said 'bye' and left me alone for forever."

"Well you're with me now." I told her, "You're not alone anymore." Then, looking up to Apemon, "You can revert you know, you don't have to stay as Apemon. I'm sure that's exhausting." Apemon reverted back to Monmon without hesitation. I knew it was safe to lose energy because others had dedigivolved already and no one had jumped through magical portals to kill them. Monmon, green again with his ridiculously large slingshot and his leopard print toga, fell back against a wall to relax after his extended time as a champion. It was his first time too. I felt bad for him.

"So," Emiko said, turning to Noriko, "Whatcha doin' here Miss Kawada?" Noriko smirked, handing her now empty bowl to Tomotsu who set it aside gently. "You're not gonna teach me are ya?"

"No," Noriko shook her head, "I don't have anything to teach with."

"Oh good," Emiko said with a sigh of relief. "I don't miss school one _bit_. Did that scary boy miss me?"

"Azura?" Noriko asked.

"I don't know his _name_," she said appalled. "But yeah, him."

"I don't know," Noriko admitted, "He didn't say anything."

"Jerk." Emiko pouted, crossing her arms.

"So, how are you?" Tomotsu asked Noriko, taking her hand. I wanted to look away from their moment again, but just like every other time he'd spoken with her I found myself transfixed, depression growing inside. It was bittersweet to see. Both pretending to be okay, but frightened about what might be coming.

"Fine," Noriko said, "But I just got a call from our baker and she said she can't make our cake for us."

"What?" Tomotsu asked, shocked, "But she has the best cake. We'll have to move the wedding closer so she can."

"Or further," Noriko agreed. "Either one, but that cake is the basis for our whole day. We'll never live happily ever after without the perfect wedding cake." Both of them laughed and he leaned forward to kiss her. Iori looked away, and Emiko cried out with disgust. I finally let my eyes fall, and turned away again.

"Have... have you figured anything out, yet?" Tomotsu asked me. He'd been very gentle whenever speaking to me, but I could always see the intense frustration behind his dark eyes. He wanted to scream at me and force me to move faster, and no matter how many times Iori insisted I was a well trained doctor, he never backed down. He looked like he wanted to get a whip and force me to go faster, but there was only so much I could do.

So I shook my head again. And he had the same disappointed expression I'd grown accustomed to seeing on his face. "I'm trying." I said quietly.

"Maybe not hard enough?" Tomotsu said as though he thought I might not hear.

"Hey," Noriko insisted, "Stop that. He's doing his best."

"Maybe his best isn't good enough?" Tomotsu suggested, "I'm not trying to discredit you," He said, turning to face me now, "But maybe if we brought in more doctors you could all work together?"

"I wish," Iori said, "There are no other people in the world trained for work in the Digital World."

"And you know that?" Tomotsu asked, "What about people who might be working in different countries? Maybe they know?"

"We could ask," Iori agreed, "Kiyoko has a blog. I could ask someone to post an inquiry?"

"That would be great." Tomotsu said, "I would like as many people working as possible. I don't want her to die."

"Die?" Emiko asked, her voice weak. "Like...?" She turned and looked up to me, so I forced myself to look away.

"Emiko, could you go play somewhere else?" I asked her. "Masa's around. I bet he'd like to see you."

She was having none of that though. She positioned herself so her knees were digging into my thighs and so her entire body was facing me, "Is my teacher dead?"

I shook my head, "No." I told her firmly, "She's going to be okay. I just need you to go play."

There was a loud gasp from the other side of the room and I was quickly standing up, setting Emiko on the floor. The gasp was harsh and loud. Emiko screamed in shock and Monmon was quick to jump to her side, ready to protect her, but he wouldn't need to. There was nothing harming her—it was someone else who was in pain. "Iori, take her away." Iori was transfixed, staring toward Noriko who leaning forward in her bed, gasping still, clutching her chest. "Iori!" I shouted. He jumped into action and rushed toward Emiko, picking her up quickly.

"Noriko!" Tomotsu was shouting now as Emiko screamed. Iori dragged her from the room, and was apologizing on repeat. "Noriko what's wrong?"

She was wheezing, breathless.

Impmon screamed in shock, "What's happening?" there were tears pouring down his face.

"Breathe." I told her sharply, pushing Tomotsu out of the way, checking her in every way I knew how. "Out, and then in—Noriko, breathe with me." I knew she was panicking, but I just didn't know why. "_Breathe_." She slowly began to breathe with me.

"I—I'm fine." She gasped, but surely had to be lying. "I'm okay."

"That's right," I told he softly, still guiding her breathing. "What's wrong?"

"I c-can't... breathe..." She was taking long, deep breathes between her words. "I don't... I can't..."

I was using my stethoscope, my hand shaking. I was a failure as a doctor. I didn't even know what I was looking for, only that I had to do something to help her. She wasn't breathing, so my first thought was her lungs, and I was immensely disappointed in what I saw. I checked again and again to be sure I wasn't hallucinating.

"No..." the word slipped from my mouth without my permission.

"What?" Impmon yelled, "What's wrong?"

"I... this can't be happening." I said. I couldn't be right. This was a mistake. It had to be. I had to be wrong about this, there was no way I wasn't wrong, because things like this didn't just _happen_. Things like this were not _normal_. But then again... I wasn't dealing with a normal patient. Not a normal incident. It had to be true... and now I had to stop it from continuing.

"What happened?" Tomotsu shouted, wanting to know.

"I—her—"

"Tell me!" He yelled.

"Her lung is gone." I spat out. Impmon, Tomotsu and Noriko all looked up at me, the latter of the three still searching for more breath than she was able to intake. "It's just gone."

"How is that possible?" Tomotsu asked sharply.

"Well—her..." I paused, how could this come across less harsh? "The attack that hit her was meant to delete digimon. It is a controlled virus that is designed to hit the target and wipe out everything in their code. The code of the digimon is similar to that of humans. They used to be one in the same, after all."

"I don't understand," Noriko said slowly her voice weary and harsh, "Jou, I'm confused."

"What happened to the targeted digimon is now happening to you, just slower." I told her, and her face fell. Silence enveloped the room. "Noriko, you're being deleted from the inside."

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Takeru and Daisuke work separately to tie up the same loose ends while the Wrath of Moretsuna tries to put an end to the Digidestined's plans.


	36. The Wrath of Moretsuna

**Y/N: **I wrote Davis's. It was intense, and sad, but fun in a way. It was just a really interesting chapter.

**U/N: **I mostly remember that this chapter was plotted wrong a couple times before it came together the way that it did. I remember thinking it was awesome, but I'm not entirely sure what goes on xD I hope you like it!

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 4: War**

**Chapter 36: The Wrath of Moretsuna**

_**Takeru Takaishi:**_

"RUN!" Iori screamed as the men rushed inside the building. The building that was meant to be a safe zone for the digimon and for us. How had they found us? It was so sudden. It was so intense—where had they even come from. It seemed like they were pouring in from the walls, from nowhere specifically, just from everywhere.

There were fires of violet light coming from every direction, hitting digimon of every shape and size. One slammed right into a Numemon who was running right past me, and then out of nowhere one of the intruders pulled off his mask. It was the man with the scar down his face. The one I'd seen so long ago. Who was he? What was he doing _here_ at the Coliseum? Why was he attacking us? Why couldn't they just let us be?

Then he reached forward and his large hands wrapped around Hikari's wrist and he pulled her toward him. In her other arm was Patamon who was screaming and crying, but Hikari's hand would not let go. They were both going to die unless I could catch up to them. I started running, seeming to get nowhere until I heard another scream, this time behind me.

I froze and slowly turned, my eyes widening at the sight of Yamato tied with thick chains. He was in trouble too. They all were. Everyone I cared about was going to die unless I could do something! I needed to fight them all, and I needed to win, but I could only be in so many places at once.

And then a giraffe ran through the Coliseum, ripping the roof off as it screamed out an unfamiliar sound. Slowly the bubbling in the animals throat became a high pitched operatic sound as it stopped moving all together and fell apart as if it were made of dry clay. The clay piled up on the floor of the Coliseum, and suddenly Mimi and Palmon were climbing up to some shining Digimental, desperate to get a hold of it.

Then, in one swift movement Mimi flickered out of existence and then back in, this time standing directly in front of me her nose pressed against my own, and her eyes turned red, her skin turned black as night and her hair became long and white, "Leavethis place _now_." She said to me in a voice that I didn't recognize. "Leave before I make you."

I looked down to my feet on impulse and did not recognize my body. I was Kiyoko. I looked back up to Mimi whose mouth was hanging open and a loud hissing sound was escaping from her throat.

And then I was screaming out in shock, flailing my arms as I sat up sharply in bed, my sheet flying off my torso and doubling up over my legs.

I was frantic still, looking around, throwing the blanket off of myself all together. Patamon was in Primary Village—how could he be in danger? Hikari was nowhere to be seen. Yamato... everyone was calm.

It was a dream.

I took a deep breath and fell back into the comfort of the bed I'd been given. I'd been having increasingly horrible dreams as time went on. I didn't particularly like dreaming as it was, whether it was a good dream or not. Because the feeling when you woke up from a good dream was, though not as bad as experiencing bad dreams, not enjoyable in the slightest.

I let my head fall to the side where there was a large bed up against the other corner of the open cell where Daisuke and Kurayami were meant to be sleeping. Veemon's bed was empty, as were the small dog beds for Patamon and Labramon. I was alone still... I wasn't afraid of being alone necessarily, but I was afraid that the absence meant something bad. What if everyone who I'd grown so used to being around was in danger now?

I sat up sharply when the orange curtains acting as a divider for our cell were pulled apart, seemingly on their own. My eyes fell down to the white form of Gatomon who was looking up to me, worried. "Was it you who yelled?" She asked, and I nodded. "You okay?"

"Just a dream..." I said, falling back again. She leapt up onto my bed and sat attentively. "It was a nightmare. Everyone was in trouble. I couldn't decide what to do." Gatomon nodded, listening, but saying nothing. "I want everyone to be safe in here. In the Coliseum. I don't want to fear for their lives anymore just because I can't see them at any given moment."

"But what makes you think they're in danger?" Gatomon asked.

I sat up again and looked to her incredulously, "Gomamon was taken by people who don't like digimon, Michael and Neo are both missing in action, Noriko was shot, and there are people travelling the world trying to kill everyone."

"Not everyone," Gatomon admitted, "But I get your point. You just have to trust that they can take care of themselves." I shook my head, but she didn't let me object, "Your parents trusted you to go to a different world when you were seven years old. A world they knew was inhabited by monsters. By things they could not understand without going themselves, but they knew they could not go with you. And you made it out alive."

"I don't want to discredit our adventures," I told her quietly, "But they were nothing compared to this. Sure, fighting the great evils was dangerous and any of us could have lost our lives at any moment, but there was always a goal. We have nothing now. There is no obvious ending to our struggles. I don't know how to do it this time."

"Just because the ending isn't as obvious as bashing in the face of the enemy, doesn't mean there isn't a goal." Gatomon said, "This goal might take longer to reach, but we'll get there... and think of it this way. If girls didn't exist for a long, long time, and then suddenly they just appeared in your world—disguised by a magical spell as things you thought were normal—how would you react?"

"Well I'd be really confused," I admitted. "And then that would be where sexism came from, I guess."

"Well in theory," Gatomon said with a humourless laugh. "But sexism is still around. Natsuni talks about it all the time, and how women are still not treated as total equals. But it's been getting better."

"Yeah, well I don't want to wait that long for this." I said, my voice quiet. "We shouldn't have waited that long for women either. Or for different races—or any dividing unique factors. No one deserves that."

"Maybe not," Gatomon said with a sigh, jumping to her feet. "But we can't control a person. We can only try to show them the light."

"And you would know," I joked as she headed for the hallway again.

"Oh ha ha," She said over her shoulder, "Punny."

And then she was gone, leaving me alone to get dressed. When I was, I headed to the kitchen where my mother was preparing a sandwich. I smiled at her and she sighed, handing over her sandwich, "Thanks Mom," I grinned, taking my breakfast. "How has your blog been going?"

"Not really my blog," She admitted, "But it's going well. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm starting to pick up on the Digital language. And we're getting more and more responses. It's actually really fascinating to see just how many known chosen's there are in the world. Far more than I would have estimated. It's also contains the first comment section on any internet site I've ever seen that doesn't have some kind of ridiculous argument about nothing. Because we're all fighting for the same cause. Justice. I'd never seen her so excited about work before, and even if she wasn't getting paid for this I knew it counted as work, and she was doing a good job. Sure she wasn't the only one involved. I knew Kiyoko and Willis were also taking part, but just the fact that my mom was contributing to something so cool was enough for me to give her all the recognition.

She—they—really were doing something very cool too. It was basically a safe space where all Chosen and Digidestined could get together and talk about issues, ask for help, seek safety and ultimately be a team. Our team was growing, now larger than it ever had. I had enough trouble remembering that there were nineteen of us Digidestined and twenty different digimon, not to mention siblings, parents and close friends—now I might have to keep track of hundreds more from all over the world.

Not that I was complaining. This was unquestionably a good development.

"Alright, I see you're not listening, so I'll just go," Mom said, a smirk on her face.

"No—sorry, I totally was." I insisted, "I just kind of zoned out."

"It's fine," Mom said, "Hikari was looking for you anyway."

With the thought of Hikari came the memory of my dream, and with that came sleep, and what had come just before. We'd been out for _hours_ searching for Gomamon. Yamato had apparently suggested that we try looking for the enemy camp, which was a nice change. Usually he and Taichi were so insistent that Hikari stay home and knit—no, even that would be too dangerous for their liking. But Yamato was asking us to go out and actually _do_ something. But did that mean he wanted us hurt, or that he trusted us?

I assumed it was the latter, but we weren't speaking right now, and I could never tell what he was thinking in that secluded head of his. I just wanted to know that he wasn't still mad at me. I would have asked him too if there wasn't so much going on... no, I wouldn't have. I didn't want to talk to him. I did want to know, but I was hurt. I just couldn't seem to see anything from his point of view as hard as I tried.

But that would be an issue for another day. Hikari was looking for me and that could only mean that she wanted to get back out into the world to look for Gomamon again. I was walking through the Coliseum hallways before I knew it and found Coronamon and Lunamon talking in whispers about Kazuya and Masami who were sleeping. They, along with Kae and Yoshie, who were both still out on another trip to the Coliseum, had decided to retire from the travelling job as soon as tomorrow. Kazuya and Masami weren't even sure if they were going back out tonight, let alone tomorrow night. But they couldn't do it anymore, and no one blamed them, but I think they thought we were all disappointed because they continued to list their reasons. We all knew they couldn't keep doing it. Honestly I'd been thinking for a while about replacing them.

Mari was trying to explain to Digitamamon why he was going to have to share a room until we could locate the West Wing, but he was having none of that, which was borderline amusing. Watching the two immensely stubborn beings lash out at one another. Digitamamon's Tapirmon and Kiyoko's Tapirmon were having a similar conversation next to the two of them, but much more calm. Wormmon was sitting, kind of sad in the living room with many of the other baby digimon, each of them quiet for once as they watched, with tear filled eyes, one of Wormmon's favourite films. Emiko was there too—glaring at Masa who was crying more than the rest—with Bearmon and Monmon on either side of her, snuggling up and resting. Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon were watching Masa, thankfully, since Miyako was at the Temple and Jou was busy with Noriko. I knew that was where Iori would be too, and Noriko's fiancé. I'd not gotten much of a chance to talk to either of them since we'd brought Tomotsu to the Digital World for Noriko. Iori hadn't said much on that excursion, just that he was sorry for always being so mean to me.

I told him it was okay, since he really wasn't that mean to me, just about the brother thing. So it was pretty easy to forgive him.

Mrs Takenouchi's Mushroomon was riding the new Unimon who I was pretty sure was partner to Isao Kido. It was cute, but I didn't think Unimon was enjoying it much. And apparently Mushroomon wasn't supposed to be doing so because Toshiko Takenouchi was chasing him and telling him to "Get off the nice unicorn!"

Warg and Melga—who I was getting really good at telling apart from Agumon and Gabumon—were sitting with Hideto, the three of them eating breakfast before what was sure to be another busy day. Poor Hideto was saddled with the most work of anyone, tied maybe with Willis. I did what I could, but somehow they were just faster at everything than I was.

MetallifeKuwagamon was holding a tray of food that was surely to be for Babamon, who was calling out about how hungry she was, and Katsue was slipping past him under his arm, holding Monimon.

"Hey," She said almost solemnly, "Any luck finding Gomamon?"

"No," I sighed, "You?" She shook her head and was off. There really was no need for explanations.

I still hadn't found Hikari, so I continued my trip down the round hallway, this time finding Pal and Pul, searching for any tricks that might lead to the West Wing. Down the hallway just a little Agumon and Gabumon were doing the very same thing with Rei. She smiled to me, but otherwise paid no attention.

Then, out of nowhere a blonde boy stepped in front of me. My stomach seized up and I thought for a moment it was Yamato, but I was relieved to find that it was Willis. He smiled to me in a way that said he really didn't want to talk, but I waved anyway. "Hi," He said. He looked like he was going to walk off and then he stopped, "Do you know where Kae or Yoshie are?"

"On the walk," I told him.

"Damn." He sighed, "Do you think they'd let me take over?"

"Of course," I told him, "I'm sure they'd be happy to." He smiled a genuine smile and I couldn't help but smile with him. "You miss them, don't you?" He nodded and then we were both silent before he awkwardly walked off.

Then finally I was confronted with the girl I was looking for. I swear I'd gone through every person in the entire Coliseum before finding her. She was talking to, of course, Yamato, both of them looking less than enthusiastic. Yamato was the half of the conversation facing toward me and he looked up, making eye contact, and then pointed me out. Hikari was quick to turn and thanked him as he walked off. Of course. He was avoiding me... "Takeru," Hikari said with a grim expression. "We have to get back out to find Gomamon."

"Already?" I asked, looking to my half eaten sandwich that my mom had made me. She nodded as though she was fully awake. Of course she was. She somehow managed to be fully attentive with only a few hours of sleep, and she was always awake before me. She looked to a bulky watch that didn't belong to her and sighed. "We're late?"

"Not really," She said, "But we should really be out looking."

"Okay, let's go." I said.

It really didn't take long to get to a computer since there were computers everywhere now. We'd gone on a search of the Digital World already, and so apparently Hikari and Yamato decided to switch locations hoping a new outlook would help find him. We were in the streets near my mom's apartment when we arrived. It reminded me that my mom had a boyfriend that we should probably bring with us into the Digital World...

Hikari started telling me all about Yamato's time on Earth, and how Moretsuna had caused a riot, and everything that happened with Ken. "Then we should get him," I said, cutting into the end of her story, "If he can't go to work we need to bring him to the Digital World."

"Ken is busy," Hikari said, shaking her head. "We can't worry about every individual person. Right now we have to focus on only those who can't save themselves. We'll check up on Ken later maybe, but right now Gomamon demands attention. And Michael, and Jun and Momoe, Shuu and even Neo maybe. Daisuke is looking for Jun, and so are Momoe and Shuu, but no one knows where they are. Yamato was just telling me. They need to be found, and if no one gets in contact with Neo soon we're going to go out looking for him too."

"And Michael?" I asked.

"Yamato was at the Temple last night on his way back to the Coliseum and he spoke with Jenna. She's going out today." Hikari explained.

"So we're the Gomamon team?" I clarified.

"Exactly." She said, "Any ideas where to look?" I shook my head and she sighed, "I thought so." It was a pretty depressing day, but it helped knowing that I was with Hikari and that I'd protect her through anything. I knew she'd be safe even if I couldn't be sure anyone else would be. I wouldn't let anything happen to her like my dream threatened.

It actually didn't take long for me to suggest we take a detour. We had walked in the general direction of Yuudai's house, so I requested a visit so we could offer him safety. I didn't know him as well as I knew Fumiko, but I was happy my mother was happy with him anyway.

I knocked on his door and he answered quickly wearing tight athletic clothing. "Hey!" He said with an enormous friendly grin. He pulled me toward him and patted my back into a hug. "Hikari, right?" He questioned, hugging Hikari. I was happy to see him too, but he was coated in sweat after his run and that was more than a little smelly. I didn't really mind though. I wasn't clean myself. We'd left before I got a chance to have a shower in one of the many bathrooms Kiyoko had set up. "Come inside! What are you doing here?"

"We're just looking for our friend," I told him.

"Well he's not here," He joked.

"Well, no." I admitted. "I came here specifically to ask if you wanted to come see my mother again." His face lit up and from that point on it was easy enough to convince him. He wanted time to pack, so we left him to do that, promising to come pick him back up later tonight. "Bye," I called out, closing the door behind us.

"He's possibly the most friendly man I've ever met." Hikari said with a gentle smile. I couldn't agree more. I always came from his house feeling more optimistic.

"Friendliest," I corrected though. "Most friendly isn't correct."

"Oh yeah?" Hikari smirked, "Well you would know, Mr Author."

"Not really an author until it's published," I reminded her.

"Well we'll have to find the _most friendly_ publisher in town," she said, taking my hand and starting to walk backward. "And the _most friendly _editor, and together they can make your dream become a reality." I smiled, but it didn't feel genuine, and apparently it didn't look genuine either. "I know, having a dream seems silly in times like these, but they're important. I think it's unhealthy for us to give up our entire lives just because some people want us to." She looked panicked suddenly, "I'm not saying we shouldn't be doing what we're doing, just—"

"I know what you meant," I told her, this time with a real smile. "And maybe you're right. I shouldn't give up just because the universe decided to take a crap all over our time here on Earth."

"Exactly!" She smiled, "Though I might have worded it differently."

"I know you would have," We were laughing together then, walking through the streets together until someone shoved right past us rather rudely. I glared at him, but Hikari apologized for being in the way and immediately fixed her position so she was walking next to me, facing forward. We watched the man go, turning sharply down a street where I was suddenly aware that there was a growing chant. "What's that?" I asked slowly.

"Let's go see?" Hikari suggested, pulling my hand and setting off at a run. I wasn't sure if she was nervous or excited, I wasn't sure what I was feeling for that matter either, just that the chanting was kind of annoying, and even a little eerie. My eyes flicked to the sky when I thought I saw movement, but there was nothing.

As we rounded the corner I understood why. There was a pillar of smoke emanating from the middle of the street, the dark clouds contrasting against the grey sky. The ground was littered with jackets that people had thought to wear during the damp day but had taken off when the bonfire became too hot. Under the fire were piles upon piles of logs and books and broken furniture, burning away as if they were never meant to do anything else. And the people, including the man who had pushed past us before, were all having a jolly old time, chanting, singing, talking and dancing. Each of them had vaguely triumphant looks on their face as they celebrated... something.

"Is this a festival or something?" Hikari asked innocently.

"I don't think so." I said, pointing out a large piece of cardboard that had been attached to two wooden stakes. The sign read _'DWD'_ in big black letters. Hikari's face became annoyed very quickly, her arms crossing. "I know." I said, putting my arm around her shoulder.

"It's just horrible," She said frustrated. She looked around, scanning the crowd until she found something, and she set off, away from me, practically at a run. I followed her as best I could through the crowd, but I lost her quickly. She was better at weaving in and out of the people. I wasn't worried though. If she was amongst the crowds of DWD supporters she was likely to be safe. No one would question her unless she said something, which I would assume she wouldn't do. I didn't stop looking for her though.

"HEY MAN!" A very, _very_ drunk man cheered into my ear, elbowing me sharply. His breath was putrid. I turned toward him trying to imitate his grin, and failed, so I just smiled and hoped he wouldn't see through it. "This is my bonfire!"

"Yeah," I said, "There's the fire," I pointed to it helpfully.

"Yes!" He laughed, "Welcome!"

"Thanks..." I said awkwardly, "What's it for?" I tried, fishing for some information.

"I don't even know!" He burped after his sentence and then laughed, heading off into the crowd again. I rolled my eyes and continued my search for Hikari, but it seemed to be no use. I pushed through the crowd, heading toward the fire thinking she might've wanted to see what this was for, but I didn't see her there either. I spotted a low risen roof on the side of the street and forced my way toward it, climbing up to look around.

My eyes were scanning the faces, searching for Hikari. I know she'd been wearing an oversized sweater and a pair of jeans, trying to keep comfortable for our long day of searching, but everyone seemed to be wearing oversized clothing, and they were all taller than Hikari too. But my eyes did find someone familiar, though not someone I was hoping to come across.

It was Ken's boss leaning against a police cruiser. The chief of Police. Moretsuna. Seriously, was that man everywhere? I'd heard loads of things that he'd done. Like attacking Ken and Yamato, apparently Miyako too, wherever she was, shooting Noriko. I shook my head trying to rid myself of the horrible thoughts that were rising with the boiling anger. I couldn't cause a scene. I needed to only find Hikari and get out of the mess of this crowd. Sure they could lead us to something, but none of them looked to be ready to go anywhere any time soon. And even if they did I was going to have to have Hikari with me to follow them. I couldn't just leave her here.

Then I spotted her.

She was standing, speaking with someone whose back was turned to me. She was waving for me to go toward her, so I pointed to the fire and she nodded agreeing to meet there. I hopped off the roof and found myself, once again, pushing through the ridiculous crowd. It took about five minutes to get halfway across the wide street because the people were so tightly packed. I popped out of the people, nearly tripping into the fire, but a pair of firm hands caught me.

"Shuu is here," Hikari explained as I looked to my savior. She was right, it was Jou's brother. He looked pretty worn out though. His eyes had dark circles under them and his skin looked pale from lack of sleep. "He's looking for Jun."

"You think she's here?" I asked.

Shuu shook his head. "No, but I can't leave." He looked around before explaining. "Last night I heard someone coming, someone who was obviously drunk, so Meramon—who I stupidly brought with me—panicked and sat in the middle of the street. The man thought it was a bonfire, and soon there were people everywhere throwing flammable things at Meramon assuming we were sending some message to the people who support digimon."

"What message would that be?" I asked.

Shuu shrugged, "That drunk people can easily mistake digimon for nonsensical things?" Hikari managed to laugh, but I just found myself looking toward the bonfire where, sure enough, Meramon was seated in the middle, his eyes clenched shut. He was sitting cross legged on the pile of ashes and burning logs. "You see my problem."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Moretsuna is here."

"Who?" Shuu asked.

"The Cheif of Police." Hikari explained nervously, "Where is he?" I pointed in the general direction of Moretsuna and Hikari nodded barely paying attention, trying to come up with a plan. "What if one of us goes to get a computer? We could send Meramon back without anyone knowing?"

"That might work..." Shuu agreed.

"Woah..." A slurred voice from next to me said, "Look guys, if you look into the fire long enough you can see its soul. There's like... a spirit of a man in there." He looked excited, "You see it?"

"No." We all said quickly. "Nope, you're insane." I added.

"Maybe..." The guy said, leaning forward. "So cool..." Then he was off, likely to tell his friends. The news would spread fast and if it got over to Moretsuna then we'd have a problem. He couldn't know Meramon was in the fire before we could get him out.

Also. We had to find Gomamon still, so this had to go quickly and smoothly.

But of course I knew that nothing ever did go smoothly for us.

Shuu wanted to stay with Meramon, so Hikari and I debated which should stay with them as well, but eventually Shuu told us to both go because we were drawing attention. With a quick apology we set off, hurrying to the nearest computer store. Shuu had told us where to look because neither of us were too familiar with the area. We snuck through an alley to make sure we avoided Moretsuna, and worked our way back around until we found the store Shuu had mentioned.

I held the door open for Hikari and she stepped inside, looking around to the shelves lined with all sorts of computer programs, keyboards and other computer related devices such as headphones, or carrying bags. The blue carpeted floor was covered with shelves filled with laptops, and tables where desktop models sat. The shelves in the front were as tall as my shoulders, so there was room for many computers. I started looking them over, realizing there was no way we could purchase a random computer. I had no money at all. Like, literally no money _at_ all.

"Excuse me," I heard Hikari say. I looked up to where she was speaking to the woman behind the counter. Her hair was blonde and her face looked bored and a little cat-like. "I was just wondering if there were any computer models we could take out on a test run."

"No one does that." The woman said, almost amused by the question.

My eyes fell to the computer in front of me and found that it was the exact model of one of the laptops Alias III had stolen for the Coliseum. "Just a twenty minute test run," Hikari explained, "We can bring it back immediately."

"I'm sorry, no." The woman was straight to the point.

Hikari turned to me, frustrated, "Thank you," she said to the lady before moving toward me. "What are we going to do?"

My eyes flicked up to the woman behind the desk and I saw she was flipping through a magazine. I looked back down to Hikari and debated suggesting what I was thinking. It was wrong in so many ways, and I knew Hikari wouldn't go for it on a usual day, but this wasn't a usual day. "We take one." I said under my breath.

Hikari's eyes widened and she gasped, "What?" She whispered, "No!"

"Well what choice do we have?" I asked nervously, looking back to the lady. "Meramon could be in trouble. We can either steal a computer, or we can let him die."

She looked to the woman and groaned, "There has to be another way." She said, looking to the cord connecting the computer to the ground through a hole in each of the shelves. "Besides, there's no way to take it."

"Can I help you?" The woman called, overhearing some of our conversation.

Hikari was so nervous I could almost hear her heart beating quickly. She brushed some of her hair behind her ears and said "N-no thank you. We're—" We both froze, looking over our shoulders toward the door. There had been a scream. A loud one. We both waited in silence, staring to the glass door. Maybe it was nothing.

Then there was a series of screams that were impossible to ignore.

Both of us shot through the door, the sound of the screams grew exponentially once we had gotten back outside. We were rushing down the street together, holding hands tightly to ensure we weren't separated this time.

As we neared the crowd it became very obvious that these were the people screaming, each of them panicking more than the next, bumping into each other, trying to escape. They were running down the streets in every direction they could, some running toward us, making our path more difficult.

Someone slammed into me so hard I fell to the ground, and Hikari's hand was pulled from mine. I heard her yell out louder than the panicked drunk individuals, but her voice faded quickly, and I knew she had been pushed away from me. But I couldn't wait for her. I didn't _want_ to think about what they were running from, but it was hard to ignore the creeping thoughts in my mind.

It was Meramon. I just knew it.

It took me a few tries to get to my feet, but when I did I ran forward, my elbows out in front of me, pushing against the oncoming people to get through them. I was shoved back and forth roughly as I fought the flow of people trying to ignore the pounding of my head and my heart until finally I emerged from the crowd near Moretsuna's vehicle. I was both relieved and frightened to see that he was nowhere to be seen. I turned toward the pillar of billowing black smoke nervously and moved forward as the crowd finally dispersed.

My heart practically stopped when I saw Moretsuna standing with his back to me and his arm raised in front of him. He had to have a gun that I couldn't see because standing in front of him was Shuu, his arms outstretched with Meramon standing behind him in the fire.

I heard a scream of panic that was different than the others and saw Hikari running through the last few partiers, toward Moretsuna. She had told me how Noriko had been shot, and this resembled the scene too much to ignore even for me, and I hadn't been present.

"Stop!" Her scream caught Moretsuna's attention and he cocked his head toward her. "Don't do this!" Hikari cried out, stopping in her tracks when Moretsuna's gun pointed to her instead.

"It's you again." Moretsuna said, a grin forming on his face. "I'll get you this time." Shuu and I both set off toward him, but Shuu was much closer, and he grabbed his arm, forcing it down where Moretsuna shot to the ground before swinging his free arm around to punch Shuu in the face knocking him out of the way.

Moretsuna now had a clear shot to both Meramon and Hikari. I was racing toward him as fast as my legs would carry me, but he pulled the trigger before I could reach him.

The ball of violet light moved so quickly through the air toward Hikari.

I froze, watching it. I watched it sly right toward her shoulder, and then I watched a she ducked out of the way like it was something she did every day.

I had barely paid any attention as I ran directly into Moretsuna, shoving him into the fire that Meramon had climbed out of. I hadn't meant to do something so violent, but I didn't regret it either. He fell back, landing with his arm in the flames. He pulled it back sharply, his hands wrapped around a burning log that he threw toward me.

I used my arm as a shield, but the log hit hard, and the heat scorched my sweater, then before I knew it Hikari had tackled me out of the way.

We crashed to the pavement, the rough ground tearing at my arm. Hikari landed on top of me and was struggling to get to her feet as quick as she could, but there was never going to be enough time. Moretsuna was mere feet away and was pointing his silver gun at the two of us.

"Fire Blast!" Meramon shouted, bursting into raging flames and running quickly toward the enemy. Moretsuna scrambled to get out of the way, dropping his gun in the process. I thought about grabbing it, but Shuu's hands were wrapped under my arms and pulling me to my feet. Hikari was already up and then the three of us were running after Meramon.

"Turn!" Hikari screamed, "Go left!" Meramon obeyed and we followed him as fast as we could.

I checked over my shoulder and saw Moretsuna racing after us. "Dammit!" Shuu shouted. I looked and saw he was looking back as well, but we wouldn't have to go much further. I knew where Hikari was leading us.

"Up those stairs!" She yelled. Meramon jumped up half of the metal stairs and finished, not questioning Hikari and pushing open the door in front of him. Shuu rushed after his partner first into Yuudai's house, and Hikari was up next. I was right behind her.

But then the stairs were flying toward my face. I cried out when my face came in contact with the metal. I moved quickly though, looking back to see Moretsuna, his big grubby hands wrapped around my leg. He was sprawled out on the stairs, looking like he had dived the last few feet. He looked up to me, licking his lips excitedly.

"You can't all get away." He said his voice sharp and rough, but weak from the running. "You're under arrest."

"And _you_ have the right to remain silent." Hikari said from above me. I couldn't see her, but it wasn't necessary to know that she was the one who had thrown the porcelain flowerpot at his head. He grunted and his grip loosened. "Get up!" Hikari screamed, half dragging me up the stairs.

Once I was on my feet, we shot through the open door and slammed it shut, locking it behind us.

"Takeru!" Yuudai said in shock. "Your face! What's going on?"

"Get to your computer," I ordered him. "Get your stuff, and get to your computer." He was panicked. I'd never spoken harshly in his presence, and I certainly had never told him what to do. He was quick to do as I said though, gathering his things that he had already packed and shoving them into his computer room as Moretsuna slammed against the front door. I ushered Hikari into the room after him and saw that Shuu and Meramon were already waiting there, the portal up and ready to work. I looked to the front door when I heard a loud crack and saw that it had broken open. "Go!" I shouted, rushing to the computer where the light was surrounding us.

I was fully aware that he was behind me, and instinctively I grabbed a pen that was sitting on the counter, spun around and stabbed it into his arm. He cried out and jumped back as the room disappeared.

With a crash we were all sitting on the floor of the Temple, looking around to make sure he hadn't come with us. There was a collective sigh of relief, and we were left to settle in and sort ourselves out. I had landed on one of Yuudai's suitcases and pushed it away from myself and slammed my back against the wall next to the open portal door.

"That man," Hikari said when Yuudai helped her stand, "Is insane. I swear, he's not human. There's got to be something wrong with his brain."

"Most likely." I admitted.

"What is going _on_?" Yuudai finally asked. "I want to know."

"It's a long story." Meramon told him, but he didn't get a chance to respond because Shuu interrupted us. We all looked to where he was curled up, his back against the wall. He was crying. "Shuu?"

"It's Jun!" He cried out, slamming his hands into his reddening face. "She's in trouble. I have to g-go back. I have t-to find her! I have to save her!"

"Daisuke is out there right now looking," Hikari assured him, kneeling down and putting her hand on his shoulder, "He'll find her... I believe in him, and you should too. He's brave and he's strong and he's pretty smart on the fly despite the way he'd like you to think. He can do it. He'll find her."

_**Daisuke Motomiya:**_

I should've sent my mother ahead of me. Jun needed me, yes. But Jun was the one that suggested I get Mom to the Digital World in the first place. She'd be so mad at me if I didn't do it. I couldn't though. I typically had a one track mind. If I decided to do something, I was _going_ to do that thing. I've gone _years_ without lying to Kurayami because one New Year's day, I told her I never would. She'd never asked me if her jeans made her look fat—even when pregnant—like she promised _me_ she wouldn't. We made a good team most of the time.

But right now? I was ticked off.

She was at her Dad's house, she'd closed herself off and she still had Haruki and Labramon with her. It wasn't safe for either of them—Labramon, because he was a digimon, and Haruki because he was _my_ son. People knew who I was. If they knew about him, they might try and take him from me. And I needed him to stay safe. It wasn't just an abstract concept that we were fighting against. Sora told me that Eart declared war. They were shooting the people that supported digimon if they were in the way, and sometimes they just tried to beat their opponents with stilettos.

Yeah.

Momoe swore she was fine, but she was limping her way across town. We weren't going door to door, because that was super suspicious, but we wanted to.

Momoe had only joined me after she'd sent Jou's father and step-family off to the Temple. She'd lost Gomamon, and she was so mad about it. She was simmering, and I supposed she hoped we'd find him while we searched for Jun. I was scared for him. I knew what these guys did to digimon, I'd heard Koushiro talk about what he saw and even _he_ couldn't say it with his usual boring, lecture-like tone. He was emotional through it. And they had one of us this time. Taichi and Koushiro had saved Andromon—and Tinkermon—before anything had happened to him, but with the tanks surrounding them now, they couldn't afford to go out on such a mission. Especially when Gomamon could be on Earth _or_ the Digital World. We really had no idea where they'd have taken him.

If I was evil, I'd probably lay evidence leading my enemies to one world, while really being in the second. I just didn't know if they did that, or were leading us to believe that, or didn't even bother.

They hadn't left any traces of Jun that was for sure.

But I knew that Jun was strong. She'd fought against Dad for me; she would fight against her attackers. She had her two digimon to look after too, and she was a fierce mama bear when it came to those guys. It was almost like they were her children. It was strange, but at the same time it was so natural that I didn't question it. People formed different bonds with their partners. I knew that Iori's family was half digital by that point. His brother was his mother's partner, and he treated his grandfather's Kotemon as if he were his uncle. His aunt was the fairy of summer—which I couldn't understand at all, because I was supposed to share a similar bond with Spring, but I couldn't say that I did—and he acted as if a certain pair of Numemon were old family friends. He took Kotemon on picnics, and he and Natsuni were almost an old married couple with their routines for their digimon. She looked after them while he was at school, and they played together, and helped with the chores—just one each—and got treats for good behaviour—and since they lived with Iori, they _always_ had good behaviour. They treated their digimon as children, like Jun did.

I treated Veemon as if he was my best and closest friend, because that's what he was, but I knew _Veemon_ treated Gatomon and Agumon as if they were his siblings, mimicking the close bond that had formed between Hikari, Taichi and me while I lived with their family.

But I also knew that Taichi acted like Agumon was the world's wisest adviser, and Neo's Dracomon needed a stern parent from Neo, like did Rei's friends Pal and Pul needed from her. Biyomon just needed a friend from Sora, one who would love her unconditionally, and treat her as an equal and nothing less.

Each individual, partner and digimon, needed something different from one another. And no matter what it was they needed, the partnership was a beautiful thing. They completed each other, helped to guide each other away from pitfalls and keep themselves going on the right track towards a happy future. Veemon jumped at the chance to help me with my noodle-cart idea. And I knew that Otamamon—and to a lesser degree, Gekomon, because he was still sort of new around here—was always pestering Jun to start doing what she loved to do, to get a job that made her happy, and not just pleased Dad.

I needed to find them so that Jun still had that chance.

"Stop thinking negatively," Momoe ordered. She said it playfully, but I knew she was serious. I could see it in her eyes. They hadn't lost the hard edge since I'd met up with her. She wasn't handling things in the healthiest way, but she'd decided against crying until _after_ we'd succeeded in our missions, and I could appreciate that. Crying wouldn't help Jun, focus would. "We're going to find her. She's still got to marry Shuu, you know. And even though I'm not particularly looking forward to the part she'll make me play in it, she's got to plan the entire wedding again, so she needs to be found. I don't want them putting the wedding off again. They've done that enough already."

"I know," I said. "They were engaged long before I was. I couldn't understand why she's taking so long. The wedding doesn't matter, it's the marriage that counts. Kurayami and I only took a week."

"Jou and I took time with the first ceremony," Momoe said with a grimace. I didn't really like remembering that attempt either. Emiko was kidnapped, and we were all infected by one of the seven sins, it was just not a good time. "But I didn't even think about planning the second time around. All I could think was 'we're going to die' and I wanted to be married before that happened."

"Now you've been married three years, just about," I remembered.

"Yeah," she sighed. "But this isn't the time for a celebration. Our anniversary is coming up, and I can't do anything to help him. He's trying to save Noriko, you know? I won't take him away from that for a reason that's so selfish. We'll have plenty of other anniversaries in the future. At least, that's what I keep telling myself, but I don't know for sure."

"I do," I said firmly. "We're going to find Jun, and she's going to be alive, and everyone's going to make it out of this war."

"It's kind of unreasonable to think that way," Momoe sighed. "No war is without casualties. Look how many digimon have already been taken before the war even started. I don't even know what kind of war it's going to be. Sure they sent tanks in and started blasting at Kiyoko's shield, but I haven't seen any legitimate soldiers join the fray, it's just the DWD. That makes me think maybe the ambassador is a part of it, and that he's going to use his position to try and sway the Prime Minister and then the whole country to join them. If he can do that, then we're scooped. The Prime Minister will be able to supply the soldiers they'll need. And that's all assuming they don't have some nefarious plot being put into action already."

"You've thought further ahead than I have," I admitted.

"I know," she said. "You're stuck on Jun, but I _know_ she's okay. She has to be. She'd have taken the digimon down the fire escape or something before the bad guys even got into her apartment. You said the window was unlocked, didn't you?"

"You're right," I said, feeling legitimate relief course through me for the first time in days. Why hadn't I thought of that? Jun was sporadic and crazy sometimes, but she wasn't stupid, and leaving the door or windows unlocked wasn't something she would do when she had digimon with her and there was a threat against them. She wouldn't make it easy for DWD to get to them. "Someone has to be hiding her. There's no way she could still be out on the streets. Not with Gekomon and Otamamon."

"We just have to think who it could be," Momoe said.

"So we go to the people we know support the cause we do," I summarized. "We'll start with Mr and Mrs Ishida. Iori complains about the house so much, I know we're close. All these places give me that vibe."

"Okay," she said getting excited. "I've been hoping to get a chance to send more people Taichi's way. The Yagami's would be a good start too. Obviously Kurayami and the baby, and Labramon and her father too. Yamato has friends right, from his band? Jun used to be obsessed with them, she could be there. It's a stretch, but it's something. I should use that payphone to call my father, she could be there,_ he_ would hide her, and he'd want to know. He'll keep an eye out."

"And I'll call my mother," I added, already pulling out my phone to call her. I had put it off long enough. She was going to the Digital World now. I didn't care if she wanted to wait for news of Jun. She was getting somewhere safe, so I wouldn't have to add her to the ever growing list of people that were missing.

Michael, Neo, Jun, Otamamon, Gekomon, Gomamon.

I just hoped there weren't going to be any more. It was stressful enough as it was.

"Did you find her?" was her greeting. She was just as frantic as I was about this, more now that Momoe had said something that had calmed me down. I wasn't just running on sheer force of will anymore, I had a _reason_ to hope.

"No," I said simply. "But we're going to. We've got a plan. I need you to go to Kurayami. Grab your bags and get to her dad's house. You've been there before, I can't give you directions, so I hope you remember. I don't want anyone to potentially overhear."

"I want to help you," she said stubbornly. I had to get if from somewhere I guess.

"No," I said firmly. "You go to Kurayami. I need you to help keep Haruki safe. I know you can do it. Because you kept me and Jun safe all our lives."

"I never had these serious threats to deal with," she said modestly, though I knew she was flattered, which was my intention of course. "Fine," she decided. Mentally, I did a little happy dance. "Call me when you find her."

"I'll _come_ to you when I find her," I said. "But you're going to be in the Temple. I'm going to call Kurayami in a bit, and you'll go with her."

"But—"

"No buts," I said. "You're my mom, and I love you, but you're going to do what _I_ say for once. You wanted to be a part of Haruki's life, right? So do it. Protect him, and get him to safety. And while you protect _my_ child, I'll go save yours. Deal?"

"Deal," she said, less confidently than I would've liked, but she was resigned to my decision, which was all I could ever hope for in this case. I hung up the phone without saying goodbye. I couldn't bring myself to do that. It sounded so final. I wasn't going to say it. I was going to see her later, _soon_. And there was nothing that could change that fact.

I looked to Momoe, who was whispering frantically into the receiver of the payphone. Her hands were moving in front of her as she tried to explain what was going on to her father. She had the phone cradled between her ear and her shoulder.

I took the few minutes I knew I'd have to wait for her to try and formulate a plan.

We had a list of people to get to the Temple, as was my original mission. The list was growing slowly, but I hadn't done much to shorten it. I'd been too preoccupied with Jun and worrying about Kurayami to be able to focus properly. Now, it was more imperative than ever that I succeed.

Taichi's parents, my surrogate parents were still on Earth. I'd have to stop by Yuuko and Susumu's place and make sure that they sent Kamemon through at the very least, though I would prefer if they went with him. Hiroaki and Fumiko Ishida were still here. All four of their children had been in the Digital World when I last checked. Not that Yamato and Iori would've liked that generalized grouping. They didn't like that they were technically brothers now. Sora's family was safe. I'd sent Toshiko at the beginning, having run into her just outside her flower shop. I couldn't find Mimi's family if I tried, they were in another country. I just had to hope that someone else had the time to find them along with Michael and Willis' parents—and maybe Tatum's. Koushiro's family and Ken's were collected before I'd seen Toshiko, so that was good. Momoe just sent Jou's family, and thankfully Takeru and Hikari shared with Yamato, Iori and Taichi, so there were fewer people I'd need to find. My mother was with my wife and son and father-in-law, or would be soon, and I'd get them all in one swoop. Miyako's parents refused to leave, and there was nothing _Momoe_ could do, so what chance did I have? Neo didn't want his mom around, and Rei never asked for her, so I wouldn't be finding her. Hideto's family was apparently the villains in this situation, and Mari's family "sucked" according to anyone I'd asked, so there were fewer people to find. But Jou's brother Shin was missing too. I'd have to add him to the list. And I supposed Natsuni's parents might need to be found. Momoe said something about them, but I'd been trying to determine where a duck's footprint could really be Gekomon's at the time, and I didn't remember what she said.

Either way, that was a lot of people without even adding Amai, and the other dark spore children—although I imagined they weren't children anymore—and Yamato's ex-band mates and Sora and Iori's professors. Did Kurayami want to offer a space for her therapist? I didn't even know. She hadn't really talked about him in awhile. Mimi had at least _one_ former employee that didn't try to burn her establishment down, did Izumi want to come? She had been a digidestined before even we were, did her _team_ want to come? I didn't know. It was stressing me out.

I needed someone to just give me a list.

"Ready?" Momoe asked. "She hasn't been to Dad. He said he'd keep an eye out for her, and that he'd make sure to hide her if anyone came looking for her. He's mad at Mom for her behaviour. I had to assure him that just because Mom and Mantarou aren't going to be able to see Emiko again that didn't mean he and Chiziru would have to suffer the same fate. Did I do a bad thing, swearing Emiko wouldn't get to see them without even consulting her? She loves Mantarou. I'm pretty sure she thinks Mom is evil incarnate since she'd never give her chocolate cake before dinner, but Mantarou was her favourite uncle. He used to play games with her, and he didn't _always_ let her win but for the most part she felt invincible with him."

"He made his choice," I assured her. "And you can always take it back. He knows you're serious now, and he's probably thinking it all over again and again, wondering how he can make it better. He probably never thought he'd be on your mom's side, so _that's_ got to be a shock for him."

"I hope so," she said bitterly. "I can't believe them though! They thought I'd make up something as serious as Noriko being shot. That was Yorokobi's story, and they believed her. _Her_! Over me. I'm their daughter, their sister. I would never try to trick them when things were serious. I never have in the past. I've been flighty, sure, I _did_ go for a tour around the world and come back with a baby without warning, but I've told them everything since then, because I didn't want to hurt them that way ever again."

"Maybe now that they know Jun's missing, they'll believe you," I offered. "They know Jun, they could just call her and know you're telling the truth."

"Have you tried that?" Momoe asked suspiciously.

"What do you take me for," I said pretending to be offended. "There's no answer at all, the phone can't be reached. I'm pretty sure it was in the apartment when it caught on fire. If Jun was in a hurry to leave, she wouldn't risk the digimon's lives for a phone."

"I'm just surprised she hasn't called us yet," Momoe said. "It's the only flaw in my otherwise flawless reasoning. If she _could_ have called us, why hasn't she?"

"Don't rain on my parade," I warned her. "You gave me hope. Don't take it away."

"Sorry," she murmured. "I'm just freaking out. A lot. My parents won't come to safety and are in the clutches of an evil woman. The evil woman who hired her family to steal Gomamon for some unknown but undoubtedly horrible purpose, and happens to be Hideto's sister—who he _rightfully_ hates. He's got me on his side of that fight, whenever, if ever, it takes place. I'm sure he's got Miyako and Jou and Ken too."

"We can't fight them yet. Not until Jun is safe, and all the people are gathered. That's our mission, that's what we're meant to do," I reminded her.

"My mission is self imposed," she corrected. "Sora assigned me only to Jou's family. Shin hasn't been seen in awhile, he's finally gone off on his own. I want to find him, but I'm not sure if that's a good idea, because it might strip him of this new independence that he's found. The mission I gave myself was to send as many phones and music devices as possible to Kiyoko so that we can send more digimon over at one time. They're shooting at the shield, Daisuke. That's bad. What happens when they break through it? I need to make sure there aren't any digimon left inside. That's what Taichi wants, and he's too busy to accomplish it. So I'm doing it for him."

"Right," I said. "Well, now I feel like I should have grabbed Jun's phone."

"Shut up," she said, pushing my shoulder with a laugh. "You said the fire chased you out of the room, unless you were lying, I'd say there'd be a good chance you'd be a pile of ashes by now if you'd grabbed the phone. You're useless to us dead, Daisuke. We don't want that. Take chances, take risks, but be safe about it. We'll find another way. Your mother has a phone, and Kurayami too. Her dad _probably_ does. Almost everyone on Earth that we send over will have one. It's 2015, Daisuke, they're kind of popular."

"Fine," I said, rolling my eyes. My pocket started ringing and I pulled my phone out, ready to re-convince my mother of the plan and was shocked to see Ken's name on the display screen. I answered it immediately. "What's wrong?"

"Where are you?" Ken demanded. "I'm coming to help you. Miyako's got Hawkmon, they're in the Digital World now. I split up with Katsue, Monimon and Yamato, they're here to find Gomamon. My cover was blown. I'll help find Jun and then we'll all head over to the Digital World together."

I rattled of our current location, before changing my mind. We were heading somewhere else, so I told him to meet us at the Ishida's house. He agreed and hung up. Spending so much time pretending to be someone he wasn't really gave him a dramatic flair. I rolled my eyes and Momoe and I decided to rush to the Ishida's. Knowing Ken, he'd probably beat us there and be waiting dramatically, leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed telling us we were late.

We ended up beating him there, and Fumiko ushered us inside. We explained what was going on, how she needed to get to the Digital World right away and she hesitated. Hiroaki was at work, and she didn't want to leave him. It took a hell of a lot of convincing, but I played with her emotions more than I wanted to. I didn't lie though, so that was a plus. I told her how scared and lonely Meiyomon was feeling. I preyed on Iori's anger and fear over potentially losing Noriko. Momoe jumped in and told her how Natsuni really needed a motherly hand right now, because her mother betrayed her, Goblimon and Armadillomon and it potentially cost her father's life.

Whoa.

I should've paid better attention earlier. He would have to move up on the list. We knew the others were alright, just frustrated and needed information. He could be in worse shape than that. I'd go see him after finding Jun. Natsuni would like that surprise I think. I hoped. He _had_ to be alive, didn't he? Totally. Of course he did. I wasn't prepared to find out any differently.

In the end, that was enough. Fumiko started packing right then—lightly as per Momoe's instructions, since she'd have to carry it with her for the hours long walk—and we settled in to wait for Ken to arrive. It took him literally an hour to get there. Fumiko was ready to go, just waiting for Ken to get here so she could lock the door before she left.

"I ended up on the wrong side of town," Ken said sheepishly, effectively loosing the cool factor of his new, no-nonsense secret agent persona. "I did run into that Izumi girl, you know the waitress? I sent her to Tai's mom's house. I hope that was okay. She had a friend with her, she said Hideto invited them. I figured that was the best bet. I didn't have time to hunt down a computer and send them myself."

"Good," I said. "We're heading there soon anyway."

Ken nodded and we said our farewells to Fumiko, watching her disappear into her computer. I felt a sense of accomplishment, as we finally had something to show for our work on our missions. Hiroaki had an iPod so he could carry Yamato's music with him whenever he wanted. Fumiko had taken that and her phone, which meant we saved two more digimon at a time, in addition to Fumiko herself. Once we found Jun, I'd say we were on a roll.

We just had to find her first.

Only we didn't know where to look. I was still kind of looking for Amai, since I'd promised DemiDevimimon I would, but I still didn't know how to find her. And Ken reminded us of the dark spore children, since he could remember their names, so he led us to two of them. The two boys. He apparently talked with them sometimes, discussing the after effects of the dark spore. I hadn't known that about him. I knew I needed to spend more time with him. He was my best friend. It was my job to know these things. He'd lost touch with Keiko though—the other girl aside from Noriko—but he knew her name at least. We sent the boys into the Digital World with their digimon, asking Hiroshi if he knew where we could hunt her down.

He gave us an address.

And we were off.

I gave Ken my hooded sweater. He needed it more than I did. It wasn't even cold anymore. But he was still in uniform, and it was drawing attention. It was especially unhelpful when his radio—which he still had clipped to his belt—started spouting out the voice of his boss, Moretsuna. He was angry. Someone had gotten away with a Meramon—not what he called him, but for polite reasons, we decided to paraphrase—and he was calling in everyone to help look for Ken, because he just _had_ to be behind it. He was one of the bad guys after all.

Sometimes I wondered how someone could get his whole world turned so upside down. Ken was the good guy in this situation and _Moretsuna_ was the bad. It had to take a special brand of crazy to think that the complete destruction of an entire race of beings was the _right_ thing to do.

But the point was, the streets had more officers patrolling them, and we were getting a bit frantic by the time Ken's radio went off again, this time Ken flinched. It was his partner—his _old_ partner—saying that there were signs that Ken had been in his apartment, and asking if Moretsuna wanted him to remain behind to see if he'd come back. I patted Ken's back then, it had to be rough having someone you trusted explicitly turn your back on you so completely.

We could only be seen by the light of the streetlamps, which was a blessing. It helped to keep Ken's uniform hidden, and it made it harder for the police officers to spot us at all. It was also a curse though. It was proof that another day had come and gone and I _still_ hadn't found any sign of my sister. I tried to keep the hope Momoe had given me alive. She'd left of her own free will, she wasn't taken. But it was hard to do when the heavy night grew around us and was a breeding ground for despair.

"This is the address," Momoe said, looking up to a townhouse. I was expecting a big apartment building, not a row of houses all crammed together one after the other, with stairs leading up to each one. They weren't wide houses. And they all looked the same. We double checked the number of the red brick house four times before we dared to knock on the door.

"Who is it?" a soft female voice called.

"Daisuke Motomiya," I said. "We've come to get you to safety."

"Okay," she said, opening the door for us. I saw a soft, gentle face framed with long brown hair. She wore a flour stained apron and was looking at us nervously. "Come inside quickly. I don't want any unnecessary onlookers."

We slipped through the door in record time. She led us to the back of the house—a warm and welcome place that felt strangely creepy to me—to the kitchen where the smell of fresh bread hit my nostrils. My stomach gargled, reminding me that I hadn't bothered to feed it today. Keiko—for that was who she had to be, there was no other explanation—laughed and got small plates out of her cupboard and sliced up generous portions. I slipped into the front room though, because I had someone I needed to call. Now. I dialed the number quickly and waited for her to answer.

"Hello?"

"Kurayami, did my mother make it to the house?"

"Yes, she's here," she said. Her voice less guarded that in had been for the past few days. "I have to tell you something."

"If I let you will you go to the Digital World?" I wasn't teasing, but I let my voice sound like I was.

"Yes," she said, catching me off guard. It was a lot easy to convince her than I'd thought it would be. "Daisuke, Moretsuna hurt Haruki."

"What?" I asked horrified. When had the bastard got close to my son? I'd seen what he did to Ken, and Noriko was another hit against him. But to hurt a baby? That was low. Haruki couldn't defend himself. "How?"

"He tripped me, on purpose," she said miserably. "And then...then I found out Grandpa's dead."

"Naturally?" I asked as hopeful as I could.

"I think it was Moretsuna too," she said. I could hear the emotions in her voice as she tried to hold them back. I wanted to be with her right then, but I knew she wasn't really ready to share it all just yet. She was just telling me because I needed to know.

"Get to the Digital World," I begged. "Before he finds you again. I can't...I _need_ you safe."

"And I need you safe too," she said. "Haruki needs you."

"Then I'll meet you in the Digital World as soon as I can," I promised. "I just can't leave Jun."

"I know," she said. "Just come soon."

"Okay," I told her. We talked for a few more minutes, about nothing, about _everything_ before we exchanged goodbyes and hung up the phone. She'd even put the phone next to Haruki so I could talk to him. I almost cried when he gurgled back to me. I missed him. And now I was sending him off to the Digital World, and I wouldn't be able to just go to our temporary home and cuddle him up at night. He'd be safe, which was good, but I would miss him every second.

"I thought I heard you, Daisuke."

I turned to the stairs that led to the second floor and nearly killed myself clambering over the railing to get to her. It was Jun. She was okay. She was _here_. I pulled her close and I wasn't going to let her go, no matter _how_ uncomfortable the position really was. I just wanted her to stay close. I never wanted to lose her again.

"I'm alright, Daisuke," she said. "I would've called you, but I can't remember anyone's number. I can't believe how dependant I am on my phone's contact list."

"Jun," I said breathily. "Jun."

"That _is_ my name," she joked. "Otamamon, Gekomon it's just Daisuke. It's safe to come down. It smells like the bread is done."

Otamamon hopped down the steps grinning at me. Gekomon was more reserved, and though his skin was healed the injuries left some pretty nasty scars. Not that I'd tell him that. I was just glad that he was okay, and was happy enough with Jun to smile again. He had a YukimiBotamon in his hands, and I assumed that was Keiko's partner. The three digimon raced into the digimon, ready for some bread, while Jun and I walked at a much slower pace—I still hadn't let go, and it kind of made it hard to navigate the hallways. YukimiBotamon had eaten the bread on my plate before I'd even entered the kitchen, and was trying to sneak some off of Ken's while Keiko got him his own.

"Momoe," I called, and her head whipped around to the doorway. She screamed and flew towards us, becoming another growth Jun would just have to get used to. Ken smiled at her, but remained at his seat, pulling his plate away from the ravenous baby digimon, leaving it to go demolish Momoe's share instead.

"What happened to you?" Momoe demanded.

Jun laughed.

She _laughed_.

"Why don't we go find a seat, and I'll tell you," she said. She led us back to the front room, and we got cozy on the couch. Momoe, Jun and then me, all in a row. Otamamon sat on Momoe's lap, happily letting Momoe rub his head, and Gekomon tentatively sat on mine. Ken asked if he could set up Keiko's computer, as he'd rather just get to the Digital World and make sure his wife was alright. So he was doing that, while Keiko sat on the chair facing the window. Only the glow of the headlights of passing cars made it through the heavy curtains she had in place. She wasn't taking any chances. She had YukimiBotamon on a tall table beside her chair. He was still munching away at a pile of bread chunks.

"He stress eats," Keiko said defensively when I asked if it was healthy for the little guy. "It's pretty stressful these days to be a digimon. I'm not going to take away his only coping mechanism."

I had to admit, that was fair.

"Okay, so Shuu and I only know like two other tenants in our apartment building. There's this older lady that lives a few floors down, and she's sweet, and I love her. And then there's the idiot that lives across the hall. I hate him. I _know_ it was him that called the DWD to my door. He'd seen Otamamon before, and he thought he was a throw pillow at the time, but he's been getting more suspicious lately, and then he saw Meramon. There are only so many things that that fairy's spell can make someone think a man of fire is. And he thought it was really weird that we had a camp fire in our apartment. I told him it was just a specialty lamp that we decided didn't suit our decor, and I made Shuu bring Meramon to the Digital World with him. I thought we'd be okay after that," Jun said. "But I got a call from that sweet old lady."

"I met her," I said, knowing it _had_ to be the same woman.

"She's a doll," Jun said happily. "She said people had asked her where to find Jun Motomiya and Shuu Kido. Now she said she didn't know us, and called me as soon as they'd left. She didn't like the look of them, she said. She said they looked like bad apples. So she warned me, and I grabbed Otamamon and Gekomon and we slipped out the window, down the fire escape."

"Then she stumbled into the bakery I work at," Keiko said, picking up where Jun left off. "And I saw the two digimon, and I _knew_ I had to help her, so I took my lunch break early and slipped them into my car through the back door."

"We've been here ever since. I just can't figure out the gate," Jun said sheepishly. "I thought it would be easier than it is."

"It's ready," Ken said. "Should we go?"

"Let me just grab some snacks for the road, and maybe a few changes of clothes. Do we have time for that?" Keiko asked. We let her do her thing, and watched YukimiBotamon demolish his pile of food. He didn't finish though, because suddenly he was glowing brightly and I knew he was digivolving.

My heard stopped.

The window shattered as a purple blast burst through it, followed by three more. I tucked Gekomon to safety, and I saw Ken trying to get to YukimiBotamon. Keiko rushed back into the room and was just in time to see a large burst of purple slam into her baby digimon. He screamed out a dreadful sound and was gone.

Just like that.

She let out an inhuman howl of anguish, falling to her knees convulsing almost on the floor. Jun ran to her immediately, trying to get her to her feet. Ken was holding his digivice, waiting for us to get to him so we could all escape unharmed.

But then the door slammed open, falling flat on the floor and Moretsuna himself walked in. He sneered at Ken, wanting to say something, but Otamamon and Gekomon caught his attention, as did the sobbing girl on the floor.

"I got one," he said gleefully. He looked horrible. I'd seen him only once before, but he didn't look so bad then. He had a swollen eye, and a large bruise on his cheek. Dried trickles of blood were on his forehead and soil was all through his hair. But it was the wild, malicious glint in his eye that stood out most to me. He raised his gun and aimed it towards the couch. I grabbed Momoe and pushed her up and across the room, Ken caught her before she could fall to the ground and sent her through the open gate. Jun was trying—so hard—to get Keiko up but she wouldn't move. I acted instantly to protect Gekomon, knowing full well that if it was Jun in my place and Veemon in his, I would expect the exact same response, and I hooked my right arm around his middle, and ran at Ken, throwing the frog digimon at him.

"Go Ken," I told him.

"But—"

"He wants you and the digimon most,_ get going_!" I snarled, racing over to my sister.

Moretsuna wasn't happy with the development, going trigger happy and shooting at everything as thought digimon were hiding in every nook and cranny. I dragged the girls behind the chair Keiko had been sitting in and eyed the distance to the computer. Thankfully Moretsuna was too crazed to think clearly, or else he would've already destroyed our only escape route.

"I'll distract him," I told them. "When he's focussed on me, you two get to the computer and get through."

"No," Jun said. Keiko was still too distraught to say a word. "I'm the older sister, I'll be the distraction."

"It's not up for discussion," I growled. "This is serious Jun. I want you to listen to me and do exactly what I say."

"Daisuke—" she tried to protest. But I was already on my feet, running to the kitchen, opening the back door wide.

"C'mon Veemon!" I shouted. "We've got to get you out of here."

Moretsuna barrelled his way towards the kitchen just as I knew he would. I'd shouted a digimon's name after all. I ducked behind the island in the middle of the kitchen floor and crawled around it. He spotted the door and went outside without delay. I grinned and ran back towards the living room, ready to make my exit, having outsmarted Moretsuna.

I didn't want to leave him here. I wanted to destroy everything he cared about and rip him apart piece by piece, but I had to think about Haruki here, and I didn't think he'd appreciate it if his father was in jail for murder. But that man had hurt my baby, shot my friend, and killed my wife's grandpa. And he'd shot a defenceless Burpmon—which is what I knew YukimiBotamon was turning into. He'd been eating too much, I knew it wasn't a good idea. He'd eaten more than he could handle and had digivolved to Burpmon whose sole purpose in life is to eat everything.

Moretsuna had done enough damage, and he needed to be stopped.

But not today.

Jun and Keiko were still hiding behind the chair when I returned to the living room. "What the hell are you still doing here?" I yelled at them. In hindsight, worst move possible.

"I can't move her," Jun said exasperatedly. I grabbed Keiko's arm and pulled her to her feet. She tried to sink down again and I just hauled her back up. I knew I was being rough, but we had seconds before Moretsuna connects my voice from the kitchen to my yell in here, and realizes I've sent him on a wild goose chase. Keiko tried to sink to the floor again. She wasn't cooperating and my life was in danger. My _sister's_ life was in danger. And I knew she lost her partner but this was ridiculous. There was a time and a place for grieving. In the middle of a life and death struggle? That was _not _the place.

"Get to your damn feet," I snarled at her. "Or we'll leave you behind!"

"No we won't," Jun said, grabbing her other arm. Together we hauled her ungrateful butt over to the computer. I pulled out my digivice just in time to see three purple blasts fly through the kitchen door into the living room. He was back. I grabbed the digivice and held it to the computer. The light was starting to surround us when Moretsuna came around the corner. He shot another blast our way, and then the house was gone.

I grinned.

That was a close call.

"Jun!" Momoe shrieked, running over to us. Otamamon and Gekomon were hot on her heels. Shuu, who had been expressing his happiness for their return also joined them. I thought it was a celebration, but it didn't turn into a group hug. Jun collapsed to the floor, clutching her side. There a hole burnt right through her shirt, and her skin was bright red.

She'd been hit.

"What happened?" Shuu demanded, grabbing my shirt and pulling me real close to his face.

"She was shot," I said, the words getting thicker. They caught in my throat.

"Who?" he wanted to know.

"Moretsuna."

**Next Time on Digimon Adventure 06:** With so much going wrong, how are Hideto and Willis supposed to handle drama that comes their way?


	37. A Narrow Miss

**Y/N: **I had a lot of fun writing Hideto's chapter this time around.

**U/N: **So I believe this is Willis? Yeeeh, okay, so to be honest I was having fun torturing Willis with this whole Terriermon/Lopmon ordeal, and that's kind of mean, but that's okay anyway because he's noot real. I'm not insane for enjoying making our characters miserable, I promise.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 4: War**

**Chapter 37: A Narrow Miss**

_**Hideto Fujimoto:**_

I walked through the great door of the Temple with Mari at my side somewhere. I couldn't see her. We were both invisible after all. Why was I there? Because I happened to be awake early that morning. Mr Ogremon had woken me when several of the younger digimon had nightmares, and he couldn't handle all of them at the same time. Since I worked with him for recess, and the kids all loved me for some unknown reason, he thought they would find my presence calming. They did. I still didn't understand it. But after calming them all down, Mr Ogremon and I weren't tired anymore, so we just lounged around in the living chamber, and talked a lot. He was an alright guy. Faces a lot of challenges because he's a dark digimon, and most kids are afraid of him when they first get to their lessons. I felt for the guy. I really did. I made some really creamy hot chocolate for the two of us, and had just settled in to drink it when I saw Yoshie and Kae wander in to the chamber with their hands clutching steaming hot cups of coffee. They looked miserable. Bags were hanging under their eyes, and they weren't even able to put smiles on their faces as they talked to one another. I had never seen either of them without a smile before. It was sort of sad.

Their husbands walked in and the women sighed. The men kissed their wives and handed over a large sack of phones and music devices. Masami set the sack on the table between the women, and the two men sat across from them. They looked so sad to have to leave one another, and I acted without thinking. I apologized to Mr Ogremon for leaving, and strode across the room and grabbed the bag, telling the women to go back to bed, and then set off back to my cell.

Mari didn't appreciate being woken early, but when I suggested we bring Lopmon and Terriermon back to surprise Willis, she got up and dressed in record time, ready to make the stupidly long walk to the Temple at the extremely early hour in the morning.

I had to really hand it to those parents. They were a heck of a lot older than me and they'd been making this trip every day for a week. I would've jumped off the nearest bridge if I had to do it, so really, they were pretty awesome.

During our long trip over, I had time to think about _why_ I'd done what I did. I didn't _have_ to take over for Yoshie and Kae—I also didn't _need_ to bring Mari—but I'd done it anyway. And after getting to the bottom of it, I knew it was for Kiyoko. Yoshie and Kae were two of his closest friends, and they were miserable. I could change that, so I did. I wondered when I'd become such a good person—but then I remembered the feeling of wanting to kill the guy that shot Noriko, and I remembered I wasn't all that good.

Because I did want to hurt him. I would've too, if Kiyoko hadn't stopped me. These other digidestined were thinking differently now, just because the enemy wasn't a digimon. In the past, it was always shoot first, as questions later. Now that the enemy was human, they had to think all of their moves through. I didn't really understand the difference. They killed the digimon, just like the DWD wanted to do, but to hurt a human wasn't acceptable? Didn't that make them hypocritical?

I knew it was mostly that they wanted to do the right thing, and lead by example, hoping that they'd be able to sway more humans with honey rather than vinegar. They didn't _relish_ killing digimon, and the fact that a digimon's data recycled after the digidestined killed them was the only upside and excuse that worked in this whole argument. Because the DWD didn't have a legitimate reason for doing what they do, and the digidestined killed only the digimon who threatened the safety of the Digital World.

But the DWD was threatening that safety now, and they weren't doing anything to act on it!

We were falling apart. Michael was still gone, no one had seen him. Neo was missing too, and I didn't really blame him if he just wandered off and chose not to involve himself. But the fact that he left Dracomon at the Temple was really worrying me, because Neo actually cared about the little guy. Dracomon was one of the only things that Neo cared about at all, Dracomon and Rei. I'd flatter myself and put Alias III on the list, but I knew that if it came down to a fight between us and them, he'd side with Dracomon and Rei.

He was like that.

In addition to Michael and Neo, Gomamon was missing, and his was a little bit more of a pressing matter. Jou had to take care of Noriko, so he could go look for him, and Noriko was _shot_. We knew that a bunch of parents had been collected, but we didn't know if it was all of them—all that mattered anyway, meaning Mari's, Neo's and mine were definitely _not_ included—or if we still had more to wait on. They might've found Jun, they might not have. Sora and Miyako may or may not be back from touring the Digital World. Kiyoko sent word last night through Tatum that Willis and Natsuko were to put up a blog post that would give the chosen of the world access to the shield, so that they could protect their sections of the Digital World. But other than that, Kiyoko didn't have anything to say.

I wanted to talk to him, or at least just know how he was doing, but he was too busy working with Koushiro, Tatum and their team to remove the tracking devices. They weren't getting anywhere though, and I thought maybe Kiyoko wasn't actually as helpful with that as they'd hoped, and that they might just send him back to the Coliseum with Mari and I when we got there, but it was kind of a long shot. But Alias III needed to stick together. If we didn't have each other, what did we have?

None of us really got along too well with most of the other digidestined. Yamato hated Melga, and he was afraid of me, and it was really only Mimi that bothered to stick up for me most of the time whenever my morality was put to question. Mari had Willis and Miyako, and Kiyoko had everyone's mothers.

Without each other, we'd fall to pieces.

I didn't know how much of this reasoning was just my stubborn desire to have him close to me at all times to protect him, and how much of it was just selfishness on my part for wanting to hang around my boyfriend. They were two very different things, and I wasn't sure it wasn't _both_ of them.

Plus, Tapirmon wanted him back—Natsuko and Toshiko too—so it wasn't just me.

So we trudged through the gate, and through the barren Market. It was creepy here, and I didn't like it. Not after spending so long at the Coliseum with so many digimon around all the time. This was too empty, to ghost-like. I wanted to leave as fast as possible.

We headed up the stairs to the Council room, and saw Taichi working diligently. He had a calculator in front of him, and a few sheets of paper with what looked like Mimi's writing. They were lists of all the people and digimon they needed to find and bring to the Coliseum. He was the only one in the room, and there were just candles for lighting. There were twelve of them scattered all over the table, and he glowed in the dim, buttery light. He looked worse than Yoshie and Kae.

I turned off the program of the phone I was using—not mine by a long shot, too new—and appeared out of thin air. Mari followed suit and slammed her hand against the tabletop.

"We're here for the digimon," she said dramatically, smirking when Taichi jumped and looked at us in shock.

"I didn't think you'd be here so soon," he said, looking at the clock on the wall. "Or at all. Where are Yoshie and Kae?"

"Having a day of rest," I explained quickly.

"I don't have a list ready yet," Taichi said, grabbing at the papers in front of him.

"Don't worry about it," Mari said. "We're going to take who we want, and you're going to let us. That's how this will work."

He didn't like that idea. I knew he had it in his head that he had to put the Temple digimon ahead of his friends. He thought he couldn't play favourites, and that it was his duty to put others first, but it wasn't up to him today. Mari and I would be taking whoever the hell we pleased, and then we'd be back for more. Because we had a plan. An _awesome_ plan, and I was surprised no one else had thought of it.

"Fine," Taichi sighed. "But if I give you control, you're giving a spot to Jun."

"Whatever," I said, though he looked so serious that I didn't decide to protest out of spite. Something had happened to her—other than the fact that she'd been found. I got a queasy feeling in my stomach and headed out of the Council room. Taichi decided to lead us to the motel district. He knocked on a few doors, and after a lot of loud grumbling, people started to poke their heads through to see what Taichi wanted. Takeru was in a room with Ken, and Hikari was with Natsuni and Jenna. It was adorable. They still didn't share a room because they were wholesome like that.

I couldn't even be sarcastic about it like I wanted to, because Kiyoko and I didn't share either.

Daisuke looked miserable when he opened his door. I was surprised to see Kurayami stick her head out the fourth. She had a man with her who could only be her father, and there was a woman that I guessed had to be Daisuke's mother.

"Hideto and Mari are here to bring Jun to the Coliseum," Taichi told them. "And they're going to pick all the others at random."

"It's not random," I assured him.

"We made a list," Mari said with a grin.

"Go on," he sighed.

We had a lot of slots to fill. There had been only twenty three, before Momoe came up with the idea of using iPods. I'd grabbed nine of them from the store, and added my own personal one to the collection. Fumiko had added Hiroaki's as well. There were nineteen more phones than before too, with the influx of people. It was hard to keep up with the numbers. There were now fifty-five spaces available though, and only two hundred and ninety seven digimon at the Temple. It wouldn't exactly take a long time to get them transferred over now. Which meant there was no reason to wait to bring our friends and allies across.

"Okay," I called loudly. "I need Kurayami and the baby, her dad, her husband, her mother-in-law, her sister-in-law and her future brother-in-law."

"Can't you just use names?" Takeru groaned, wiping his eyes.

"I don't know everyone's names," I said with a snort. "Veemon, Labramon and the two frog digimon go too."

"What about Meramon," Shuu asked. He appeared in the doorway behind Daisuke and wasn't pleased with the new development.

"Obviously he'd melt the phone and then wouldn't be invisible anymore," Mari pointed out. "Honestly, even if he _could_ hold the phone, he'd make scorched footsteps all the way to the Coliseum. He'd give the secret location away. We can't bring him yet. We'll find a way to get him there. I just don't know what that is just yet."

"I don't want to leave him," Shuu said, shaking his head.

"I must stay," Meramon said, scaring the crap out of me when he appeared behind me. I whirled around to face him. "You must be with Jun. She needs you now more than ever. I will be safe within this shield. I will help all I can with your team, and let you know when we figure out a removal method for the devices."

"Thanks Meramon," Shuu said, before disappearing back into the room, probably to get Jun ready to travel. I wondered what specifically was wrong with her, but didn't bother to ask. I didn't want to rub salt into an open wound.

"There are ten phones for you, Kurayami, you'll have to share with the baby," I told her. She nodded, understanding completely. "Next we need Mimi and her parents and the two digimon. Palmon and the other one."

"Minervamon," Takeru supplied.

"Jou's still got family here, right?" I asked. "So we'll send them, that's another six people right?"

"Five," Daisuke correct. "Momoe went back to earth. She's sending Taichi's parents and those two you invited. Izumi and her friend."

"Awesome," I said feeling relieved to know she decided to come. I didn't care so much about her friend, but whatever, he could come. It was cool. "After that, we need the Americans. That means Jenna, her parents, Kudamon, Betamon, Tatum's parents, Lopmon and Terriermon. Is Michael back yet, because we'll take him too."

"He's not," Taichi told me. I sighed.

"You're not taking Jenna either," Jenna said firmly. "I'm staying here until either Michael comes back, or Chi decides to join us. You can't change my mind. They'll be chances to go later."

"Fine," Mari agreed. "But you _will_ go later." Jenna nodded.

"Ken, you and Hawkmon are going," I said. "Is Miyako out with Sora still, because they're on our list."

"They're not back yet," Taichi supplied. "They headed out yesterday to go to Neverland, and then Piximon was going to magic them to his place after that. On their way home they were going to stop by Fanglongmon's old base—where Ogremon's sending the dark digimon he finds—and shield that too. They should be back by tomorrow."

"Moving on," Mari said, taking over. "Iori needs some family over there. We need Fumiko, Meiyomon—and his brothers—Armadillomon, Natsuni and Goblimon."

"I'm waiting with Jenna," Natsuni said with wide, panicky eyes. "I can't go without Dad. I won't go without Dad."

"There are Dark Spore kids here or something right?" Mari asked. "Because they're coming, and bringing their digimon with them, and who else is there? Takeru and Hikari, so you guys are coming. We need Dracomon too."

"Yuudai," Takeru suggested. "He's my mom's boyfriend."

"That leaves," I said doing the math in my head. "Ten spaces for whatever digimon you want to send, Taichi."

We gave everybody listed a total of half an hour to get ready and down to the Market place. I tried to use that time to visit Kiyoko, but everybody kept asking me questions, or asking me whether I could carry something for them. It was annoying, and the half hour flew by without me even getting a glimpse at Kiyoko. I had to go to the Market, where I had fifty-five sets of eyes staring at me, waiting for instructions. Mari was walking around, passing out phones and iPods while I called loudly to everyone in front of me.

"I don't know how this works with Yoshie and Kae, but this is how it's gonna work today. No one talks until we get at least fifteen minutes of solid walking in, no one complains about needing the bathroom. We walk quickly and efficiently, and if you get separated from the group at any time, either use your digivices to find the rest of us, or turn around and head back here. We don't want to lose anyone out in there," I said in my loudest voice. "If you're a digimon and don't have a partner present, find a person to attach yourself to, because that will help if we get separated. We're working on the buddy system here, people."

"Once we've covered an hour's distance," Mari called, taking over for me. "We'll be switching it up. You'll give your phones and other devices to Hideto, and one of the digidestined will lead you to the Coliseum. We're aiming for high numbers today. You've all been trapped her _too_ long, and we want everyone at the Coliseum ASAP."

There was a bit of a cheer in the crowd, apparently we were inspiring them. It was kind of nice.

"We need absolute cooperation from you all today," I continued. "If you chose_ not_ to follow our instructions, then its best you remain here until tonight when Masami and Kazuya come and take over once again. You will not be getting away with anything with Mari and I in charge. The DWD are still right outside, and this plan could be dangerous if there is any misbehaviour. Our word will be your law. Do you understand?"

The general consensus was that _yes_ they did understand, and so our walk began.

We were determined to pull off our plan. I stayed at the front of the group, and Mari was in the back. She was holding the hands of a Gotsumon and a Floramon before she activated their phones. I knew Takeru was also following instructions and was letting Shinramon ride on the top of one of Satoe's bags, which he was stuck carrying, and Fumiko held the hand Meiyomon and Shinsetsumon., while Goblimon held Hikari's hand, whilst holding Armadillomon in the other.

Satoe was walking with Minervamon, and each held a bag in their free hand—though Satoe's was considerably smaller—with Keisuke, Satoe's husband, following behind with even more bags. Both Jeffersons were also preoccupied with bags, as those that didn't have digimon buddies to keep track of had to carry the brunt of the load. Michael's father was balancing Betamon on top of a stack of suitcases, while Lopmon and Terriermon balanced on his shoulders. Mary had Kudamon wrapped around her neck, and a bag in each hand—surprising me, since I thought she was a fat, lazy, woman, thanks to all of Terriermon's descriptions, which were very false. Isao and his step-daughter Cho were carrying bags, while his two other step-daughters and his wife held the hands of two digimon each. Daisuke was supporting his sister on one side, while Veemon tried to help her too. Shuu carried Jun's digimon, immediately behind Daisuke. Okotte, Kurayami's father was carrying a large load of bags, along with Daiuske's mother, while Labramon ran alongside them swishing his tail in a way that would hit one of them—his solution to not having any hands for a person to hold.

Ken was with Hawkmon and a Psychmon who he had sent to the Temple in the first place. The two male Dark Spore _adults_ had their partners beside them, and a bag in their free hand, while the lone female had no digimon at all. She looked miserable, and part of me wanted to see what I could do to help her feel better, but the stronger part of me just hoped she'd make it to the Coliseum without drawing attention. She looked ready to scream. She was carrying bags though, so at least she had a purpose. The last member of our team was Natsuko's boyfriend. He had as many bags as he could hold.

I wondered if many of these people thought this would be a simple stroll. They didn't seem too daunted by the fact that it took almost twelve hours for a round trip, there and back. They'd be walking for a solid six hours—and that was with no dawdlers!

Soon everyone was invisible, and Mari called out our first meeting spot—Yoshie's tea house—and we were all sneaking around the tanks and the people patrolling, hoping to not run into anybody. I had Dracomon with me, because I didn't trust anybody else to make sure Neo's partner made it to the Coliseum. He clutched my hand so tightly, and was so short that I eventually caved and just scooped him into my arms—heavy as he was; he was a dragon for crying out loud!—and just sort of ran around everybody dodging left and right and enjoying every second of it. It got the adrenaline pumping.

The only downside was the fact that I had literally all the lives of these people and digimon resting on my shoulders. If I screwed up and even one of these guys died because of my plan, I didn't know what I'd do with myself. Our plan was risky. I knew that. But there had never been any signs of DWD between the Temple and the Coliseum in all the times that Yoshie, Kae, Masami and Kazuya had made their trips. For the most part, they were all gathered right outside the Temple, trying to scare us into submission. They also _had_ a base in the water, but they probably moved that by now.

The point was, there shouldn't be any delays or problems with just having the digimon run straight at the Coliseum gate. Willis was supposed to be working on getting a shield set up around the perimeter anyway, so that no DWD would be able to get inside even if they _did_ follow these guys.

And I was planning on putting the other digidestined to work. I would've added Shuu to the list as well, since he'd been to the Coliseum and knew where it was too, but with Jun as she was, I thought it best to _not_ try and rock the boat there. I also wasn't too sure how comfortable Kurayami would be with handing her son off to someone while she waited for the next shipment of refugees, so I knew she was out of commission as well. But I had Mari, Hikari, Takeru, Mimi and Ken in addition to myself that would make good ferry drivers, so I could let Daisuke, Shuu and Kurayami all go together with the first shipment.

Mari called for attendance once we made it to the tea house. Everyone had made it. So far so good. We headed out for the first hour of the trip, and I was always searching, looking for a good checkpoint for our next attendance check, but nothing good ever really stuck out.

Eventually, we got far enough away from the Temple for people to start talking quietly, and boy did they jump at that chance. I learned very little from Dracomon though, since he was too scared to talk. He missed Neo, he told me that much, but I was an okay substitute. Not a good one. Just okay. But I totally understood where he was coming from. He wasn't _trying_ to make me feel bad, though he was doing a pretty good job.

"How are you holding up?" Shuu asked Jun.

"I'm fine," she said, exasperated. "I'm in a little pain, but its fine. I'm fine. Jou's probably made an antidote by now, and you'll laugh at how worried you're sounding."

"Sure," he said, though he obviously didn't believe it.

It did shed a little light on the situation though. She'd been shot, just like Noriko had. Problem was, Jou _hadn't_ created an antidote yet. In fact, last I'd heard, Noriko was missing a lung. Yep. A _lung_. I didn't know it was possible to live without one, but Willis assured me it was. He'd looked it up when Mari was curious. There were actually a lot of things you could live without, if you _had_ to. Hopefully those would be the things that the virus attacked next. Anything that would give her a better chance of survival.

I had to constantly quiet the group, and they'd listen at first, but only for a few moments, before they were chatting again. Did they not remember when they swore that my word would be their law for the duration of this trip? DWD could be anywhere in these woods. And they would be drawing attention to themselves, invisible or not.

God this was so nerve wracking. How did Yoshie and the others do this every day? I couldn't calm my heart even slightly, and there was nothing going on at all. It hadn't been this terrible when it was just Mari and I walking to the Temple this morning. Everything seemed really easy then. We were talking about numbers then though, but this time we were dealing with real, live beings. It was different. Very different. It put everything into perspective.

We walked for just over forty minutes before anything changed in the scenery. At first it was just a lot of trees and grass and sticks. It was all very monotonous, and at one time had seemed beautiful. After the change, there were still trees, and sticks and grass, but there were also a pair of blondes. At first glance I'd hoped it was Michael. But it wasn't. He wasn't a middle-aged man, and he wasn't a woman. He also didn't wear glasses, and both of these people did.

I knew her on sight: Yorokobi.

I had to look at him carefully; he was familiar, sort of. He was a lot older than he was the last time I'd laid eyes on him, and it showed. He still looked younger than he was, but to my eyes he looked positively ancient. He was Shigoto Fujimoto. He was my father.

I didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted to run, to leave these people I was meant to help, and just get out of there. I didn't need to be near them, it wasn't good for me. They were horrible people and they left me a shell of a man for so long. Neo helped me through it, and then Mari and Kiyoko too, but I still wasn't over the damage they'd done to me. To my sense of self-worth.

And now to my friends.

Takeru knew one of them—my guess was my father. I could tell, because he gasped somewhere behind me to the left. Ken knew Yorokobi, or at least I assumed he did. She was dating his brother-in-law in any case. I wasn't sure how much of that relationship was real though. She wasn't kind enough, nice enough, _thoughtful_ enough to be with Mantarou and mean it.

_Ignore them_, I told myself. _Get passed them, and everything will be okay_.

And we might've gotten away with it too, if someone hadn't stepped on a stick and snapped it in half at that exact moment. Yorokobi looked sharply towards the sound, while my father continued on his merry way. She was suspicious though, and wouldn't just pass off the noise like my father did. She looked carefully all around her, even going over towards where she thought the sound was from. I crossed my fingers and hoped it was Ken and Hawkmon, or Hikari, Armadillomon and Goblimon. They were the most likely to behave, and stay perfectly still and calm as she got close.

Finally, she looked away, satisfied that there was nothing there.

Almost as one we let out a sigh of relief—figuratively, since it would cause too much noise if it were literally done. They started walking off, not fast, still searching for something. I didn't know what it was they were looking for though, and I wished I did.

"It's a good thing we're invisible," Otamamon said, loud and clear. "Or else that could've been _bad_."

"It's bad now," Shuu hissed at him.

But it was too late. Yorokobi pulled out her gun and Dad followed suit a second later. They were shooting at random, not able to see their targets. I breathed a real sigh of relief when I noticed they weren't wielding the lethal guns, just the tracking ones. It still wasn't _good_ by any means, but it was better, because we still didn't know how to remove them, but it was good to know they'd all still be alive by the end.

I just wished I could see what was going on. I heard tracking devices bouncing off of suitcases, making it easy enough for me to imagine our luggage carriers were using their loads to become shields for the digimon around them by jumping in front of the tracking devices. I heard Fumiko scream as a tracking device bounced off of her, which prompted Takeru to jump in front of several without a suitcase for a shield, having realized they wouldn't stick to him, as a human, and he could protect his buddy—Shinramon—by abandoning the luggage and most likely cradling the tiny robot in his arms. I heard Hikari leading Goblimon and Armadillomon behind a bunch of trees and out of the line of fire. I tripped over Labramon who headed over and bit Dad's ankle. He aimed towards the ground, but ended up only shooting his own foot.

Everything seemed to be going alright. I bellowed for everyone to make a run for it and remember the contingency plan, and I heard the sounds of many scattering feet.

But there was one very unwelcome sound. Palmon let out a horrific shout, and I heard her fall to the ground. I just couldn't find her.

"I'm hit!" she shouted. "I'm hit! Mimi!"

"Palmon! Palmon, where are you?" Mimi called out pleadingly. She was close to me, and I hesitated for just a second before thrusting Dracomon into her arms.

"I've got her," I told her. "Just go!"

She didn't want to, but I knew she would. She agreed to listen to me, after all. And Mimi was the one digidestined that trusted me completely, no questions asked. I heard her rush off, and set about finding Palmon. She was a smart plant, and was keeping quiet. It didn't really help me find her though. Yorokobi pulled out a hand-held device and smirked.

"They might have _her_," she said gleefully. "But she'll lead us right to the lot of them. It's our lucky day, Daddy. We've hit the jackpot."

"Oh good," Dad said, not really paying attention, as he was inspecting the bite that Labramon gave him.

"What's this?" Yorokobi said, confused. "They don't have her at all. She's still here. In fact..." She let her voice trail off, and took a few measured steps staring at the screen in her hand. She reached out with her hand, and closed her fingers around something. "She's right here."

"Let me go!" Palmon called frantically.

"I don't think so," Yorokobi said.

"Yeah," I said. "Well _I_ do. You let her go, right now, Yorokobi. Or you'll regret it."

"Will I now?" she drawled, looking thoughtful. "You're Hideto. What are you doing with this lot? You leave your family, abandon everything we believe in. You're with _them_? To think a Fujimoto has fallen so far as to need _digimon_ for allies. It makes me sick. You have a place with our family, if ever you come to your senses, dear brother."

"Hideto?" Dad asked surprised.

"Yeah," I said. "And I'm just going to disappoint you further, Dad. My bad."

I rushed over to Yorokobi, winded my arm back and let it go, slamming my fist into her face. She fell back, startled, blood bursting from her nose. She shrieked. Her hands fluttered to her face, pulling one back and screaming at the sight of her own blood. I had to admit, it felt _good_. To finally get her back for everything she'd done to me in my life, and for hitting Palmon, for infiltrating Miyako's family.

Everything.

I picked up the device she'd been using and threw it into the bushes. If they wanted it, they'd have to hunt it down. I dropped to my hands and knees, feeling around for Palmon. My hand brushed against hers, and she practically crawled into my arms, shaking horribly. I got to my feet and started backing away from the scene. From my father and my sister. Again. Just like when I was eighteen. I'd been just as unsure then as I was now. What did the future hold for me this time? I sure hoped there were a lot fewer struggles—but somehow, I doubted that.

"Hideto!" Dad snarled, angry that I would ever dare to injury his precious daughter, the light in his eye, the joy of his life. She wasn't worth all of his praise—not that I was either. He'd made sure I'd never forget that fact.

I didn't stick around to get scolded though. I was a grown man, twenty six years old—going on twenty seven—and he couldn't ground me anymore. He wasn't in control of my life. I couldn't let him sink his fingers into me again. Not when it took me so long to break free the first time. But I knew that if I stuck around, he'd succeed. He always did. Because he was a winner, a champion, the best of the best. And I was just his deepest, darkest secret. I was the stain on the Fujimoto family, the disappointment in their eyes. And I would never be able to change that.

I wasn't even sure I _wanted_ to.

Pulling out my digivice, I followed the dots, noticing a large collection of them. Palmon was still shaking in my arms, when we arrived in a clearing with everyone. I couldn't detect the digimon with my digivice, but I hoped that everyone had kept track of their buddy. Mimi had better still have Dracomon. I didn't want to face Neo if I'd lost him.

"It's safe for now to turn off the phones," I called. "Yorokobi's been otherwise detained."

Everyone followed my instructions immediately, and I wasn't pleased with what I saw. It wasn't that anybody was missing—a blessing on its own—but everyone looked dishevelled, and several people had angry red welts on their faces. There were very few bags that had survived the scuffle, and the ones that did all have dings and dents in them, as they'd been used for shields.

"What's the new plan?" Ken asked.

"Same plan," I declared. "Slight alteration. Mimi—"

"I know," she said, exchanging Dracomon for Palmon. "We'll head a different way. They can track Palmon now. We'll lead them on a chase across the Digital World if we need to. They'll be so distracted by us that you'll be able to get to the Coliseum no problem. How long do we have?"

"Not long," I said sheepishly. "They'll find their equipment soon enough. Jun needs to get to the Coliseum, so we don't have time to waste."

"Right," Mari said. "So Daisuke and Kurayami will lead this group, as fast as physically possible to their destination, while Hideto takes Hikari, Takeru and Ken with him back to the Temple, because there's no way you're going alone with your family out in the woods. Besides, you'll need digivices for the buddy system to work. Either that or find a long piece of rope so the digimon can't get separated."

"What about you?" I asked. She looked to Mimi. "Right," I said. She wouldn't want Mimi to lose Palmon like she'd lost Lalamon. She'd do whatever it took to keep Palmon safe.

We debated for a minute, less even, about who would go and who would stay. In the end, we followed Mari's instructions, only adding the Dark Spore _adults_ as they also had digivices and would be an asset. Then I collected all of the phones and music devices, and watched them all race off into the trees, praying that our plan wasn't stupid, and that everyone would make it just fine. Mimi, Mari and Palmon had already turned their phones back on and disappeared from view, so I had no idea if they'd left already or not. I wished they hadn't, because there was so much I wanted to tell Mari, just in case. But it was probably for the best.

We needed to take advantage of the distraction Palmon had become. The DWD would search far and wide for her, and while I didn't like it, it would prove useful to us in our quest to relocate the digital refugees.

And maybe while I was at the Temple, I'd see about getting the phones outfitted with Kiyoko's new shield program too, just in case.

_**Willis Kennedy:**_

"I did it! I did it!"

The high voice was echoing through the hallways. It was fading though so I knew they were heading to the others. It was hard to decipher what was real and what was a distorted echo, but I was pretty sure it sounded like Agumon. What he had done though, I did not know.

"_We_ did it," Gabumon corrected him softly.

I looked up from the computer I was working on. I was pretty sure it was Hikari's, but I really didn't know. Kiyoko had just posted to the blog asking everyone to set up the shields anywhere they thought needed protection in the Digital World. He was only giving them a few days to do it before he removed it from the site though, just to be safe. So I didn't want to put it off any further. The Coliseum, though invisible and entirely well protected, was not _fully_ protected. But it soon would be. The program was downloading onto the computer, and I was prepared to create a barrier to protect everyone.

Annoyingly though, Mari and Hideto had set off early this morning in place of Yoshie Izumi and Kae Ichijouji to the Temple to collect digimon. My plans for today were to do exactly that, and go to the Temple to see my partners. I had a few chances I could remember, but I hadn't thought of the plan at the time, and whenever I _could_ remember the plan I was too late, or busy doing something. But whenever Mari came back I'd be able to take hers and go in her place. I knew she wouldn't keep that from me.

But they were just taking so long.

"What did you do?" Yamato asked from the other end of the room. I looked to him to see him wrapping a bandage around a baby Koromon who had been sure he'd broken a bone. Gabumon and Agumon both skidded to a stop outside the dining chamber, which was where I'd taken to sitting now that it was completed. Much fewer digimon came here compared to the living chamber, and better yet, the digimon that _did_ come were rarely the children, so it was calm and quiet. Except for now, with Agumon's excitement.

Agumon was gasping for breath from having run from wherever it was he had been, and motioned for us to follow before running back. Gabumon took a second to notice his friend had run off, but was gone after him as well, leaving Yamato and I to shrug to one another before following along. They were out of sight already but the sound of their feet slapping against the stone floor was easy to follow even through the echoes.

We passed Unimon's room, which was bigger than some of the other rooms because we hoped to fit Jou's dad in there with him. Unimon was currently sitting, a depressed look on his face, as Masami and Kazuya pulled baseball sized burrs from his wings. Unimon refused to sit still, and explained he craved the open skies, and so we'd let him out whenever he wanted. We couldn't control everyone here, even if it would be easier if we could. Maybe these burrs would convince him to stay inside more often. At least until Isao Kido came back to tell him what to do.

In Mari's library that she'd set up, Katsue was sitting, her legs curled up as she leaned against one of the shelves, reading. Monimon was taking pictures of each page as he flipped through his own book next to her. And since there were so many people, and having them all stay in their bedrooms all day every day was a bad idea, and a living room and a dining room would never be enough, there was also a lounge area. This was where Lunamon, Coronamon, Mushroomon, Digitamamon and their partners Toshiko, Natsuko, Kae and Yoshie were all drinking tea. I knew Kiyoko would be upset to have missed a 'team mom' meeting. Whatever that even meant. Why couldn't they just call themselves friends, like everyone else?

Yamato winced, and it took me only a moment to understand why. As we were walking past the infirmary we could both hear Noriko gasp for breath. "I'm _fine_, guys!" She insisted from within, when her onlookers likely tried to help. She could live without a lung. I looked it up. It was possible—the pope was living without one of his lungs and he was still alive and able to do whatever it was pope's actually do! Noriko could still be entirely fine as long as we could fix the problem before she lost too many other organs. I was rooting for the appendix next to be honest. That ball of poison inside your body that does nothing until it pops and tries to kill you. She could have it removed without a scar to show for it...

Not that it would make up for everything she was going through. Last night I'd gone in to see her when Jou was eating dinner, and it didn't look good.

"_Hey," She'd said to me as I slowly closed the door. She was alone aside from Impmon. I thought maybe she had wanted some alone time with him, so I was willing to leave, but chose not to when I noticed Impmon was actually asleep. "Willis, right?"_

"_Yeah," I nodded, "Hi..." I moved to sit next to her in a chair that looked worn in, like someone had not moved from it in days. I turned to her and she smiled down at me optimistically. She wasn't fooling me. I knew she wasn't happy, or braving this out. She was putting on a happy face to trick everyone into thinking she was going to be okay. I could see in her eyes that she wasn't though. "Can I see it?" I asked her, being quite forward._

"_Yeah," She said, adjusting her position gently to not wake her sleeping partner. With another look to Impmon I could see that he had cried himself to sleep in her lap. Noriko pulled down the collar of her shirt a little to show me the burnt skin under her collarbone. "Here it is. In the flesh."_

_I didn't say anything at first, and just stared momentarily before finding it too difficult. I leaned back in my chair and sighed, "Did he try to suck the energy out, like poison?"_

"_Yep." She said quickly._

"_Did he try to neutralize it?" _

"_Mhm," She hummed, "He's still trying actually. But it just isn't working."_

"_What about—"_

"_Can we not?" Noriko interrupted. "Can we not do this right now?" I nodded and we were both silent for a long time. I thought she might want me to leave, but I didn't know how to go about doing so, but then she whispered something, "I regret so much."_

"_What?" I asked, not quite catching it. She didn't respond at first, and it gave time for the words to settle. _

"_Nothing," Noriko said, smiling down to me. "I didn't say anything." She paused and looked down to Impmon and a tear fell down to him, splashing onto his forehead. "Can you go now?"_

"_Of course," I told her, my voice choked on its way out. When I closed the door behind me she had begun sobbing. _

Yamato was beside me still, walking after his partner and Taichi's Agumon—at least It thought it was their partners. "Jou can do it..." Yamato muttered quietly. "He can."

"Of course," I said as cheery as possible. Yamato snapped his head to look to me as if he forgot I was there. I waved awkwardly and then we continued in silence. When we came to the cross road it was impossible to _not_ hear Pal and Pul screaming at Babamon who was telling them they were not allowed a cookie. Rei was defending them and in the end MetallifeKuwagamon ripped the cookies away from the twins and ate them himself to stop the arguments.

The partner-less digimon, Wormmon, Tapirmon, Warg and Melga were all working together to take care of the baby digimon in the living room in Hideto's absence. Mr Ogremon was with them, but not paying much attention, relaxing while he still had the chance to do so. I saw Emiko, Beramon, Monmon and Masa sitting just outside the living room, but they looked like they might all be on time out, so I didn't say anything.

And then we'd found Agumon and Gabumon who had stopped somewhere in the West around a big door. "Tadaa!" they said together motioning to the big hole in the wall.

"Cool," Yamato said, "What... is it?" I was glad he'd asked, because I didn't know either.

"The secret passage!" Agumon said, angry that we weren't excited, "The one on Kiyoko's map? We finally found it! We can move people in once we clean it up!"

Oh. I should have paid closer attention to where we were going, but it didn't matter now. I walked right through the door, picking up a lantern Agumon had been using, and stepped into the dark passageways. "Where are you going?" Agumon asked, nervously following me.

"I'll go tell Rei," Gabumon said, trying to find something to give him an out. Neither was fond of the darkness, and that freaked me out. Digimon were able to sense things that human's couldn't. Did that mean this wasn't a good place to be going? Yamato looked for all the world like he wanted to follow Gabumon, but instead he stepped into the passage with me.

I thought maybe we should have gone to get the map Agumon had mentioned, but figured we'd be able to find our way. The passage was as grimy and wet as the rest of the Coliseum had been when we'd arrived, but for some reason there were no lights attached to the walls or ceiling like the rest of the hallways. Had the others installed them, or was this a lesser used portion of the Coliseum itself? Yamato shuddered vocally when he accidentally brushed his arm against the wall, jumping to the center of the hallway. I didn't blame him, it was really gross. What had Kiyoko made this place out of that created this much sludge on the walls?

I saw a golden trim framing a doorway on the wall ahead, lit by the dim light of the lantern hanging from the brass ring in my hand. Slowly I stepped up to it with Agumon and Yamato at my side and as one we all shrieked loudly.

It had been a mirror. We'd just been scared of our own reflection. Agumon's nerves were getting to me, and clearly to Yamato as well. "It says something," Yamato said, using his fingers to point to the golden frame. "I can't read digi-writing."

"I can't read at all," Agumon admitted, leaning closer to check his teeth in the mirror.

"I can't either," I told Yamato, but made a mental note to get Kiyoko in here later to check it out.

"You're a genius, but you can't read?" Agumon asked, "That's funny. Taichi can read even—but he doesn't like sitting still so he reads while he does things. It's funny to watch. Sometimes he walks around, and then he walks into something because he's interested in the story."

"Oh," I said, hardly paying attention. Yamato and Agumon began sharing funny and embarrassing stories of things Taichi had done, while I stepped away from them, down to the end of the hall. I passed a hallway that led off to more cells, which was what we needed. More space for digimon to live. But what really caught my attention was the thick wooden door at the end of the hallway.

The door was made of many rotted planks of wood all tied together with a metal belt. There was something really weird about the door too, something I wasn't looking forward to experiencing when I went through.

"Don't run off like that," Yamato warned, coming up behind me. "It's dark in here."

Agumon was practically cowering behind Yamato's leg as he stared at the door, "Don't go in there," He told me. "It's dark."

"It's dark everywhere," I told him, reaching for the metal chain that was strung through the door where the doorknob would usually go, "at least until someone turns on the light." And then I pulled the door open, and all three of us gasped.

We hadn't seen anything exactly, but the darkness inside was definitely strong. It was like the scent of fear if that was possible. It felt like my blood was rushing away from something that desperately wanted to drain it. It was like the darkness inside the room had been pickling and growing stronger and was now ready to be consumed. I braced myself, swinging the lantern around to shed some light on the room before stepping inside. In the brief moment that the light cast around the room I saw it was an office of sorts. Chains were hanging from the walls, and there were swords and spears, and basically everything inside looked dangerous. Even the table in the center had edges that looked like a saw.

I stepped inside stupidly, and looked around quickly, making sure no one was inside. "What is this place?" I asked as Yamato followed me, dragging Agumon along.

"I think I know," Agumon said quietly, "Maybe. It reminds me..." He trailed off but I didn't notice. I was busy looking to the papers on the desk. There was one that was written in harsh writing that I couldn't read, and some others that looked like blueprints to something. But the one that I couldn't stop staring at was a pencil drawing of Miyako, in her bed, sleeping. Beside her was another person, maybe Ken? But somehow it didn't look like it.

"Sigma?" I asked Agumon. He looked up and nodded slowly.

"Really," Yamato said sharply. I looked to him and followed his eyes that were focusing on the right wall where there were large drawings carved into the walls. There were four, each of them with wings. They were fairies, and each of them were hanging in the pictures. "Let's go." He said.

"Yeah..." I said awkwardly, hurrying out of the room. I closed the door when Agumon and Yamato followed me out, and I latched it shut. "Let's tell Rei not to go in there."

"Good idea." Yamato agreed.

We left the newly found hallway and found Rei, Pal, Pul and Gabumon waiting for us. I left Yamato and Agumon to explain and I found myself looking for Tapirmon. He was still with the babies, and I knelt down to him, asking him if I could talk to him. He followed me to the hallway, and floated up to my eye level, "There's a room," I told him, "In the new hallway that was just found. It was Sigma's." He looked terrified, so I put my hands up and calmed him, "Just don't go inside."

"Okay," He agreed, looking over his shoulder. "D-do you know when Kiyoko is coming back?" I shook my head apologetically. Tapirmon looked depressed and then floated off. I could relate. I wanted my partners back so bad I wanted to fly off somewhere to find them.

Only, I knew where they were.

I was back at Hikari's computer moments later, shooing Emiko and Monmon away as they pressed random buttons on the keyboard. I was finishing the shield that had been downloaded. I pressed 'enter' and instantly there was a reaction. A bubble of warmth shot out to surround the Coliseum. Hopefully it wouldn't be seen from the outside. The Coliseum was invisible to whoever did not know it was there, so perhaps the shield would be as well.

I'd done everything I could do here, that was all there was to it really... and I was tired of waiting around for people to tell me what to do next. I was a grown man and since both Taichi and Daisuke were not present that meant I was my own leader. I looked to Tapirmon as he floated past the dining room and I sighed. He was so sad.

I could go get Kiyoko for him. Just like I'd go get Terriermon and Lopmon.

Right. Now.

"Emiko," I said to her as she lazily pushed a ball across the floor to where her cousin sat. "Can I have your digivice."

"No!" She said, shaking her head, "It's very important."

I was sure her mother had told her that. "Yes, I'm aware." I said.

"So no." She said.

"I'll give it back," I said, "I just need to borrow it. I don't have mine."

"You can't have it." She said sharply, then she sighed, "Because I lost it. Literally."

Of course she did. I turned to Masa who was shrieking loudly while Monmon tried to rip the ball away from him. I pulled Monmon away from him and set him back down, kneeling to Masa's level again. "Hey, what have you got there?" I asked him, pointing to where a digivice coated in cheese powder was attached to his waistband. "That's mine I think."

"No," Masa said confused, "Kunemon said it was mine."

"He lied," I said nervously. Why was I lying to this kid? Because the shields didn't allow people without digivices to go through. I needed one because Director Arnold had taken mine. "It's mine."

"I'm sorry," Masa said, his eyes wide as he handed me the digivice, "I didn't mean to take it."

"It's okay." I told him, "You can have it even. Just, when I get back."

"Okay," He smiled at me, hugging my leg. I really wasn't sure why Emiko disliked him so much, other than the dirty handprints he left on my socks. I ran through the hallways, eager to get outside and to the Temple to see my partners. Finally. It had been exactly a month since I'd seen them. It was the twenty-fourth of May now, and I didn't care what anyone had to say. Taichi could stay away from Agumon if he wanted to, but I wasn't going to stay away from my partners anymore. Especially since it was my birthday soon. I wanted them to be there _with_ me! I was turning twenty-five. That was a big thing, and I needed my best friends to be there with me.

I had until Friday to see my friends again. Or else I'd be old and they'd probably not even recognize me.

I took Hikari's computer with me because I'd helped Kiyoko on his invisibility technique, installing it to the computer in the process. I'd need to be invisible if I intended to get into the Temple.

And so I was, and I was walking. I didn't remember exactly how long the walk was supposed to be, and I really didn't care. I just wasn't going to sit around and wait anymore. The Coliseum was really not much better than being stuck at work. Sure, it was better than the prison Arnold had put me in, but not better than when I'd been there voluntarily. Well, not _much_ better. The beds were softer, I got one to myself, and there was the possibility for a warm shower—_if_ I got up earlier than everyone else which simply was never going to happen. But I didn't even have my own clothes. Sure there were some things that Mari and Hideto had picked up for me during their 'shopping' spree, but it just wasn't _mine_. And I couldn't even go back to my house because it was apparently unsafe. Whatever that was supposed to mean.

The walk to the Temple went well, but early on I thought I heard someone coming, so I froze and stayed quiet. I'd forgotten I was invisible, so I stayed perfectly still and hidden behind a tree so they couldn't see me, but that also meant I was unable to see who they were. I was sure it had to be someone, unless I was just hearing things, but when the noise faded I continued on my way, dodging a bullet I was sure. Other than that small bump in the road, the walk was smooth, and soon I was creeping past the tanks, and through the open Temple door.

I saw Takeru first thing, standing with some digimon that were fighting one another for a space in the travel. Had they not left yet? I'd thought they would have nearly been _back_ to the Coliseum by this point in the day. Hideto was away from the group, sitting on a bench, his fingers wrapped around some girl's. It was one of the dark spore girls, and Hideto looked to be comforting her in the same spot he had done for Mari when Lalamon died. I didn't know what had happened, but I knew it was bad.

I turned off the invisibility program on the computer in my hand as Ken rushed past. He smiled to me, waving kindly, and then froze. "Wait, what are you doing here?" I looked over his shoulder and saw Hikari and Takeru looking to me confused as well. "Willis, go back!"

"Why?" I asked, nearly panicked. Was something happening? Why was everyone staring at _me_?

"We just sent Terriermon and Lopmon to the Coliseum." Ken said, checking his watch, "They should be there by now."

"What?" I asked, my face deadpanned as his words sunk in. He had to be joking.

"Sorry," Ken said awkwardly, "You should go back."

I shook my head in disbelief. They had to be joking. But whatever. It was a long walk, but now I knew that I could get back to the Coliseum to see my partners. They were there waiting for _me_ this time. But I wasn't going to keep them waiting like Taichi had done last time. I wasn't a Knight and there was no excuse as to why I needed to stay. So I'd be going.

"Come with us," Ken suggested. "Hikari and I are going to lead the next group to the Coliseum. None of them know where that is, so they'll need us. You may as well walk with some friends."

I nodded, "Okay..." I waited for them to get set up, to tell everyone the rules, hoping for a chance to talk to Mari, but I couldn't see her anywhere, and no one was giving me the time of day to actually answer my questions.

Soon though, we were getting ready to leave. Hikari kissed Takeru on the cheek, saying goodbye, and he set off with Hideto to collect more digimon. There were a _lot_ of digimon we were to be taking over. How we were supposed to keep them quiet, I didn't know. Ken took initiative, turning himself invisible, and soon the digimon followed suit. Some couldn't understand how to work the phone, so Hikari helped them out, and some didn't even have hands so they had the phones tied to them with whatever was available. Luckily we had new cells for them to live in, so they'd be able to actually sleep somewhere when we got them across.

"Let's go," Ken called out, apparently leading the way. I would have to trust him and go. I bumped into a few digimon on the way out the door, and knew this wasn't going to go well. Some of the digimon were really big, and the door opened wider as they tried to squeeze through. It was weird to see it move on its own, but _I_ knew they were invisible. What would the enemies outside thing if they saw it?

I was in the rear of the group, well at least I was pretty sure I was, and I was heading toward the door when I heard someone trip behind me. I turned to help them up, but they weren't nearby. It was Kiyoko and he was in the center of the plaza. He pulled himself to his feet, pleased no one was around to see his fall.

I groaned, and quickly ran over to him, turning off the invisibility. "Kiyoko!"

He screamed and spun around quickly, sighing when he saw me. "Willis, why are you here?"

"I promised Tapirmon I'd bring you back with me." I told him, "Come on, let's go."

"I can't go," Kiyoko said, shaking his head, "I love Tapirmon but there are so many things that need to be done. I'm advancing the shields, trying to help Jou discover the solution to Noriko and Jun's problems, and trying to remove the tracking devices so we can save Palmon, Mimi and Mari."

"Woah," I said holding my hand up, "Back up." He looked nervous, like he'd said something wrong, "Jun was shot? That's Daisuke's sister isn't it?" Kiyoko nodded, "And Mari is in trouble?"

"Palmon was tracked, and the enemies are following her." Kiyoko said, "So obviously I have to help her. And help Jun and Noriko, and all the digimon of the world."

As he said it Jenna appeared from the doorway to the shop behind him. She rolled her eyes and stepped forward, "Funny," She said, "How all of those things are more important than Michael. Why is no one trying to help _him_?"

Kiyoko turned and crossed his arms nervously, "I-I'm sorry, I don't know how to help him. I'm just doing all that I can."

"I know how though," Jenna said, annoyed, "I know where he was going. I think. He was trying to destroy the weapons. The tracker guns. He also went through a big ordeal to get this," she pulled a tracker out of her pocket and handed the small plastic red device to Kiyoko. "And it might help with your mission. But that means someone has to help me find Michael."

"I'll do it." I said, my stomach seizing up. Why was I saying that? Wouldn't it be easier to go back and see my partners? Obviously. But if Michael, Mari, Mimi, Palmon, Noriko and Jun were all in trouble... if I could do anything to help them here, which I was sure I could... would that not be worth the wait to see them again. "I'll stay. I'll help."

Jenna smiled, and I knew I was doing the right thing, but God did it suck.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Mimi and Michael find themselves on different intertwining chases as they fight for a common goal: Freedom.


	38. Wild Goose Chase

**Y/N: **Mimi's was pretty intense this time around.

**U/N: **Okay, Michael xD So he goes a little insane in this one and it lasts for a while too... I guess it makes sense that not everyone can let everything they go through roll right off their back. It was kind of fun and really really easy to write, so that probably means it isn't good, but that's alright xD

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 4: War**

**Chapter 38: Wild Goose Chase**

_**Mimi Tachikawa:**_

I couldn't believe this was happening. Just a couple of minutes ago we were happy. We were heading to the Coliseum, we were going to be safe forever. My parents were finally in the Digital World, and Minervamon was here and _they_ were all going to be safe with me. But we weren't safe, Palmon and me. We were running for our lives because Palmon had gotten tagged by one of their tracking devices.

I felt like such a failure.

I'd seen the welts on Takeru's face, I saw Fumiko nursing her wounded arm. They'd jumped in front of the tracking devices and taken the brunt of the blast, saving Meiyomon and his brothers from being hit. I hadn't done that for Palmon. When the first shot fired, I'd let go of her hand. I thought she'd run and escape and meet me at the Coliseum, or go back to Koushiro at the Temple. I didn't think she would wait around and get hit. I wanted to save her, by being the distraction.

I'd been stupid enough to forget I was invisible, and therefore unable to be an effective distraction.

Now Palmon had been hit, because of my own stupid mistakes, and I'd let Hideto save her. His voice was so calm, so relaxed. He knew what he was doing and he was still in charge of his actions. I was a mess. I knew it. Palmon knew it too, because she was the same. We both piled all of our emotions close to our heart, but tried to be strong for one another. I knew she cried when she thought I wasn't around. I _tried_ so hard to keep my emotions in check, but they were always bubbling over. It was just so _hard_.

Everything was meant to be simpler. We were supposed to be enjoying picnics and baking cookies with Mom, enjoying the sunshine and the togetherness of all our friends. But it wasn't like that at all. We were on the run, Palmon bearing a tracking device that would always lead the enemy directly to us. We would never be able to take a break. We'd never be able to slow down and smell the roses. We had to keep moving at all times.

Those two blonde haired, glasses wearing demons weren't the only DWD in the Digital World. I was fairly certain that we had them all running at us all the time. We had to stay one step ahead. If we didn't, I'd lose Palmon. And I couldn't let that happen. So I kept her hand firmly grasped in my own, knowing that we couldn't go to Coliseum for safety, and we couldn't lead the DWD to Fanglongmon's old base, or Neverland, or Primary Village, or to Piximon's safe haven. We couldn't _go_ anywhere, not even back to the Temple. There were so many of DWD's soldiers waiting there, we'd never get through them all. They'd know Palmon's exact location, and unless I let her digivolve—which would bring even _more_ unwanted attention—she wouldn't be able to get into the Temple. She could fly over the walls as Lilymon, and Mari and I could slip through the gate. But they'd just shoot Lilymon out of the air and I'd still lose her.

So we ran, and we would keep running, forever if we had to. I would _not_ lose Palmon.

But we wouldn't need to continue forever. Koushiro was working hard with his team to free the digimon from the very same tracking devices that Palmon wore. Once he could safely free all of the digimon at the Temple, I knew he'd come find me. He loved Palmon too. He'd never _said_ it, but he'd barely ever told me that he loved _me_. It didn't make it any less true though. It just made it more special when he actually voiced his feelings.

He wouldn't let us be caught; he wouldn't leave us to die out here.

And then when he did come, we would go to the Coliseum, and we would be happy together with our friends and our families, and we'd be _safe_ together within an invisible new home protected by a shield and everyone could be happy.

But for now, I ran.

Palmon was shaking like a leaf in my hand, and her legs were much short than mine. She kept tripping and stumbling and I felt like a horrid person for pushing her so much, forcing her to do more than she was able to, but I was so scared for her, I couldn't risk a slower pace. It helped that Mari was holding her other hand, so that every time Palmon tripped, we just pulled her arms higher—as though she was a carefree toddler and not in danger of losing her life—and swung her through the air, letting her feet touch the ground safely once more.

We didn't talk, we just ran. We needed to get as much distance between us and those rotten DWD demons as possible, because they were worse than any digimon we'd ever faced, and I didn't want to have to deal with being in their presence. With all of our digimon enemies, we'd known that even if our digimon were killed, we'd get them back again. We didn't want it to happen of course, and I was so pleased and thankful that it had never happened to Palmon, but it _could_ have if the very worst had happened. But with these humans, if she died, that was it, forever. I'd be alone and never see her again.

How could it be that the Great Evils had more humanity than humankind seemed to?

When we fought the Great Evils—so long as we were in the Digital World, and let's face it, we mostly always were—we had a failsafe. The Great Evils knew it too. That's why the tended to _pick_ the Digital World as their battle ground. The failsafe worked in their favour too. They would be reborn and would have a chance to try again later. It was how Lucemon had fought against the original digidestined and was still around to work for Daemon when he was needed. It was how we'd faced Apocolymon and the Dark Masters and LadyDevimon so many times. It was the reason that Devimon was always trying to take over the Digital World—I had to hand it to the guy, he never accepted defeat; he _always_ bounced back. Myotismon had even found a way _around_ the death he would've been dealt when he was on Earth, by possessing that man.

But the DWD weren't going to give anyone the second—or third, or fourth, or fifth—chance that the Digital World was fond of giving. Each digimon had the choice to allow the darkness to influence them. A lot of them did, since courting the darkness allowed them to digivolve further, quicker. But they also had the choice to simply ignore it. And sometimes all it took was a kind action, or a thoughtful phrase to remind a digimon that there was still something _good_ worth fighting for.

That's how Mom and Minervamon met after all.

The Digital World was a kind and beautiful place where second chances were always given. I'd been rotten so many times in my past, but by gifting me the crest of purity, the Digital World had afforded me so many chances too. It wasn't just a good place for Digimon. And even when the evils of the Digital World overflowed and threatened to destroy more than itself, the Digital World always had ways to ensure that it didn't happen. They had the Digidestined, and now they had the Knights and the Council. They were a self-sufficient world, that took care of their own problems, never asking for anything from anyone.

Earth was different.

I'd never thought it would be, but it was. They always wanted the Digital World to solve its problems—most were _caused_ by the Digimon, but that was irrelevant—demanding that the issues be taken care of, but _never_ doing anything in return.

I was _there_ when the digimon were cast off of Earth into a black abyss. I'd travelled through so many years to be there, to _see _it happen. I knew that humans could be horrid, but I'd thought they'd changed. And I knew there was so much progress from that time to the modern one. Women were people, racism, while still around was criticized greatly, and had greatly diminished. We accepted different sexual orientations, and animal cruelty, abuse and bullying were all topics that people actively fought against. We were owning up to societies mistakes and trying to obliterate them.

But they still, after all of these years, _couldn't_ accept digimon, even though they were a part of our world from the beginning. It was their natural home too until the humans banned them from calling it such. They threw them in a black hole and now they were chasing them down in the home Hiraga built for them, trying to take that away from them too.

I was almost glad that Gennai wasn't around to see it. He didn't deserve to see his hard work, _Hiraga's_ hard work be attacked so furiously. He didn't need to see his precious friends being shot at, to see his handpicked digidestined unable to do anything to save it. He was better off not knowing.

I felt like I'd failed him too, not just Palmon.

Tears threatened to fall from my eyes, but still I forced my feet to keep going. I didn't have time to cry yet. I could cry later, when this was all over and Palmon was safe, and I was with my mother, and my father and all of my friends. I could cry out of relief and happiness. That was the best kind of crying. It meant things were going right, and that everything was fine.

I wished it was that way now.

Palmon would never blame me for letting go of her hand. I knew she wouldn't, because that was the way she was. But I would never forgive myself. It was a mistake that shouldn't have happened. If I'd just held on to her hand I could've protected her from that stupid tracking device and we wouldn't be running now. I hated to run. I wasn't good at it. I worked at a restaurant—preferably in the kitchen—or I used to. I didn't have any real _need_ to be able to run a marathon. I was on my feet enough to get a healthy amount of exercise, but that was it. No. I wouldn't forgive myself for doing this to Palmon—she hated running even more than me. She preferred to fly in the open skies as Lilymon and see the world from above. And I couldn't even give her _that_ right now. But Hideto was my saving grace. He protected Palmon when I couldn't, and I'd never had a chance to properly thank him for it. We'd had such a short amount of time, and he was on a mission. He was going to save as many digimon as he could in as short of time as he could. It was commendable really.

And I felt like such a horrid person. If I could put any digimon at all in Palmon's position right now I'd do it in a heartbeat. I'd still be running with them at my side, but I wanted so desperately for it to _not_ be Palmon. And it made me feel so bad. It was a selfish desire, but it was real. I wanted it so badly, and I hated myself for wishing another digimon was in danger. I loved all the digimon, but Palmon was special and precious to me. I knew who I was, and I could be selfish, I could be petulant and I was whiny and annoying sometimes. But I couldn't—and _wouldn't_—change that. That was what my crest meant, owning up to my faults and keeping them anyway, loving myself for who I was.

I just found it so hard to love _that_ part of me in that moment.

But I would be strong and fight for Palmon, because she was my best friend in the entire world. She was the other half of my coin, the bread to my butter. She was the best part of me, and the sweetest, most beautiful person I'd ever met in my entire life. She was everything to me. And I wouldn't let DWD take that away. They were demons in my eyes, not soldiers. Soldiers fought for their country. These guys were out and about _before_ the war was declared. They were just rebels that had infiltrated the government and the police force and the schools. They were everywhere, but they _weren't_ soldiers. They were manipulative, and preyed on whatever weaknesses they could find in a person's mind, converting them over to their beliefs little by little, just as a demon did.

It might be a bold statement, but I stood by it. Because to me, what they were doing, was worse than anything the Great Evils had ever done—except perhaps Daemon and Lucemon, when they fused with the other five deadly sin digimon and killed Lalamon while Mari watched helplessly—and it was unforgivable.

I glanced over my shoulder, looking for the woman. Yorokobi. Hideto had said her name. Taichi had said something about her. Said that she took Gomamon, by calling her mother and brother to track down Momoe and take him from her by force. Taichi had also come right out and said that they were Hideto's family. Yorokobi and the man had looked similar enough for me to name him as her father. But neither looked much like Hideto at all. His colouring was the opposite of theirs, and he generally had a smile—smirks or otherwise—on his face. They looked cold and mean. Hideto hadn't even looked that serious and frightening when he was actively working against us as a member of Alias III.

I knew they were bad news.

I also knew that I wanted to be with Hideto right then, trying to help him through whatever it was he was dealing with right then. He'd never mentioned his family to me before, not even in passing. And he still hadn't. I didn't know if he knew that Taichi had told everyone at the Temple. I didn't know if word had spread over to the Coliseum yet. I didn't want him to be shunned because of his relatives the way the fight club digimon, Wizardmon and Andromon were shunned because of their tracking devices.

Palmon could be added to that list now, I supposed. Wincing, I put more oomph in my strides. Palmon was clinging tighter to me now; her long purple vine talons were crawling up and circling my arms. She wasn't ever going to let me go again.

"You don't need to come with me Mimi," Palmon said, her voice wavering with each word. "You don't need to get caught with me."

"If you're in danger, I'm in danger," I told her firmly. "We're a team. I won't leave you."

"But I don't want you to get hurt because of me," she sniffled.

"That's why I'm here," Mari said firmly. "So that neither of you can hurt the other with your desperate need to take the hit for each other instead of running away."

"I know how to run," I said trying to sound calm about everything, but I couldn't. She was right. If they came towards us with guns—tracking or otherwise—I would take the hit for Palmon. I wouldn't let her be hurt again. It had been my plan for a long time. I wouldn't let my best friend die.

And I didn't really appreciate the idea that Mari didn't have confidence in my abilities to keep Palmon safe. She didn't really know me, and we weren't really friends, so who did she think she was, judging me like that? I didn't have the time or the energy to put into asking her though. I didn't want a fight. Not when she was so willingly helping keep Palmon away from the DWD.

"How long do we need to keep running?" Palmon asked, gasping for breath.

"Forever," I said determinedly.

"Yeah, that's going to be a problem for all of us," Mari said, sounding like she was rolling her eyes. "We aren't machines; we're going to need some rest."

"We don't have time," I hissed. "They're coming after us."

"I think we're far enough ahead to warrant a bit of a break," Mari insisted. Palmon cheered.

I glared at the space I was sure she would be—you know, if she wasn't completely invisible.

She was putting Palmon at risk right now. She wanted us to have a break, to relax and get caught off guard. Even if she planned on helping us run away if the bad guys showed up, we could only run so fast. They would catch us for sure. I remembered being in gym class, and running like mad, thinking no one could ever catch me...and then I took a break and my legs felt like lead and I didn't want to take another step, let alone run a marathon.

And that was when I was forced to exercise on a daily basis.

Now, when I exercised as little as possible...it was going to be impossible to continue. I didn't want to do this, I wanted to keep going, to find a hiding tree, or a secret base that threw off the tracking device's signal. I wanted to smell Mom's burning cookies, as she attempted to bake for Palmon and Tentomon, I wanted to feel Koushiro's arms around me as we had a secret, whispered conversation about how we'd get rid of those cookies so that Palmon and Tentomon wouldn't need to actually eat any. I wanted to be surrounded by love and laughter, I wanted to hear the chatter of thousands of digimon as they too took refuge in the Coliseum.

I wanted to be safe.

There would be no burnt cookies to burry in the back yard for me and Palmon. We were alone out here, and I didn't even know if anyone had told Koushiro yet. Maybe this was the motivation he needed to find the way to remove the tracking device, and he'd swoop in to our rescue and help take us away to the Coliseum where all my hopes and dreams for the immediate future could come true.

Chances were, no one had told him though, because he was locked in the lab in the Temple basement, refusing to see anyone that wasn't helping to solve the problem. I wasn't useful in that regard, and so I hadn't seen him since before he started the project. He hadn't even come up to say goodbye to us. Haruhiko had, he came to see Shuu off, and to promise to take care of Meramon. But that was it. Kiyoko didn't even emerge to say anything, and we'd had the other two thirds of Alias III with us.

But knowing now that Palmon might not make it out of this—and by extension, I also wouldn't make it out, because my contingency plan involved dying in her place to give her a few extra seconds to come up with an escape plan—and never see Tentomon or Koushiro, or Mom and Dad, or Minervamon...it made me want to cry. What if we didn't live long enough to see Dad get a digimon partner? I knew he had one out there, somewhere. And I wanted to meet him—or her.

"Mimi," Mari hissed. "Shut off the faucet. If you're so worried they're going to catch us, maybe _don't_ start crying like it's the end of the world."

"But it _could be_," I whined. Palmon tightened her grip on my wrist and I heard her start crying too. Both of us were just wailing out all of our frustrations and pains and then Mari's free hand was on my shoulder, and she was shaking me.

"Shut up," she whispered pleadingly. "Someone's coming."

It was hard to turn off the waterworks once I'd let them start, but I tried to silence the tears at least, if I couldn't get them to stop. Palmon was much better at controlling herself. She just tightened her grip on me—and presumably Mari too—and took three deep breaths, before becoming completely silent.

I kind of envied her that ability.

We listened in silence for whoever it could be. I was prepared to smack whoever it was before running again. I really was. We heard twigs snapping, and shuffling footsteps. The closer they got, the more we could hear. There were two low, gruff voices, but no one else spoke. I took that to mean there were two men coming towards us. Their footsteps made them sound huge, and I got worried. There was no way I'd be able to fight off two big guys, not as weak as I was.

"Do you think the word has spread across the whole world?"

"It seems too presumptuous to assume that."

"I wish though."

"Me too."

"Where are we going to go next?"

"I don't know, but the Temple no longer remains an option."

_Temple_?

"Leomon! Ogremon!" I shouted happily. They were still alive! That was good to know. They rushed forward, emerging from the trees, looking frantically around for the source of my voice.

"It was her, I know it was," Ogremon said firmly.

"Mimi?" Leomon called out curiously.

"I'm here!" I said cheerfully.

"She's invisible," Mari filled in when they continued to look confused. Oops. I'd forgotten that already. It wasn't easy remembering you were invisible. It wasn't exactly something I was used to being after all. It was a new development.

"How are you doing?" I asked them, cordially.

"Well enough," Leomon said. They spent the next two minutes regaling us with stories of their trip around the world, about the dangers they faced and the digimon they saved. But this brief respite from the danger of our situation was cut to an end by the super mean Mari.

"This has been nice and all," Mari started off. "But Palmon's got a tracking device on her, and we're on the run. You should head to the Coliseum when you're finished your mission or whatever, but you've got to stay away from us. We'll just lead the DWD directly to you."

Okay.

So she had a point.

But she was still being super mean taking away the one thing that was helping me keep my head through all of this mess. I was mad at her, and I was mad at Yorokobi. I was even mad at myself. But when Palmon tugged on my hand, I knew that I couldn't stay mad. Palmon wanted to keep Leomon and Ogremon safe just as badly as I wanted to keep _her_ safe. I knew she didn't want anyone to get hurt because of her, so I allowed myself to be dragged away after a tearful goodbye to two of my very favourite digimon friends.

I wanted them to be happy, and safe, but I knew they were still on a mission for Taichi, a mission they'd created for themselves. I couldn't stand in their way, because doing so could mean the lives of hundreds of digimon. I just didn't like leaving them in the middle of a forest that we _knew_ had DWD crawling around. How was I supposed to know they'd be safe once we left them? How could I handle the idea of leaving my friends—any of them, _all_ of them—out there without _knowing_ they were safe? If I couldn't _see _they were safe, how could I be sure?

I couldn't be.

But for now, we ran.

_**Michael Washington:**_

For being captured I was having a surprisingly fun time.

It had been _days_, and since Veronica continued to tell Marshall that she wanted to use me for something important, he was unable to do anything no matter how often I insulted him. Veronica was a really annoying girl which I'd known from when Jenna and Mari had come back from their very first DWD meeting. That seemed like so long ago but was really only a month.

Oh, how slow time goes whilst the worlds are in danger of being destroyed by humanity.

I'd had a lot of time to think while I was here too. About the crest of trust mostly. Meyiomon was still trusting Ken and I to find a home for it in the heart of the true Digidestined who was meant to bear the trait. I didn't know who it was, but we did know they were meant to fight against the final Great Evil. Now, somehow my aunts on my mother's side—Winter, Summer and Spring—knew everything ever. That seemed fishy to me, since they refused to give us the answers we wanted, and because if they knew everything, they'd know I was imprisoned, and they'd come _save_ me, because I am their nephew. True story.

The conclusion I came to was that they were crazy liars.

They didn't really know anything. Except my mom. I bet she was the smartest of them all, and probably the prettiest. I couldn't remember what the others looked like, but my mom was beautiful. Fact.

The fairies told us that the nine great evils were as follows: Malomyotismon for the Land of Dreams, Fanglongmon for the Digital World, the Shadow King was for the Dark Ocean, Lucemon for Heaven, Sigma for the fairy land, Daemon for Witchenly, Millenniummon for the World of Time and Apocalymon was for the In-Between.

This information was entirely unhelpful. We'd defeated like all of them when they told us that. Aside from the Shadow King and Sigma. But there were also only _eight_. There were supposed to be _nine_. The last one was for Earth. But what if Myotismon was always supposed to be the evil for Earth, and secretly the evil for the Land of Dreams was still out there?!

Though that seemed ridiculous.

Because I knew now, without a doubt, that the great evil of Earth was Marshall Taft.

True story.

He always scratched his butt in a way that was very, _very_ evil. And he would smell his hands after as if he was checking for anything he didn't manage to wipe off. Gross. You know who else was gross? _The Shadow King_. He kissed me and possessed my body, then when I proved to be too strong for him he went after my sister. Gross.

Marshall also had a way of controlling his flunkies. Like he was inside their minds. He would ask them for something and they'd just _do_ it. You know who else could control their minions? Fanglongmon.

It all fit. Every trait about Marshall pointed directly to the absolute truth that he was the final Great Evil. The fact that he'd captured me, a _digidestined_ was just bonus. Who else would captured a digidestined? No one. Only the Great Evils.

I knew it wasn't my destiny to put an end to him though. I needed to wait for the bearer of trust to come along and wipe Marshall out of existence. Hopefully that would happen soon though because seriously as fun as this could get, I still really wanted to go home, or to the Coliseum, or the Temple, or _somewhere_.

But for the most part they kept me in their shoe factory. The upstairs was pretty nice, and there was a really big shower that Veronica kept forcing me to use. Marshall had to stand in the bathroom to make sure I didn't get away. As if there was anywhere to run. And would I go anywhere soaking wet and naked? Probably not. The food was crappy because Veronica sucked at cooking, but all the boys would compliment her endlessly and feed her enormous ego. And seriously she thought she was the bee's knees or a luck rabbit foot or like a cat's elbows and whatever other animal body parts meant something good. She would float around the place ranting about how pretty and smart and funny she was, but she wasn't. Well she was pretty.

But not funny.

One of her jokes was literally, "Why did the digimon cross the road?" And Marshall was all "Why, my dear sweet lovely beautiful precious girlfriend who is pretty?" and Veronica was like "Because it didn't know I was driving a hummer and then I hit it."

Like, even if that wasn't horrible disgusting and about murder it wouldn't be funny. But Marshall, Ricky and Tyler all laughed and laughed.

So yeah, I spent every day in the shoe factory, with different guards. Ricky was my favourite guard because he was so dumb and he sometimes fell asleep which gave me time to try to escape. The ropes they tied me with were thick though and they were wrapped around so many different things and tied so tightly.

Tyler was an alright body guard too. He just sat and watched tv, offering me treats and then not giving them to me, because like Veronica, he was apparently funny.

Veronica was the guard that watched me the closest though. She was afraid I'd leave and tell people what I'd overheard, which was nothing but she wouldn't believe me. Not that I would have believed me either. If I was a Great Evil's girlfriend I'd be pretty nervous too. She talked about this Friday a lot. That was all I really gathered from her over the time I spent here. She would say something like, "If only we could be on top... well, before this Friday." Or, "I'm so excited for tomorrow, because then it's closer to Friday."

What was going on Friday? I did not know.

Nor did I _really_ care...

Marshall's guarding was the most irritating. He would poke me with sticks, or forks or whatever he happened to have near him, and he'd move the chair he always tied me to in front of his exercise equipment. He wanted me to watch him work out so I would understand how much stronger than me he was. But that was _really_ obvious already because his muscles were _huge_.

The freak.

But today I didn't need a guard, because we were out, gong for a walk.

The light initially blinded me when we'd gotten to the Digital World, where our walk was to play out. They'd used some weird round device that opened the space in the world. I offered to show them how my digivice worked, and for a moment I thought it might work, and we'd go to the Temple and Jenna or Mimi could save me, but Veronica, who kept my digivice attached to her hip made the call. She voted to use their usual method unfortunately.

The colours in the Digital World were darker than usual. The pink and purple hues in the sky were bold and harsh, the grass was a dark green, the trees looked violent and upset. As if trees could look upset. Well one of them _really_ looked upset, but he was a Cherrymon. I didn't point him out though, because they'd just put a tracking device on him.

One thing that was really fun to do was point out how they weren't high up in the chain of command. Not the Cherrymon, my captors. They'd not been trusted with guns that shoot to kill, only the ones that can track digimon. Marshall recently used the tracking device to shoot my leg when I'd mentioned it, so I hadn't insulted them for a good solid ten minutes. Before that I was going on and on about how Willis and Mari, and Jenna and Tatum saved Marshall's life three years ago. I didn't know the whole story, but it seemed he didn't remember it well anyway, because no matter what I said it annoyed him as if it were true. He didn't like that he should be in dept to the people he hated so much.

Oh well.

I was silent on our walk—well no, I wasn't.

I kept asking things like "Where are we going?" and "Are we there yet?" Neither question was ever answered though. So without an active conversation I had time to think about life, and what I would do in the future. It was difficult to think that there _could_ be a future because I knew a lot of the things we'd taken for granted were soon going to end, but there were always my future six children to name.

I was thinking Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta and Marta. From the Sound of Music, but then I would be leaving out Gretl, and I didn't want _seven_ children. Just six. And I knew Tatum only wanted two. So I'd have to pick two names. Louisa and Brigitta were the best. They would be my babies.

Oh, but what if I had a boy?

Oh well. Boys have girl names all the time. We could shorten it to Gitta... or Brig.

"Where are we going?" I asked again, annoyed at my own wandering mind.

Veronica turned to me, her dark braid whipping around and hitting Ricky in the side of the head. "Shut up," She said, annoyed. "We're meeting some of our trusted supporters, okay? That's all you need to know." Then she was suddenly very dramatic as she stood, her hands on her hips, "And together we will conquer all."

"Sounds good," I said with a nod, "Then can we go out for pizza? I'm starving."

Suddenly my face was flying toward the ground from a sharp push behind me, and I slammed into the grass. "Then eat dirt." Marshall laughed from behind me. All four of them laughed, and I joined in, just to annoy them. Marshall, annoyed, pulled me to my feet by the rope that had me tied up. "Stop laughing." He said, annoyed when my laughter lasted a full minute longer than theirs did.

"Has anyone told you you're incredibly annoying?" Veronica asked.

"All the time," I told her, "See when I first joined the good guys—you probably don't know them because you're not the good guys—they all didn't like me. I don't really know why, but they all thought I was annoying, and now we're such good friends. Maybe I'll be good friends with you all someday too?"

"Fat chance." Marshall laughed.

"Ah well," I sighed, "You _are_ the bad guys. I did join the bad guys once. Fanglongmon tricked me. You might know him, he was evil too. He was _big_ and golden. And a dragon. Ring any bells?"

"I'll ring your neck like a bell if you don't shut up." Marshall said loudly.

"Okay, okay." I agreed as a beeping started up, "now where are these friends of yours?" No one answered me, and instead they all started looking through their pockets and their backpacks. "Hello?" Finally Veronica found the source of the annoying beeping and she pulled out a black rectangular device. It looked like a really thick remote control with a touch screen and an antenna. "What's that?"

"It's a tracker." Veronica said, hardly paying attention. "It tracks the digimon, using our devices. It says here that this one is running rampage. Do you think we should stop it?" She looked to Marshall, turning her body just the right way that her shirt lifted and I saw my digivice, blinking away. There were two dots coming toward our own.

"SO THAT TRACKS DIGIMON?" I asked as loud as I could, "AND YOU WANT TO GO CATCH IT? AND WHOEVER IS COMING TOWARD—" I looked up and saw a twisty tree with no branches, "THIS WEIRD TREE SHOULD RUN FROM YOU AND YOUR AMAZING TRACKING SKILLS?"

Marshall, Ricky and Tyler were quick to push me to the ground again, and then turn back to Veronica. I pulled myself to my feet, annoyed. I was about to say something sarcastic but noticed that none of them were looking at me.

Slowly I stepped backward and then spun and ran as quietly as I could toward where I'd seen the beeping of the digivice. I looked over my shoulder and still they had not noticed I was missing.

I ducked under a branch and into the trees.

"Michael?"

"SHHH!" two hisses stopped Mimi from speaking any further.

"Mimi?" I asked quietly. "Where are you?"

"I'm here," She said, "We're invisible."

"Oh good." I said, "Well you should go the other way. There are some people nearby who want whatever digimon you're saving." I explained quickly, looking around. I heard Marshall's frustrated yell sound from afar. He was going to come for me soon.

"It's me." Palmon's voice said quickly.

"Okay, go quickly, I'll cause a distraction and they'll be too busy to catch up to you." I told them quickly, looking over my shoulder again.

"No, come with us!" Mimi hissed, "come here!" She pulled on my arm which felt _really _weird, not being able to see her hand. "Are you invisible? No. Why not? This should work!"

"Being kidnapped isn't so bad," I told her with a shrug, "You go run off and if we come close to you I'll start howling, okay? Like a wolf. Run away from the howling."

"Thanks Michael," It was Mari this time. Mimi struggled, but Mari eventually pulled her off, and that was that. Marshall was making a lot of noise looking for me. It actually was a possibility to get away. I could go. I didn't have to stay with them...

But then Marshall found me, his eyes locked with mine and I smiled sheepishly. "Just peeing," I told him.

"Well come on." He said, annoyed and disgusted. "We're on a tight schedule. We have some things to get done.

Some _evil_ things, no doubt. Marshall was after all... the great evil of Earth.

Probably.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Mari and Koushiro are on the road again in a last ditch effort to calm the storm.


	39. On The Road Again

**Y/N: **I wrote Koushiro this time around, and I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you have as much fun reading it. Review if you feel inclined to!

**U/N: **This was Mari's first chapter supporting another character which was kind of fun to see how she's willing to help those who she barely considers her friends. It's kind of cute/sad how everyone knows she cares so much about making sure no one's partners die, but no one says anything..

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 4: War**

**Chapter 39: On The Road Again**

_**Mari Goutokuji:**_

It was almost time to wake her up, but I almost didn't want to. I thought she needed the time to sleep. I felt bad for her. She was in such a panic, and I was no good in these kinds of situations. I wasn't helping at all, I just kept yelling at her and telling her to shut up. But she had to! If he kept crying or screaming in shock when a branch caught her shirt we'd be found in no time. But we couldn't be found. We had to keep going until someone could figure out how to take the tracking device off of Palmon.

Palmon... I was so glad she was invisible. I didn't want to see her face. I knew how panicked it would be. This was _her_ life in danger after all. I couldn't let this happen to her. No more people needed to lose their partners! That girl that Daisuke had brought to the Temple—Keiko. She had cried and cried... she was distraught. Her partner was gone, and it was because of these monsters. It was horrible to know that the people we were facing were ruthless enough to take someone's life just because they thought it was not worthy of their world. It was disgusting. People who hate people for whatever reason had always been high on the list of things I hated in life, and also on my list of ironic statements. I didn't care how hypocritical it was, I hated them. I also hated death. Especially unnecessary death. Since I could remember I refused to even eat meat that was from a large company. I would only eat local meat because it was _cruel_ to animals that were subjected to the horrible lives they were forced to live in these factories. Because that's what they were, factories, and not homes. I wouldn't even eat eggs from a chicken who was brought up in an inhumane home—so trying to get into the minds of these people who thought it was okay to _kill_ someone so important to someone else...

Ogudamon. He had taken Lalamon from me. He was known as the seven _deadly_ sins. And two of those sins were the _Great Evils_ of two worlds. Great. _Evil_. And that's how clear it was. The people who were performing these acts of violence were evil men and women, seeking power, or justice. Thinking they were in charge of the rules for their home world, when it was simply not true... they were the evil ones. They were wrong, and no matter what any of them said they would never be able to explain to me how they thought they were doing something good for themselves, or their loved ones, or their world.

I knew what it meant when a partner died. Digimon are the reflections of humans. They are us in another world. They are what we need, they are our soul mates, our _partners_. They were taking those away from people. It was like taking away someone's twin. I felt like for a long time in my life I'd had someone who was so close to me that she could read my mind, but now I felt like an entire half of me was always going to be missing. And that's what they were doing to everyone.

That's what they were trying to do to Mimi.

She wasn't my favourite person, by any means. I barely knew her because whenever she saw me Hideto was also nearby and that's where her attention would always go. But even if I had no obligations to help her, I would do so until my feet started to bleed from walking too much. And then I'd keep going a few more days. I would not let what happened to Lalamon happen to anyone else under my watch.

Mimi and Palmon both had to stay safe.

I used my digivice to try to contact Kiyoko, or Hideto, or _someone_. I even tried to tap into Willis' so I could hear what was going on at his work place. We'd left his digivice there after all. Maybe something they were talking about could help us. But none of it worked and I was left with the silence. Left to hear Mimi and Palmon's slow breathing.

Every now and then throughout the night Mimi would roll over and her phone would slip from her hand, so I would close her fingers back around the device to cloak her once more in invisibility.

I leaned back against the tree we'd decided to sleep under and thought to myself a while, letting Mimi sleep as much as she could before we'd walk again. She had taken the first watch upon my insistence. I thought it would be best if she spent all of her time worrying all at once so she would tire herself out. That way I knew she'd at least get _some_ sleep. And now I would also be the one to take the sleep away from her.

Just as I decided to give her a couple more minutes of sleep I heard an unpleasant sound. It was Michael, howling. Loudly.

They were close.

"Mimi!" I hissed, shaking her, my arm holding what I thought might be her shoulder. "Palmon, come on." They both made groggy, tired noises, but once Michael howled again they were both on their feet, ready to run. I pulled myself up as well and let Palmon's ivy wrap around my arm, and then we were off again.

Michael was amazing.

Three times yesterday he had warned us that our enemies were closing in on us. They didn't know the Digital World well though, and while I didn't know anything about our current surroundings, Palmon and Mimi sure did. Palmon made sure we got to her land. The land she was hired to look after some years ago. She still did so, but less actively. It wasn't needed. Until now I guess.

Palmon was doing her job now though. She was making sure all the digimon in the area stayed hidden. It was amazing how dedicated she was to the cause, and I wanted to help as much as I could. We kept cramming more and more digimon into the trees to hide, or underground in their dens. The plant digimon were very well off in terms of hiding places. Four times we'd passed the same Cherrymon and not realized he was actually a digimon. Mimi screamed each time.

I just wished there was a way to help _Michael _too. He was in as much danger as we were, he just didn't seem to realize it. He was having _fun_ it seemed. He thought this was a game, which it was not. Though maybe he'd just gone insane. He had been missing a while. And apparently that meant being taken by Veronica, the horrible wench who ran the DWD meetings back in New York. And of course Marshall.

Marshall was like a plague. A horrible disease that ruined everything in my life. He continued to appear out of nowhere as if I still wanted him around but for some reason he refused to go away. How was it that no matter where I went he was always around?

I met him in America, then I left, and moved. He followed. Then he followed me to _Japan_, a different country. And now here we both were, in the Digital World. He literally followed me to a different world. And although that could be romantic if it was anyone else, it was just creepy knowing it was him. It was also self centered to believe he came here just for me, and I really didn't. I thought he came here for some evil stupid purposes, and I just happened to be involved. Because the universe hated me.

It had to.

The universe gave me the parents I was born with, and then took my friends away from me, killed my grandmother and Lalamon, and continued to lead Marshall toward me like a bloodhound following a scent. After everything I'd been through alone, and factoring in everything that involved others, like my friends, it was pretty clear that the universe, or Norn, or whoever was in charge of these things... well, they hated me.

And I wasn't a nice girl, so maybe that was why. Maybe they didn't like me because I was stubborn and mean and loud and bossy. Maybe they didn't like that I wasn't Hikari. Maybe everyone wanted me to be more like Hikari...

But I didn't want to be.

Not that she wasn't lovely, because really she was. Anyone who said otherwise knew nothing at all.

"Where did it come from?" Mimi asked, her voice still croaky and sleepy. "Where are they?"

"Behind us," I assured her. She seemed content with that answer and we didn't talk for a while again. I had a lot of ideas of what to do next but none of them were _good_. I wanted to find a hiding spot and just stay there. I wanted to convince all the plant digimon to take out Michael's captors, but I didn't want to put them in danger. I thought since we were invisible we could get Palmon to digivolve and beat the crap out of them herself, but if we did that then more enemies would show up and we'd just be in more trouble because they wouldn't howl when they came near to us. And they _would_ come near to us because Palmon was being tracked.

This was really a crappy predicament. Maybe if we could just take a run at the Temple we'd be able to sneak past everyone and get Palmon to safety.

Or maybe we could find Sora and Miyako who were apparently out in the world somewhere erecting safety bubbles around all the places they could think of. Why didn't this forest have one? That was a good place in my opinion.

"Mimi," I said slowly, "We should get to anywhere you think Sora and Miyako would have set up a barrier." It was a long shot really, I knew neither of us really _knew_ where one might be, but if we could guess, and find that we had chosen correctly, then we could be safe. But there were a lot of dangerous variables that I had no intention of focusing on.

"What?" Mimi asked, "I don't know where they are!"

"No, listen," I hissed, stopping in place. Palmon and Mimi both grunted as I pulled them to a stop with me. "It's a good idea. We can beat the crap out of Marshall and Veronica and Tyler and Ricky, we'll take Palmon's friends and we'll get them to Primary Village, or somewhere else."

"Toy Town," Mimi said suddenly, "That's way closer. That's a good idea. Except we're not fighting Marshall."

"We have to," I groaned, not that we really did, but I really wanted to.

"Mari his biceps weigh more than I do," Mimi said shaking her head.

"Whatever." I said, shaking my head. "Let's go." I started running again, deeper into the woods.

As we ran, Palmon kept tripping again. We were going too fast for her. But I was excited. I was hoping that if we could get these digimon to safety, along with Palmon and Mimi, that we would finally be able to give Mimi something to smile about. She cried an awful lot, and I knew that just from the time I'd spent with her over the past day or however long it was. I couldn't imagine how Koushiro would feel, dealing with all of her emotions. He wasn't a very... empathetic person.

Palmon gasped as she tripped once more, this time her vines loosened and she face planted completely. "Ow." She groaned, pulling herself to her feet. She was silent for a moment and then she gasped again, this time much less dramatically, "Look!"

"Where?" Mimi asked.

"Where I'm pointing." Palmon said impatiently. "There!"

"_Where_?" Mimi and I insisted. Didn't she know she was invisible?

"The house!" Palmon said, her voice further now. "Follow me." We looked to the sound of her voice and found that she had found a house, just as she'd said. It was small, and made of stones and straw. It looked really adorable though. It appeared to be built for a digimon who was not exactly _tall_. The roof was about as tall as I was. There was a fence around the house and the tree branches parted just the right way for the morning light to cast into the clearing in a warm and inviting way. "This is Jijimon's house." Palmon explained from somewhere over by the bright red wooden door. "And Babamon. She looks over the plant digimon across the whole world."

"Babamon?" I asked, unimpressed, "That old bat? She's kind of annoying, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Palmon admitted, "She used to be kind and gentle and beautiful though. She's been around a long time." Well that was a totally unnecessary description. Everything About Babamon screamed 'old'.

"So we're going to bring Jijimon too, right?" Mimi asked.

"Well," Palmon said, "The digimon won't listen to us. Not if we're telling them to leave their home, but I really think Jijimon might convince them." Without any time for debate someone had knocked on the door. Palmon shut her invisibility off, revealing it to be her. The door flew open suddenly and there was a furry ball of anger standing in the doorway, a staff with a claw on the end of it held in his hand. He looked just as old as Babamon, not that digimon typically showed their age in their appearance, but it was obvious he'd been around a while too. His feet were really big and _something_ smelled disgusting, and I'd put my money on them.

"What d'ye want from me?" Jijimon bellowed loudly, swinging his staff around. His hair and beard were fluffy and white, and matched the patches of hair on his bare feet. He was wearing a torn pillowcase or something else random and small. "Oh it's just you Palmon," He said, suddenly dropping his staff.

"And my friends." Palmon said brightly. She motioned to the empty air with the arm that was infected with the tracking device. It was horrible to look at, blinking and red, clashing against her green skin.

"I see," Jijimon said kindly, "Do yeh see them righ' now?"

"They're invisible," Palmon said, "Shhh!" She held a finger to her mouth as if they were now in on the secret together, but Jijimon didn't seem to believe her. I quickly shut the device off, and he jumped in surprise. Mimi followed suit and Jijimon fell onto his butt on the ground, looking around for anymore people. "That's them," Palmon smiled to us, "Mimi and Mari."

"Ah, o' course," Jijimon said nervously, "Well, okay." He pulled himself to his feet with the help of Palmon and his staff, and then he looked around once more, scanning the horizon for any unwanted listeners. "So wha's goin' on?"

Palmon quickly explained our plan and he was eager to get started before she'd even finished explaining which was a good indication we could get through this painlessly. If Jijimon was part of our cause the digimon had to move quickly. It seemed he was high in command around here since he lived with Babamon.

"I'm going to go find Veronica," I explained, "And then I'll make sure she doesn't get anywhere near you guys. Just hurry up and get everyone into Toy Town." Mimi looked to me, upset that I wasn't listening to her, afraid that I'd go beat up Marshall, and hurt that I was choosing to leave her behind. But she still nodded, agreeing. I wanted to believe it was because she trusted me, but I just _knew_ she was only agreeing because she didn't feel she had the right to decline. Either that or she was scared of me. Either way, it was kind of sad.

But we could totally do this. It wasn't going to be hard at all. All we had to do was find each digimon in the forest, convince them to leave their homes and come to some place named Toy Town, without any assurances that it was actually protected, while avoiding a group of stalkers that were looking for us and any other digimon they could find...

Finding Veronica was surprisingly easy because she was with Michael. He was a loud boy when he wanted to be. He had a black eye now though, and I could only assume that Marshall had hit him for constantly giving away their location. It only made me more driven to kick the crap out of him. I double checked to make sure I was invisible again and followed them around.

Now, I wasn't entirely sure why I was following them. I guess it was to make sure they weren't going in the right direction. Well, I kept telling myself that. I really just wanted to wait for a good opportunity to smack one of them. Any of them would do. Except Michael obviously. Michael, who I was definitely going to try to save... somehow.

Every now and then I'd run into a Mushroomon, or a Floramon or any other of the variety of digimon who lived here, and I'd tell them our plan, and they'd go meet up at Jijimon's house, however reluctant they may have seemed.

That's what Palmon had said to do. She said we'd meet there and then go, but did that mean she was staying there? If she was then the tracking device would give her location away easily, and as such the location of every digimon in the forest. All I could do was trust that Palmon or Mimi had the sense to _not_ do just that. There was nothing I could do.

Unless I could get the device away from Veronica.

It was pretty clear, looking at the group of them, what device exactly they used to follow Palmon's signal. It was black and Veronica was holding in front of her like it was a treasure map and she was soon going to be drowning in riches. She disgusted me. Which was why it was so fun to do what I did next.

I gathered some vines and held them close to me, turning them invisible too, and ran off ahead, tying one end to a tree, and dragging the other end of the vine to the other side of the path. I hoped she walked this way, or else I'd have to keep trying in random locations. As it turned out, she did _not_ walk the right way, but she walked on the other side of the tree. Which was close enough.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself I ran quickly, holding the vine. Veronica screamed loudly as the floating vine came toward her. Michael burst into laughter as I wrapped the vines around her legs, pulling sharply. She fell quickly and dropped the device.

I quickly picked it up and turned for Michael, but he was now lifted by Marshall, hanging over his enormously broad shoulders. "If we don't leave soon with him, he's going to get away," Marshall snapped like they'd had this conversation before.

"Fine," Veronica said nervously, searching for the device. "We'll come back for the digimon after we get Michael to the base."

"Okay." They agreed.

I looked to Marshall, who was still for a moment, breathing in softly. "Do you smell flowers?"

"We're in a forest," Tyler said.

"There are lots of flowers." Ricky added.

"Do you smell _lilac_?" Marshall clarified. "Do you smell lilac perfume?" I froze, my eyes searching for a way to get out. I was obviously wearing that perfume, it was my favourite. Why had I thought it was an important addition to my walk to the Temple? I wasn't sure, but I was certainly regretting it right now. Marshall knew the scent because I'd always worn the same one. Except that one time when he bought me tangerine scented perfume but I did not like walking around as an explosion of citrus flavour.

Veronica laughed, and blushed, "I didn't think you'd notice." She turned away from him, a wicked grin on her face that she thought no one could see, "It's my perfume."

Marshall looked like he didn't believe her, but he said nothing. Then they were walking off... I could stop them. I could get to them and bite them, attack them and hurt them. I was invisible. But I couldn't win, and I knew that. Mimi was right. We'd get Michael a different way. But now that they were leaving we could do this in peace—hopefully.

Except for one little problem I'd forgotten. Yorokobi Fujimoto. On my way back to Mimi and the others I ran into her. Not literally, but I certainly passed by her. She was standing with her father, both blonde and smug and stupid. I was angry with them for being related to Hideto. The only things I knew about his life before us was that he ran from it because he couldn't handle it. If Hideto couldn't handle something then it was no good at all. He was a strong guy. This was no pleasant family, that was all I knew.

Well that, and the fact that I really despised them. I didn't know what they'd done, but whatever it was they'd done it to my best friend and I wasn't okay with that.

I crept passed Yorokobi, paying close attention to the direction she and her father were heading, and then hurried toward Mimi.

We could totally avoid them. I just wish we didn't have to. It was unfair that so many people were following Palmon—unfair because if that was the case, then _any_ tracked digimon was being followed by more than one individual, and they didn't have Kiyoko's ingenious invisibility powers, or a pair of strong, beautiful digidestined to keep them safe.

We were going to get to Toy Town right now. That's where I had to keep my focus, and after that, we—or I would be anyway—would go save the rest of the tracked digimon. And now with this device I had on me, it wouldn't be so hard.

Again, hopefully.

_**Koushiro Izumi:**_

It wasn't often that I felt the need to beat my head against the hard, metal lab table in front of me. I never needed to really. I always came up with my answers when I wanted them. I didn't struggle. That left me with one simple question: why was I struggling now? I'd been working diligently, tirelessly on this project. How were we to remove the tracking devices from our digimon friends? Andromon, my father's digimon, was counting on my assistance to get to meet my father again. Wizardmon and the seven digimon that made up the fight club were depending on me as well.

Palmon was too.

Who knew really how many other digimon needed my assistance. I didn't know how many digimon on Earth were still bearing tracking devices, and I didn't know how many digimon were still scattered across the Digital World either. How many digimon were still alive after _being_ tracked at all?

This was why my job was important. Taichi was depending on me. My team needed me to lead them. But I was at my wit's end. I knew next to nothing about _creating_ anything. Computer programs and codes were more my forte, but we had no way of creating a code to remove these blinking red disks. What we needed was some solvent; some solution that could simply release them, something that could dissolve whatever it was that connected them to the digimon's skin. It wasn't simple though. The devices weren't stuck on with super glue, they were an elegant piece of technology, and I was furious that I thought that way. I couldn't help it though. Technology was my weakness, and even if it _was_ ruining lives, it was still beautiful. I would simply prefer it was being used to _our_ advantage, rather than our enemy's.

I wished I had access to _all_ of their technology—or at least the minds that created them. I wanted to talk with the mind that was able to develop a weapon that could eliminate Meiyomon's data streams. I wanted to know _how_ they created the tracking devices and the purple blast that could kill digimon on impact. I wanted to know how their antidote was developed and mostly I just wanted to know the reason _why_. Why were they attacking the digimon? What had the digimon ever done to most of them anyway? Why were all of those people following the DWD? Were they mindless sheep in need of a leader? If they were, the DWD was exploiting their weaknesses. But we knew how fickle the human mind could be. The summer fairy had eliminated the digimon from their memories before, casting a spell over all humans, leading them to see a pile of books where a Gabumon stood, or a throw pillow instead of a Gomamon. I'd even witnessed a woman seeing Patamon as a seagull, trying to feed him her leftover French fries.

Humans could be easily manipulated to suit the desires of others.

But Summer was a _fairy_, she had magical powers at her beck and call when _she_ brainwashed the human race. How was it that the DWD was able to come to the same results without them? And how could they always be a step ahead of us?

I gave in to my desire and slammed my head against the shiny, silver surface. It hurt, a lot, and left a ringing noise echoing through the room. I despised chemistry immensely. It was not my favourite branch of science. I was tired of looking at samples of chemicals and guessing at their effects on digimon. I could not experiment _on_ a digimon, no matter how much simpler it would be. It would be counterproductive if I were to injure a digimon in our quest to save them.

Mimi would be mad at me if I did it too, and she was the reason I was trying so much harder. It was motivating enough having my father's partner—my friend—bearing a tracking device. I didn't need more motivation. I needed results. Instead of results though, I find that Palmon has been struck with a tracking device and my girlfriend—understandably—was racing around the Digital World, trying to keep Palmon away from the DWD members—Hideto's family—who were hot in pursuit and could catch them at any moment. They could've already been caught. What was the point in struggling through this if I couldn't come up with favourable results? I hadn't succeeded in anything other than a cloudy blue liquid that was slowly melting through the spoon I'd stirred it with.

I wasn't about to test _that_ on a digimon.

I felt Tentomon laying one of his spiked hands on my back. He knew how frustrated I was getting, and I ignored him, knowing exactly what he intended on saying. _You need a break_, and _You can't help Palmon if you're falling off of your chair, get some sleep_. I didn't need rest. I needed to fix this. I couldn't let Palmon get caught. Not like Gomamon had been. Not like Michael. Neo too, possibly, though we weren't certain about the circumstances of his situation. I couldn't help them, but I _could_ help Palmon. And I would continue trying until I did so—or one of the others did.

I didn't look up from the shining metal, but I heard Benjamin conversing with his remaining brothers. They all looked too much like Gennai for my tastes. It was hard enough when it was just Benjamin down here, tricking my brain into seeing Gennai in his place. But now there were five of them, and they _all_ looked like Gennai. I wanted one of them to be him so badly. I wanted him to do as he'd done when I was a child, and give me the answers that I needed. He was the only reason I'd been able to help Taichi when I was ten years old. Gennai upgraded my pineapple laptop giving me all of the information I would need, explaining the differences between the virus and vaccine types and the humanoid beasts from the regular beasts—all information that helped me time and time again.

But it couldn't help me now.

I knew Gennai would already know the answers, would have already come up with a plan, a way to keep us from failing. But he wasn't here to help anymore. And I was furious about it—both because he was gone, and because I was _just now_ dealing with all of this, and at the worst possible time. I felt small, young and useless in the face of this challenge. It irritated and scared me. I had always come out on top, facing every challenge I dared to oppose, but this was out of my comfort zone, out of my area of expertise. Jou would be far better suited to this problem, but he had issues of his own to deal with.

We were actually helping him with that as best we could too.

My attempt at solving _that_ problem was a pink, rubbery substance that was swelling at an alarming rate. Tentomon had attempted to destroy it with his Electro Shocker, but it repelled the attack and the sparking ball of energy hit one of the computers, frying it. It was useless now. Tatum had taped a blue piece of paper to it that read "DO NOT USE" and everyone had ignored the incident afterwards. But I couldn't. It was just another example of my failure.

I wasn't the only one failing though, which was a very small comfort. Benjamin and his team—Hogan, Jackie, Ilya and Jose—were fairing a bit better than I was, as their green concoction wasn't eating their stirring equipment, but it was smoking, letting out a fragrant mint scent. They'd managed to create an air freshener. It was doing an excellent job at covering up Andromon and Centarumon's attempt, which was a muddy brown liquid that they kept feeding healing herbs. It smelled like manure, and wasn't working the way they'd hoped. They were attempting to create an antidote for Jou, but it was a far cry from the serum that Ken described to us, which was a swirling, bright green. Kiyoko's liquid was purple, and was doing the opposite of its desired use. Anything it touched stuck fast. He'd gone through twelve spoons—each of which were immovable from the table where he'd set them—before he realized he'd created a strong adhesive, and started again. His new attempt was red, and so far, it wasn't doing anything it shouldn't. Tatum was working with Monodromon and Haruhiko, trying to create the antidote for Jou, but had so far only made a colourless, scentless potion that looked like nothing more than water. She was growing more concerned about it by the hour. I didn't know what Willis' looked like, as he was on the exact opposite end of the table, but I hoped he was faring better than the rest of us. He hadn't groaned or yelled yet, so he hadn't reached his breaking point like I had.

Prying my head from the table, I grabbed one of the tracking devices Ken had given us and threw it in my blue potion. It started bubbling angrily, and thick puffs of smoke billowed from the top of the beaker. I pushed my chair back away from the table, hitting Centarumon's arm and motioning for him to do the same. Andromon grabbed their concoction and moved it to his personalized lab table. Tatum was next to retreat as the smoke billowed further and further, and the bubbles started exploding over the top, splashing drops of blue everywhere. Each drop started bubbling, eating its way through the metal table top, melting in perfect little circles. One of Benjamin's brothers—I hadn't looked at them long enough to note any differentiating characteristics, and as I saw Gennai when I _did_ look at them, I knew I wouldn't be finding any differences any time soon—pulled Benjamin out of the way, while another took their beaker away. The smoke was invading Kiyoko's work space already, but he couldn't pry the beaker of purple adhesive off of the table. He abandoned it and carried his red beaker to my desk, where he continued to do nothing but look at it inquisitively—his methods produced about as many results as mine did, unfortunately. Willis however hadn't noticed anything was happening. He was testing his own orange liquid on a tracking device, and shouted triumphantly when it exploded into a hundred tiny pieces.

He noticed the smoke once he stopped shouting. He grabbed his notes, and waved them at the smoke, sending it careening back towards my beaker, which had thankfully quieted down once it had eaten the tracking device in its entirety. He turned to us and flashed a grin.

"So, I think I've figured it out," he said happily. "I'll need to dilute it, it's _way_ too strong, but if we can find the right ratio, we can get these devices off in no time."

I had to admit to pouting at his announcement. I _was_ relieved, but my blue mixture had just proven itself a minor success. I would've found the correct solution sooner rather than later. Mine probably just needed diluting too, as it was a sort of acid at the moment, but I was glad I wouldn't need to be bent over my table, struggling to make chemistry work in my favour. I _did_ take an eyedropper and put a few round drops of water into my beaker, to test it, while everyone crowded excitedly around Willis' triumphant recipe.

It was a bad idea.

A large, mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke burst out of the beaker with a loud _BOOM_, followed by a shower of my acidic blue potion...which didn't corrode _anything_ when it landed. My shoulders slumped. I'd managed to relegate my useful acid into nothing but coloured water. I hated chemistry.

"Willis figured it out, Koushiro," Tentomon said, putting his arm on my shoulder again. I sighed and nodded my head. I was still upset that he'd done it first, considering I'd been working on this far longer than he had. He'd showed up not long ago and beaten me to the punch. He'd even beaten Kiyoko, and Kiyoko was the definition of inventor these days. He'd made the shield, turned everyone invisible. He was working on uniting all digimon partners across the worlds. He was doing more than I was.

I sighed again.

I needed to get away from my desk. I wasn't doing anything useful while I was cooped up here, banging my head against the table, hoping to rattle the answers loose. And I knew just what I was going to do. I was going to take the watered down solution that Willis created—supposing that it truly worked and wasn't just a false win—and I was going to remove the tracking devices from all the digimon remaining in the Temple, which should leave them ready to make the transition between the Temple and the Coliseum. They would need to wait until Ken—or someone really—could make the trip back to the Temple to return the collection of technology that would render the digimon invisible, and then they would need to wait for a break in the DWD guard that was waiting at our door at all hours of the day. Tankmon and Tuskmon weren't going to be able to weave around the obstacles that the tanks and soldiers presented. Once we found that moment, we could make that final journey.

Abandoning the Temple was the last thing I wanted to do. Gennai's library was here, the digimentals were here, and the keys, and my lab. I'd spent the majority of my time in these halls over the last few years. It was my home away from home—sometimes I didn't even leave at night. The atmosphere was perfect for my work, it was motivating and inspirational. Gennai worked here before he'd ever thought to bring the digidestined into the fray. He'd most likely stood where I was standing. He'd walked these halls, fought to protect this place. This was a part of him, and we had to leave it behind, because the DWD had found us.

It wasn't fair. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay here, safe in my lab, planning our next steps, protecting the Digital World's version of a government office. We had done so much here. Taichi and Iori and the others had fought—and won—the fight against Yggdrasil's mechanical robots right out front, in the market. I wanted to know that it would still be standing when we got back, but I knew we could never have that guarantee.

And I knew that we didn't have a leg to stand on when it came to defending the Temple against the DWD. Once they figured out the shield—and I had no doubts that they would figure it out soon enough—they could take us out with ease. We didn't have weapons that could fight theirs. We had digimon who had talents and abilities, and the DWD's weapons rendered them all useless. If we tried to fight them using digimon, it would be nothing but a massacre.

I understood why we had to leave. It wasn't like me to get sentimental over such things. But our situation wasn't like any we'd ever faced before. We couldn't just beat the enemy into submission, or turn them to mere data. We couldn't find a new, _different_ digivolution that would give us the power we needed. No matter how strong our digimon got, Tentomon or TyrantKabuterimon would fare the same way once hit by their guns. Tentomon was a much smaller target. We couldn't digivolve anyway, due to their unique tracking systems—which I desperately wanted to get a look at. They had managed to back us into a corner, and I was angry about it. We were supposed to have a chance to catch up to them, but they were always several steps ahead, they had access to technology that _shouldn't_ be available to them. Neither Kiyoko nor I could figure out their methods of invention. It was almost like they waved their hands and created them out of thin air.

But we'd slogged a few steps forward of our own. We could create shields around our safe zones, we could turn ourselves invisible. At Hideto's suggestion, Kiyoko had combined the two programs allowing safe, invisible travel. We could wear the shields around our person, without being invisible if we wanted to, but we preferred to keep ourselves from being used as target practice, and remained hidden from our enemies' eyes. The downside to our technology was that the DWD knew what we were capable of. Sora had taunted them with our shield, and that stupid tadpole, Otamamon, announced the invisibility for anyone to hear. He was the reason Mimi was out there, running, hiding, desperate to keep Palmon, and herself safe. The only real comfort in her situation was that she wasn't alone. Mari was with her. Mari was a confident, capable woman, and while Mimi's first instinct was typically to give in to her sporadic emotions, Mari was able to push her own emotions aside until the task was completed.

I knew it wasn't a healthy practice, and that she shouldn't be suppressing her feelings, and I knew it was insensitive to say that I didn't care. But I didn't. Not when Mimi and Palmon's lives were at risk. There wasn't anything I could do to help Mari deal with this problem anyway. The most I could do was relate, as it was becoming more and more obvious how adept I was at suppressing my own feelings. I _was_ just now mourning over Gennai. Mari wouldn't want me to comfort her though—thankfully. It would be awkward and strange for the both of us. We weren't close—if we were even technically friends at all—and I wasn't known for my social skills.

Willis was bent over a measuring cup filled with water, mixing drops of his orange solution into it. His mouth was pressed in a thin line, his focus never wavering. He used a long, glass stir stick to combine the few orange drops with the clear liquid, the colour being absorbed and overpowered by the water itself. Finally, he pulled out a fresh eyedropper, and looked up to Andromon anxiously. Andromon nodded, steeling himself for the potential negative ramifications of the upcoming test. This was it. This moment could change everything. We would finally have a way to fight back—without throwing fists and flowerpots at police chiefs. This could be the breakthrough we needed to finally get the upper hand. Once we solved one problem, we could challenge the next one with higher spirits.

We all watched with bated breath as he dropped one, two, _three_ drops of the orange solution. I counted the seconds; I reached fifteen before any signs became apparent. There was a soft noise, like a suction cup releasing itself very slowly, and then the red, circular device fell to the solid stone floor, cracking upon impact.

The entire lab was silent, simply staring at the now broken disk.

They had plagued us for far too long, and we had finally beaten them. I felt euphoric—for a moment at least—before reality crashed down on me. We had so many digimon to free from the DWD. We could make sure they weren't being monitored anymore. We could stow them away in a safe house. But we had to be smart about it. We couldn't march boldly across the Digital World—or Earth—and remove the devices. We couldn't alert the DWD in such an obvious way. Andromon's device was useless now, shattered as it was, but we had others here that we could use to deceive the DWD. On the off chance they were leaving the digimon with tracking devices be, we didn't want to prompt an attack. It was best if they continued to think they knew where the digimon were.

But above all of that, the thought that was screaming the loudest in my mind was that I had to find Palmon. I needed to get her safe. I was willing to let go of my jealousy and pettiness over Willis finding the cure before me. I _had_ to let it go. There wasn't enough time to devote any portion of my brain to dealing with such matters. I had important projects to work on—mainly, finding a cure for Noriko and Jun. I had to get out there, and get Palmon first though. I wasn't willing to trust anyone else to do it. It was selfish on my part, as I knew others were more than capable of doing it—more capable than myself at any rate—but I _needed_ to be the one to do it. I needed to see Palmon with my own two eyes, to _know_ that she was safe and to know that my family wasn't missing a key link.

God, Gennai was making me emotional.

I ran a hand over my face and squeezed my eyes shut, forcing any emotions and stray thoughts from my brain. Somehow, I'd missed the pandemonium that had sprung from the silence. Tatum was rushing around the room excitedly, looking for something—and finding a plastic spray bottle, holding it triumphantly above her head. Andromon was seated at his desk having collapsed there after the device was destroyed, a mix of disbelieve and joy painted across his face. I could only imagine the look on my father's face when he realized his partner was now free to come to him at any given moment. Willis was measuring out more water, calculating the amount of his potion was required for this larger amount, without overpowering it. Gennai's clones were all cheering and dancing, looking hopeful. Tentomon was buzzing around, flying near the ceiling, while Monodromon and Kiyoko hugged one another—before pulling away awkwardly. Haruhiko and Centarumon looked relieved, but they didn't let their excitement get the better of them. They knew, as I did, that there was still work to be done.

"What do we do now?" Willis asked, pouring his newly mixed solution into the spray bottle that Tatum had found. "Do we wait and see if there were any ill effects that haven't manifested yet?"

"I take the spray bottle and track down my girlfriend's partner, spraying any digimon I meet in the Temple along the way," I announced. "We don't have time to waste."

"I don't like the idea of using this if it might be dangerous," Tatum said hesitantly.

"And I don't like sitting here, knowing that Mimi or Palmon or Mari could be under attack at this very moment. I don't like the little voice that keeps flitting through my mind that says they're already dead and that we're too late," I told her. "I don't like knowing that we're a mile behind the DWD and that they have tanks right outside our front gate, _waiting_ for the moment that we slip up, or until they can shatter it with _another_ magical piece of technology that will leave us literally defenceless."

"I think you need to calm down," Haruhiko said gently. I shifted my focus on him, meeting his kind eyes with a steely glare.

"I think I need to get everyone safe, so that Taichi doesn't have to worry about that anymore and can dedicate his time to coming up with actual solutions, instead of panicking every second of the day," I told him slowly. "We're too far behind. The DWD is _winning_."

"No they're not."

I felt my shoulders relax slightly at the sound of Taichi's voice. I saw him stroll into the lab as if he no longer had the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was in the brightest mood I'd seen him in weeks. It was hard to feel stressed and tense when Taichi was around, looking like he did. I'd been feeding off of his emotions and stress for a long time, and while I knew he still held _some_, he looked happy now.

"I'd like to hear your thesis statement and several arguments to back up that hypothesis," I drawled.

"We're clearing out the Digital World," he said with a grin. "Not _all_ of the digimon are in hiding yet, but we're well on our way. Tinkermon said that Neverland is practically bursting at the seams, and I heard they found the extra wing in the Coliseum, which rocks. And I know Piximon is still bringing in more all the time. Things are finally going _good_."

"If you don't count Gomamon's kidnapping," Willis pointed out.

"Or Michael's," Tatum added bitterly.

"Maybe Neo's," Kiyoko said softly.

"Also the Palmon situation," I reminded him.

"The countless digimon deaths," Andromon prompted.

"Not to mention the two women's lives that are still hanging in the balance," Benjamin concluded.

"You're all raining on my parade," Taichi said. "I can think of several more things to add to that list, but there are thousands that have been crossed off over the last week—specifically all the digimon lives we've _saved_. I think we're doing alright. And we'll just continue to improve. Miyako and Sora should be finishing up their latest quest, and then they'll get to go over with the rest of us, now that the tracking devices can be removed. Thing are looking up! I'll finally have a few free moments to actually get out and _do_ something. I can run around trying to find Gomamon, or break a few flowerpots on Morestuna's head. I'll be in the position to do what I normally do whenever we've got a problem. Which allows Koushiro to fall into his own role, and everyone knows what they've got to do. We'll be a fully functioning team. It's kind of exciting."

"I'm going to find Mimi," I told him. "Only after I've found her and the others, will I return and fall into my place."

"You can't go find Mimi until we're sure there are no negative side effects," Tatum said, shrugging her shoulders. "I know it's hard to wait. I fully understand. I want to be out there bashing a few heads, finding _my_ significant other, but I can't, because I'm needed here."

"I don't feel any negativities," Andromon said loudly. "I feel as I did before the device stuck to me. I feel just fine. I suggest simply moving ahead."

"Thank you," I said, waltzing over to Willis and taking the spray bottle before turning on my heel and striding out the door. I heard Taichi and Tentomon hurrying after me, but I paid them little mind. I already had my digivice in hand, pressing buttons until I could find Mimi and Mari's signals. They were quite far off. I had a lot of ground to cover. Knowing I would be back soon, I decided to wait until I returned before getting Wizardmon and the fight club's tracking devices off. They were trapped in the Temple with or without them, as we had no means of transporting them as of yet. It wouldn't hurt them to wait. It might hurt Palmon.

Had I been in a better mood, I might've asked them forgiveness, tried to reason with them, though I was sure Wizardmon already understood the severity of the situation. The fight club simply scared me. They were rash and trained and I was weak. I didn't want to be the bearer of bad news, so I simply didn't talk to them. They weren't entirely alone here, despite the majority of the Temple's population being gone. There still remained an elder Wormmon in the depths of Gennai's library. The Council and the Knights were with them. A few digidestined—and family—were scattered about. Miyako and Sora were on their way back and Momoe would be bringing Taichi's parents and Kamemon any moment. Hideto too was wandering about, coming and going as he pleased. He was meandering around the Digital World, finding digimon that he sent to one of the safe places. I knew he was hoping to run into Mimi, Mari and Palmon—or Michael or Neo, or Gomamon—while on his travels.

As the two flashing lights on my digivice informed me, he hadn't found the girls yet. They were all the way in Toy Town.

"Koushiro," Taichi said. "You're not going alone."

"I have to," I reminded him. "We've only got my laptop with the program on it. We sent everything else over with Ken. We couldn't risk having more."

"In case they fell into enemy hands," Taichi groaned. "I know. But I don't like this. I want to be out there with you, protecting everyone like I'm supposed to."

"Wait your turn," I said with a sly grin. "I'll let you take the next one."

"I'll hold you to that," he joked. He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. "Be careful. Bring them back."

"I plan to," I assured him. I wished I could promise, but I couldn't lie to him. I couldn't lie to myself. I had to keep a focussed mind, and keep the hope alive, but I couldn't control the variables. I couldn't be sure that the three of them would be safe when I got to them, and I couldn't be sure I could keep them that way if they were. I wasn't the best suited for the job. But Taichi needed rest before anyone could let him out of the Temple. He was a zombie at the moment and that wasn't exactly comforting in a leader.

Taichi nodded, understanding, before moving aside so Tentomon could lecture me about safety. I let him ramble for only a minute before I cut him off. I knew he wanted to come with me. I wasn't the only one that felt as though Mimi, Palmon, Tentomon and I were a family—albeit a slightly unorthodox one. He paused briefly before speaking again. "What do you want me to do, while I wait for you to return?"

"Help Willis and the others," I suggested. "I know that Kiyoko got a few books from Gennai's library, but perhaps you could help him convince the Wormmon to give him some of the more important documents? I know Kiyoko's afraid of him. And the books and files from the lab. Get him to take the ones that aren't currently in use. That could be good."

I cut myself off, not wanting to postpone my trip any longer. Tentomon nodded and flew off, presumably towards Kiyoko, but I couldn't be sure. I vowed to try my hardest to see him again, to see how much he was able to accomplish in my absence.

I headed towards the gate, rendering myself invisible, forcing my fascination away as I looked to see nothing but air where my hand ought to be. I could _feel_ the plastic spray bottle in my hand, but I couldn't see even the slightest sign of that.

My laptop was open in front of me, as it had been when I initiated the program. I knew that I had a shield protecting me as well—I couldn't resist the temptation to download it when I saw Kiyoko had put it on his blog—but it didn't stop my skin from crawling as I stepped out of the safety of the Temple. Passing through the shield that protected the Temple was a surreal experience. The shield itself felt warm on my skin, and there was a little resistance as I forced my way through. The shield glowed, and the light danced in front of my eyes, nearly blinding me.

And then it was all gone.

I was outside of the Temple walls, standing amongst the enemy. I slowly walked across the golden bridge, avoiding the marching enemies as they patrolled and occasionally tested the shield. It was still holding strong, thankfully. A few of the DWD looked exhausted, miserable to be delegated this mindless task, while others took the job of walking up and down a bridge so seriously. Their jaws were clenched as tightly as their fists, their eyes on constant alert. One person, a woman, turned her head directly at me when I accidently kicked a stone, causing it to skitter across the golden bridge. Her eyes narrowed, and she took a few steps towards me, holding an arm out. Her hand just about touched the computer I was holding. It was shaking, because the hand that was holding it was shaking. I was trying to keep as still as possible, but I was balancing my computer with my hand and my forearm, as my other hand was busy holding a spray bottle. I was so afraid I was going to drop it.

"What are you looking at?" a man called to the woman. She looked to him in annoyance. As she assured him she thought she heard something, I took advantage of her distraction and slipped around her. I watched her wave her hand about in front of her, her confusion and embarrassment growing exponentially.

I was more careful after that incident, but I didn't dawdle. I sped up, weaving around men and women alike, trying to get a solid look at their faces, hoping I would be able to find names for them later, but it was no use. They were wearing masks. Not all hid their entire faces, but always the bottom half of the face was hidden behind a piece of black material. They were being careful.

If I thought the bridge was a trifle nerve wracking, seeing the tanks was a whole new ballgame—and to think, I sent my mother into this daily with more than one life on the line. There was a tank to my left, and another on my right. People were milling all about, and the only bright side to the entire situation, was that the ground was so worn down with all the activities, that they would never notice me leaving footprints with my invisible feet. I was tense, alert the entire time I was among the enemy, and continued to be that way until I'd put some distance between us. I contemplated hitching a ride on the back of one of their trucks, allowing me to conserve energy, but decided against it. I didn't know where they were heading, and I couldn't risk putting even _more_ distance between Mimi and me.

I walked for a good hour before I felt safe enough to relax. I hooked the trigger of the spray bottle into my pocket, letting it dangle at my hip, and got a firmer grip on my laptop. I would be walking for a few hours yet, at the speed I was going, before I'd reach Toy Town.

No amount of planning would be useful in this situation. If I knew none of the variables, I could come up with hundreds of plans that would all be deemed useless when the moment came. I would need to wing it. It wasn't my usual reaction, but I would do it. I stopped every so often to return to my visible state—always camouflaged—to check that they hadn't left Toy Town yet. Their signals weren't consistent, and at times were separated, but they were always within the vicinity. Other than these visible moments, I allowed my mind to wander. I thought about who wasn't back at the Temple yet, and who still needed to be collected. I thought about Leomon and Ogremon, and other digimon I knew personally, but wasn't sure of their current location. I thought about Tentomon and the others back at the Temple, working endlessly, trying to find a cure for something they had yet to _see_, with only Jou's observations to guide them. It was a losing battle, but we needed to fight it. I hoped we would get lucky soon, and have a breakthrough, but we couldn't know for sure unless we tested it on a victim. We had two of those, but I knew there would be plenty of hesitation if one of our "cures" were ever used.

We didn't know how they would react after all.

It wasn't often that I wished I was smarter. I enjoyed the process of learning, of collecting information and knowledge, but I wasn't ever aiming for a specific result. I didn't do it to be smarter, I just _craved_ the knowledge. Now though, I wanted to have knowledge on so many topics that I never bothered to study. I knew rudimentary facts about medicine, very little chemistry compared to the other sciences. I needed to know battle strategy, history, _everything_. I knew some, but never enough.

I wished that I didn't put so much on my own shoulders. Why didn't I have the sort of work ethic that _didn't_ demand I do everything for Taichi, and that Taichi could pull his own weight a little more? But that wasn't fair, because I'd watched Taichi deteriorating in front of my eyes, watched him put his heart and soul into his work without asking anything in return. I wished_ we_ could be three steps ahead of the enemy, instead of the other way around, I wished that we were planning our first _offensive_ move, instead of always playing defence. I wished everyone was safe in the Coliseum—or other safe zones. I wished I was with Tentomon, and my parents. I wished Mimi and Palmon were safe and with me. I wanted Kiyoko safe too. It was easy to forget sometimes, when he was in the zone, bent over his computer, typing like a maniac, that he was my little cousin, and afraid of just about anything that moved. He voluntarily made the trek out of the safe Coliseum and was now stuck in the Temple, waiting for things to go bad. I wanted him safe too.

But no matter how much I wished for everything to be better, to be good and _safe_, my wishes wouldn't magically come true. I knew that. But I wished anyway, just in case.

My mind wandered for hours, wishing and dwelling. I couldn't shake the thoughts. They continually circled in my brain, taunting me, _teasing_ me. I might've continued for longer still, but the sound of voices brought me up short. There was a female. She was young, I could tell by the tones of her voice. But where _was_ she?

"We know they're close," she was saying. "I don't understand what they're doing. Why would they gather digimon when they _know_ we're after them?"

"Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, dear," a man told her. He was close to her, obviously, due to his term of endearment. He was older too. I decided these must be Yorokobi and Shigoto Fujimoto, Hideto's sister and father. I'd known I was close to Toy Town, but I _had_ hoped they wouldn't be. I wanted to believe that Mimi, Palmon and Mari were able to shake these two and were far, _far_ away from them. I supposed that would've been wishful thinking, on my part—due to the DWD's ability to locate their tagged digimon.

"I'm not," Yorokobi assured her father. "I just think they're being stupid. But if they want to wrap up a large number of digimon and present them to us with a big shiny bow, then who am I to stop them? I just wish I knew what they were thinking. I don't think they're smart enough to lure us into a trap..."

"But you think their obvious lack of intelligence could be the actual front," her father surmised. "I suppose it _is_ possible. I do doubt it, but their acting _could_ be impeccable. What do you suggest we do? We could head in now, guns blazing."

"I don't know," Yorokobi said, definitely conflicted by the options laid before her. "I don't want to go in prematurely. Being able to take out this many digimon could be major for us. The boss would be so pleased. And I do aim to please."

"Then perhaps we'll call in for backup," her father suggested. "Our guns won't be able to delete these vermin. I don't like to get my hands dirty. I'd much prefer to have the lackeys do the heavy lifting."

"And if these girls _are_ planning something?" Yorokobi snapped. "We'd be ridiculed for falling into their trap!"

Deciding I'd heard enough, I continued on my way. I caught a glimpse of the pair of DWD supporters, but didn't stop to look too long. I figured I would get another chance, and didn't want to waste any more time. Mimi, Mari and Palmon were close—or they _had_ been the last time I'd checked. I needed to locate them, remove the tracking device and apparently I also had to help protect a large gathering of digimon. I sighed softly and finished my journey to Toy Town.

I'd expected to see Mimi upon entering the town, but that assumption was dashed quickly. There was a large assortment of plant digimon though, all circled around an elderly looking digimon. His long, silver hair fell down over his face, hiding it completely from view, blending almost seamlessly into his matching beard. Silver tufts of hair also covered the tops of his large, bare feet. He wore what appeared to be a toga made of a burlap sack, tattered at the bottom, and his muscular arms protruded from the sleeveless garment. His wrists were wrapped in brown athletic tape, which was ensuring his reddish-brown gloves stayed in place. He held a staff that he was waving through the air — trying to catch the crowd's attention— that consisted of a long wooden stick, and what looked to be a golden paw.

"Stop all that fussing!" he growled. "You're drawing attention to yourselves. If you don't quiet down, we'll be caught for sure."

"We've been lied to," a female digimon told him, desperately. She looked familiar. Her midriff was bare, and she wore a shirt that appeared to be a butterfly, and the shortest, jagged skirt I'd ever seen. Boots covered her legs from the knees down, and on her head sat a small crown. She had wings on her back, and a long, straight, spiked stem in her hand that held the blossom of an unbelievably large lily of the valley. I knew her, of course, as she was one of Meiyomon's sisters. She was Jundomon, the digimon of purity, the digimon that beat Mimi upon first seeing her. I held no real affection for her. I wasn't particularly proud of sharing that trait with Azulongmon—or any trait, mind—but it couldn't be helped.

"I don't think those females _are_ digidestined," a large Cherrymon said decidedly. He took up quite a large space, and several Woodmon crowded around his innumerable legs, using him to hide behind, looking about themselves with quick, shifting eyes. One of Cherrymon's six hands was resting on a wooden staff, but the other five were waving about as he gave his opinion. His thick, leafy moustache rustled as he spoke, and he continued to do so, catching the attention of all of the digimon, with his air of wisdom. "We've been tricked! We're too dependent on those humans, those digidestined that we're willing to believe any human could be one. We're being herded for slaughter!"

"That's enough," the elderly digimon shouted angrily. "I saw Palmon with my own two eyes. I know it was the _same_ Palmon that represents purity throughout our world. She was our guardian, our protector not _too_ long ago, need I remind you."

"He's going senile in his old age," Cherrymon said gravely, looking down and shaking his foliage in pity, as though it were a terrible loss. A few cherries fell to the ground, and a Daremon collected them quickly, sharing them with two Budmons, a Nyokimon and a Popomon.

"I haven't," the digimon insisted. "And you'd do well to remember it!"

"Hurrah!" a hulk of a digimon shouted. Though the voice was fairly deep, it was distinctly feminine. There were spikes protruding from her head that I thought _could_ pass for petals, though they looked sharper, and much more solid. Her shoulders were broad and made her head look small in comparison. Her arms were long and thick, and her enormous hands brushed against blades of grass. She wore a dress that made me much more certain that she was a cavewoman, rather than a plant—the large, spiked club she held was what really cemented that assumption however. She looked pleased with the argument that was unfolding before her.

"Hush, Karumon," Jundomon hissed. I stopped short. _That_ was Karumon? I'd heard Hikari and Takeru speak of their fight against her and Kiboumon, and I was _certain_ that she was meant to be much smaller. I quickly answered the question floating in my head, as it was obvious she'd managed to digivolve.

Her being Karumon _did_ dispel my cavewoman assumption, because Hikari was adamant that Karumon was a _flower_, the digimon had said so herself—though I was sure it was a disillusion on her part.

"If they weren't digidestined, would they be helping us?" the elder digimon continued.

"They're helping the enemy more," Cherrymon insisted. A small assortment of vegetation digimon—Vegimon, RedVegimon and Weedmon mostly—hummed their agreement.

"Well we _thought_ Toy Town would have a shield, okay?" Mari said, appearing out of thin air as she turned off the program on the phone in her hand. "We figured it would be _safe_ here. Sora and Miyako are supposed to be going around putting up shields all over the place. How were _we_ supposed to know that Toy Town wasn't one of them?"

"They're not digidestined, I say," Cherrymon repeated sagely.

"Shut up," Mari said rolling her eyes. She looked to the Mushroomon and Floramon that she'd brought with her—that I hadn't even noticed arrive. "Welcome to the madhouse."

"We're all perfectly sane, here," Cherrymon said, affronted.

"Hurrah!" Karumon shouted happily again. Mari looked to her in amusement and smiled at her.

"We've got to go!" Mimi screamed, rushing into the centre of the digimon perfectly visible with Palmon in tow. "I saw her. Yorokobi and her dad are so close. What do we do?!"

"We can't lead them to these digimon," Palmon said firmly. "I won't allow it."

"Won't allow it she says," Cherrymon huffed. "We were better off when we _weren't_ collected like this. We were safer. We're sitting ducks here."

"I know," Mimi cried, tears falling freely down her face. Her lips were quivering. "And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Mimi, there's no point crying about it. We can lead them away. They're after Palmon after all. We'll just keep running, and these digimon are going to have to hide behind some trees or something," Mari said. "We'll figure out a way to keep you completely safe the next time we shake these guys."

"Right," Mimi said, drying her tears, resolve solidifying in her eyes. She nodded and reached out her hand to Palmon. "Are you ready to run again?"

"I'm always ready to save digimon, Mimi," Palmon said cheerfully. It was forced cheer, but it was nearly believable. She reached out and wrapped her vine claws around Mimi's arm. The vines on her other hand found Mari automatically, and then they were gone—all before I could find the right button on my laptop to render myself visible again. They couldn't hear me as I called out after them, as the digimon started raising a fuss immediately upon their departure.

"You there!"

I turned quickly to see that I was being addressed by Jundomon. I looked enquiringly at her.

"You're one of those digidestined too, I take it?" she asked.

"Don't believe a word he says," Cherrymon warned. "Unless he can prove it, assume he's the enemy."

"I'm going to set up a shield around Toy Town," I said, glaring at him. "And then I'm off after them. There's plenty of housing here, and the toys like to play. You'll be comfortable for awhile at least."

"Thank you," the elder digimon said. He rambled to me as I set up the program and wandered to the centre of the town. I learned his name was Jijimon, and that he was Babamon's husband. I was startled by this discovery, as I hadn't realized that digimon _could_ marry one another. I supposed there was no reason behind my assumption, but as digimon had claimed several times to be incapable of love, the thought had never occurred to me. I did learn, however, that Jijimon too had been around since the beginning of the Digital World, and that he and Babamon had been together even before that happened. I'd have to look at the books in Gennai's library to be sure, but it seemed like digimon lost the ability to _love_ when they were forced into the Digital World.

How unfortunate.

I didn't have the time to stay and chat with Jijimon, to ask him all of my questions. I made a note to get word to Meiyomon that two of his sisters were in Toy Town. I was leaving, glaring at Cherrymon on my way—causing him to look sheepish as he realized his errors—when Jundomon called out to me. I stopped and looked to her.

"Have you seen Chizikimon?" she asked pleadingly. "He used to always be with Karumon and me, but he's been gone a long time. He stopped checking in and everything. If you see him, can you send him to us?"

"I will," I agreed, remembering that Chizikimon was the digimon of knowledge. I'd have to ask around to see if he was in one of the other safe houses. I passed through my second shield of the day, soon after—and it felt just as strange—and rushed off into the woods, barely remembering to locate them with my digivice and return to being invisible.

I didn't need my digivice in the end, as I ran directly into Yorokobi's path, narrowly escaping being trampled. She and her father were arguing over the stupidity of the girls, and whether one of the two should remain behind to ensure the digimon didn't escape. Yorokobi was winning the argument however, as she was _sure_ catching the digidestined and one of their digimon would put them in better standing with their boss.

"They should just be beyond these trees. How strange," Yorokobi muttered. "It doesn't look like they're running anymore."

"They're just standing still?"

"Yes," Yorokobi confirmed for her father. "We'd better tread carefully. They might be setting up an ambush for us."

"As if they're _that_ clever," her father sighed, rolling his eyes.

I didn't wait to listen to them argue any longer. I raced down the path in front of them, stumbling into a small clearing. There was a cliff raised from the ground in front of me, and a river flowing on my right. There wasn't a chance of escape. I could understand why the girls hadn't continued to run. They were trapped, as Yorokobi and her father were _sure_ to be closing in by now. There was a single tree in the clearing, however, and looking at it, I realized exactly where they were waiting.

I pressed a few buttons on my laptop, becoming visible once more, and I set my precious technology on the ground, reaching my right hand inside the tree in front of me, grabbing the spray bottle at my waist with my other left.

Poor planning on my part.

Mimi and Palmon screamed, and my hand was grabbed roughly. Mari I assumed had grabbed me and jerked me forward, slamming me to the ground, flat on my back. I was shouting alongside Mimi by then, because it really _hurt_, and I wasn't even a foe!

"It's me!" I shouted. "It's Koushiro. Stop that!"

"_I_ should stop?" Mari asked incredulously. "You're the creeper that tried to get us!"

"Koushiro!" Mimi cheered, landing on the ground next to me—though I still couldn't see her. She flung herself onto me, trying to hug me while I lay in a crumpled heap. I felt bad as she whimpered, but I had to push her off. I was on a mission, and the enemy would get here any second.

"We can have a moment later," I assured her. "Now where's Palmon?"

"I'm right here," she said quietly. Her voice was shaking. She was terrified. I reached out for her, and she took my hand. I located Palmon's phone quickly, and handed it to Mimi. Now that I could see Palmon, I made quick work of the tracking device, watching with a smile as it popped off of her skin. I caught it before it hit the ground—so it couldn't shatter—and stuck it to a small rock that had been digging into my back only moments earlier. It stuck, as the rock was merely compiled of data, the same as a digimon. For the small moment when it wasn't attached to anything, the red light went out, but it started up again, and I knew my plan had a chance of succeeding. Once Mimi handed her phone back to her, and I grabbed my computer, becoming invisible myself, we crept along the side of the river, partially waiting for Yorokobi's reaction, but mostly just glad to be escaping.

"This thing better not be broken," Yorokobi complained loudly.

"I'm sure it isn't," her father sighed, obviously tired of being on a "mission" with his daughter.

"You don't know that," she insisted. "You didn't see it. There was a blip. The light went out. It's back now, of course, but still..."

"Don't be too upset," he said with a cruel sort of excitement. "We've caught them now. No more running. So let's just bring them in."

"Yes," she said nastily. "Let's."

I heard Palmon and Mimi speeding up in front of me. Mari insisted on being the rear, saying something about her having a better chance of being useful in a fight. But she too sped up, bumping into me, urging me to follow their example. I couldn't though. I wanted to know what their reaction would be when they found the rock in Palmon's place.

"Oh my God," Yorokobi complained. "They're in the tree. I don't want to climb a tree. Dad, you do it."

"If it means we'll be done, I suppose I will," he said angrily. He let out a shout of surprise and I knew he'd fallen through the tree trunk. He growled angrily and I imagined he'd found the rock and was storming out of the tree to show his daughter—if her shriek of indignation was anything to go by.

"They tricked us!" she screamed angrily. "I can't believe they managed this. I'm going to get their digimon friends. No one messes with a Fujimoto. No one."

It became a race, the Fujimoto's versus the digidestined, to see who could arrive first. We managed—as we knew the terrain better—and slipped through the shield where they wouldn't be able to harm us. But they were close behind.

I knew that Mimi and I had to have our moment, but watching as Yorokobi ran directly into the shield, and seeing her father scramble to catch her as she flew backwards really lightened my spirits. The digimon around us were quite frightened by their presence, and fled into the houses, but I Mimi, Mari and Palmon all found it hilarious, laughing heartily at Yorokobi's expense.

"You laugh," Yorokobi snarled. "But you won't be laughing come Friday. You haven't won _yet_."

They stormed off then, with the girls still laughing, but I couldn't join in as I wanted to. I was too curious. What exactly was happening on Friday?

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Arc four ends with Kari and Cody as their fates are sealed by outside sources.


	40. Sealed Fate

**Y/N: **It was difficult to write, for reasons that will become apparent once you've read it.

**U/N: **I remember having a lot of trouble with this chapter, whether it was because of Kari or D'arcmon I'm not so sure... they're both challenging to me :P

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 4: War**

**Chapter 40: Sealed Fate**

_**Hikari Yagami:**_

Looking up from the thin plastic dropper tool I was using on a Candlemon I saw Taichi sitting by the outer wall of the Temple. His hands were clutching wads of hair and he was staring to the ground. It looked like someone had broken his heart repeatedly. Somehow he was taking all of the stress and negativity from the recent events and letting it consume him entirely.

I knew what that was like, and I couldn't let him continue like that. My eyes fell back to the Candlemon who was smiling up to me excitedly as the blinking red tracking device fell from its place, wedged into his waxy skin. It hit the paved floor with a satisfying clinking sound. This formula was working wonders on the devices. Soon we'd have them all free and ready to move into the Coliseum, and we'd all be able to leave with them. Everyone would be safe.

At least everyone that usually gathered around the Temple. Over Candlemon's shoulders I saw Willis precariously holding Kiyoko on his shoulders as the youngest of our team reached up to remove Tuskmon's tracking device. Willis was back into action apparently after his argument with Jenna. I didn't know what they were fighting about, but about half an hour ago they'd been yelling at each other from a couple streets over. Usually I'd never be able to hear that but with the emptiness of the Temple it was hard to _not_ hear everything.

"...and soon I'll be able to see my partner again. I'd like that! I'm so excited!" Candlemon was saying. I looked to him and nodded as kindly as I could. I was trying to keep my typical friendly face even with everything we were going through, but it just wasn't as easy as it used to be, especially not without my own partner around. I knew she was safe though, and that was better than having her beside me at all times. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," I said, putting more effort into the grin. "I'm just thinking about what we should do next."

"I think an amusement park should be our next plan." Candlemon said as I pulled myself to my feet, stomping on the tracking device letting it crunch loudly under my boot. The feeling of breaking it was even more satisfying than removing it. "I mean, I've only seen them on the television, but they look like loads of fun! The Digital World only has one, but I'm not tall enough to go on any of the rides. I think we should make some for smaller digimon."

"That's a brilliant idea!" I told him, smiling brightly, though it wasn't exactly where I'd thought the conversation might be headed. It was good that not everyone was focusing all their attention on this... well, war. That's what it was really. It was a war. A real one this time. Only it was just starting... soon we'd be faced with tough decisions and have to play our moves carefully like a game of chess. Unfortunately I'd never won a game of chess in my life. On the plus side though, I'd only ever played against Taichi, so knowing that he was leading us made me feel comforted—at least a little.

Candlemon thanked me again and hugged me, keeping his flames back, away from my clothes, and then hopped off, humming all the way. I scanned the groups of digimon and spotted Wizardmon not too far from me, leaning against a tree looking hopeful and worried. Andromon was stretching his arms to the sky, free from the device that once kept his movements so restricted. ToyAgumon was in line with Falcomon, waiting for Tuskmon's treatment to be completed. Tankmon and Hagurumon were already free as well, but Starmon was waiting patiently for his turn. I'd get to him, but Wizardmon came first.

"Hello," I said politely as I knelt down next to him, holding up the dropper tool. I set the beaker filled with the colourful liquid down next to me and prepared the dropper. "You look upset."

"I am," He said bluntly. It looked like he didn't want to explain any further, but I supposed that the silence was getting to him because eventually he did speak. "There is little I can do to help. But I desperately want to be of service."

"There is so much you can, and _have_ done to help," I told him, "Don't think like that." He looked up to me with his round green eyes as if begging for me to make him feel better, but I knew he'd never ask me to. He would think it was too self centered to be worried about his own feelings. "You guided Gatomon back from the darkness so many years ago. Because of you she and I became partners like we were destined to be. You helped Mr Ishida and some of the other parents defeat Wisemon—and three years later you helped fight the thunder Death Knight. Ouchryumon, I believe was his name."

Wizardmon chuckled a little, though I wasn't sure what was so funny. "His name was Owryumon." I felt my face turn pink and I found myself laughing with him.

"That's what I meant." His laughter faded, but on an optimistic sort of tone. "You've done so much for the worlds already. More than most people or digimon, or fairies—or whatever other species exist in the nine worlds."

Wizardmon looked up to me, taking a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "How do you even know of those events. You weren't there."

"My boyfriend is writing a book," I said with a soft smile, "He talks about the 'plotlines' an awful lot." I put air quotes around the tern Takeru liked to use to describe our past endeavours. "And that's not even all you've done. One thing that I will never forget, you stepped in front of Myotismon's attack. You allowed him to take your life instead of Gatomon's and my own. That's not nothing."

"You make it seem to be an act of bravery." Wizardmon said, "I wasn't even thinking when I did that. I did not choose to save you. I'm no better than anyone else who was watching." It was weird to think back so long ago. The memories were hazy, but I could still make out the faces of Taichi, and Greymon and Myotismon... all the others were there too. Back when my crest glowed for the first time. I felt tears threatening to escape even just thinking about the moment. It had been one of the saddest moments of my life for many reasons.

"Maybe not," I said, "but the fact that you stepped in without thinking proves how much you care. And you're not the only one who has done that for me."

Wizardmon smiled under the collar of his cape, though he tried to hide it. "I heard about Iori doing the same. Maybe it is no coincidence that Hiroaki is now linked to both he and I. And soon, perhaps to you?"

I avoided the question, because I wasn't sure how he wanted me to answer it. Was he asking if I wanted to marry Takeru? Because, yes, I did. But right now there was too much going on to even think about marriage. I was already angry at myself enough because of how much focus was going to my hair. Every time I tried to think, I would go to run my fingers through my hair but it just wasn't there anymore, and I missed it. And I hated myself for caring. I should have been putting all of my focus into the issues at hand. Takeru and Yamato still hadn't made up, Iori was caught in that mess along with them, Palmon was in danger, and Mari and Mimi were in knee deep in the same problems. Gomamon, Michael and Neo were all seemingly lost in the abyss that just didn't exist, the worlds were at war and it was laying all on my brother's shoulders and Kurayami was dealing with the dark past she'd forced herself to forget. But most of all, Noriko was _dying_. She was my only friend from work, and sure I'd only known her well for a short time, it still hurt so much that she could die if someone couldn't concoct an antidote.

Willis and Kiyoko had been trying, so had Koushiro and Jou. None of them could come up with anything that would work and it was all because they didn't understand the problem. And that scared me. If four of the most brilliant people I'd ever met couldn't find the answer together, then what chance did Noriko really have of surviving?

Those are the things I should have been worrying about. And _was_ worrying about. I just wasn't focusing enough.

I shook my head and moved quickly, my joints stiff and my muscles tight as I dropped some of the solution onto the tracking device. Soon enough Wizardmon was free, and I was pulling myself to my feet with Wizardmon's help. "Thank you," he said to me, "I have to go now. I plan to add to the list of good I have done."

"Don't go!" I said sharply and quickly, but it was too late. With a swish of his rugged looking cape he was gone. "Wizardmon!" I said sharply to no one in particular. I ran my hands through my hair and paused, shocked at how short it was and groaned in frustration at how easily my mind returned to the hair issue. I spun around in a circle, and saw Starmon walking up to me. I nodded and quickly moved to remove his device. I didn't stay to talk though because I saw two girls acting particularly sneaky, and knew they had to be up to something.

Jenna and Natsuni were running together, neither paying much mind to who might be following them, such as myself. Not that I'd necessarily step in their way of whatever it was they were doing. I just wanted to be one hundred percent sure they'd be safe, and knowing Natsuni, I had a feeling that wasn't the case. Her father's fate was up in the air at the moment and I wasn't going to stop her from going to find him, but if she could at least take something to protect herself with.

They were on their way down main street when I was intercepted. D'arcmon sidestepped in front of me, Demidevimon held in her arms. "Child of Light," She said to me, her voice had a way of passing through every inch of my body. Every time she spoke I felt like I was floating, or like warmth was overcoming me.

"I just have something to do," I told her, but she shook her head.

"This is urgent." She said calmly. Instantly I stopped trying to get a good look at the others, and found myself staring into her deep eyes. "You must know by now, you cannot keep your emotions to yourself." I nodded slowly, but kept quiet. Despite the warmth her voice showed, she always had a way of grabbing things from my brain and bringing them to the front of my mind. Already I was seeing flashes of darkness, and found myself looking to the ground. "Though you have never spoken to me of your time in the past, I am aware you know me to be Hiraga's mother." I looked up to her apologetically. I didn't know why, but I had always been unsure of what to say. And now it seemed like I'd avoided the topic because I was scared or something. "While I was not with him in his later years and was not ever able to say goodbye to him, I was gifted with another son. Gennai, and while he was not Hiraga, he still had Hiraga's thoughts and dreams. One day Hiraga was given a dream to find a group to act as successors to the crests the world held in its heart."

I tried not to let my mind wander, but the idea that Gennai had been given a dream was intriguing. What if it was given to him by someone, and Gennai was not entirely the one in control? Who would it have been?

"He chose wisely," D'arcmon said, though it was clear that it wasn't the point she was trying to make. "Do you know why he chose you?"

"Because of my light," I said, nodding slowly.

D'arcmon nodded, "Because you were exactly who you were meant to be. It is no mistake, or mere coincidence that you were chosen for the crest of light. And although the history behind you obtaining the crest is slightly more complicated than some of the other children, you have so far lived up to the trait respectably."

"Well, thank you," I said quietly, not sure if I believed her or even what she meant.

"But part of your crest is embedded with darkness," D'arcmon said, a happy sort of smile on her face. "This means you are allowed to feel selfish at times, and are permitted to challenge the rules if you see them as unjust. And you are allowed to cry about whatever you want to cry about." I looked up, almost shocked, but smiled to her as best as I could. She opened her mouth to keep speaking up we both heard a loud cheer that sounded quite a lot like Miyako. When I looked back D'arcmon was looking to me with a fierce look in her eyes. "Child, you have the cleanest heart I've ever seen. Filled with warmth and light, but that is because of the darkness it has fought so hard to protect you from. Give your heart a break, Hikari. Just for a moment, think about your own problems."

"Hikari!"

My body ached with relief when Miyako's voice cut into the conversation. I spun around and saw her standing by the arch way leading back to the entranceway. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she was grinning like a fool, "Oh, D'arcmon," She said, suddenly becoming much more polite and well mannered. "Pleasure to see you," She bowed slightly. I swallowed thickly, thanking Miyako repeatedly in my head, as I looked to D'arcmon, pleased our moment had passed. Miyako spoke as she came closer, thankfully filling the silence that was doomed to weigh over me whenever D'arcmon was around for the next little while. "We put up barriers all over. There was this really secluded village of Bakemon, but Sora knew the way. We found—"

There was a loud scream that shot right through my body. The next thing I knew I was rushing past Miyako toward the sound of the call. It had been male—was it Taichi? Was he okay? "What's going on?" Miyako asked in a panic, revealing herself to be behind me.

"Someone has invaded the Temple," D'arcmon said, her voice much more calm than Miyako's.

The three of us, and of course Demidevimon, emerged into the entrance courtyard in time to see Moretsuna, standing with all his horrible pride, his hands behind his back as if he was hiding something. To my right I could see Willis rushing some of the digimon out of the way, down the street to safety. Moretsuna was standing by the front gates as if he'd walked through the front door...

"Hikari get back," Taichi yelled, but I couldn't respond. His voice seemed to spark something in Sora who was now here as well.

She was standing near Kiyoko who seemed to have been the one to scream. Mostly in panic I hoped. "How did you get in here?" Sora asked loudly.

"Through the door," Moretsuna said, looking back for a moment, only to turn back to us with a grin on his face. The smile was entirely unreal though. Not forced, but not made with true emotion. Or so it seemed at this distance anyway.

"It's not possible." Sora turned to Taichi. "He must have used the computers and come through the gateway." It seemed as if she were trying to whisper, but was finding it difficult to keep her anger under control.

"You have no faith in me." Moretsuna said with a hollow laugh. "You may have some ingenious minds on your side, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how to get in." He began pacing, but did not get far.

"Don't take another step." Taichi warned him with a bark. "If you come too far we can blow you to pieces."

"You wouldn't," Moretsuna said with mock fear, "Nor could you. I don't believe I'm in the target range of any of your beasts." He took one hand from behind his back and placed it over his eyes as he searched the crowd. "No, I only see children."

"Are you willing to take that chance?" Taichi asked.

Moretsuna looked thoughtful for a moment and then shook his head, "Fine, I'll stay put." He planted his feet together and looked around, the grin returning to his face. "You only have one entrance to the building," He said, turning himself so he was talking directly to Taichi. "And yet you come and go, which we now know. And, you have the power of invisibility. Impressive I must say. You've got yourself a little team of superheroes. But I must be a mastermind then, because I foiled your silly concepts."

"Oh don't be so sure about that," Sora snarled.

"I am inside, my dear." He laughed, "I've figured it out." Sora looked irritated but couldn't respond. "There is only one thing you children have that I do not." My eyes dropped to his chubby fingers that were still behind his back, wrapped around something small that I couldn't make out. But as his fingers moved with anticipation I caught a glimpse of the silver device in his hand before he held it up for the others to see. A digivice. "And that is how I came through your front door." He pocketed the digivice and sighed, "Now as riveting as that story was—"

I jumped when Miyako grabbed my hand and pointed to the outer wall, just above the front door where Moretsuna was standing. She was pointing to the enormous golden statue of Gennai, and she was miming pushing it down. I let my jaw drop and I shook my head. We weren't going to push a seven tonne statue onto the man! That was insane. But she had a point. He wasn't looking, we could do something, I'd been known to think up plans on the spot before.

And it wasn't so hard since he thought there were no digimon around when I knew that wasn't true. D'arcmon was standing right behind me. I held up a finger to Miyako and leaned backward, turning to look to D'arcmon, but she was already nodding. I was beginning to think she could read my mind...

D'arcmon passed Demidevimon off to Miyako as the tiny digimon's eyes filled with panic. Leading the way toward Moretsuna, D'arcmon by my side, I listened closely, waiting for the perfect moment.

"Are you messing with us?" Sora asked, her arms crossed. "I genuinely don't understand how you think you're in the right. What are you even doing here! You don't even make any sense! You're actually an insane person. So leave or we'll make you leave."

"I will not be leaving," Moretsuna said. "At least not alone. I have come to tell you that you're all under arrest for the blatant and total disregard for the laws."

"I think you're a little out of your jurisdiction, aren't you?" I asked, elbowing D'arcmon lightly.

Moretsuna turned and saw me, recognition washing over his face. But it was the first time I'd gotten a good look at his eyes. His cold eyes... cold and _vacant_. Literally, like no one was inside. D'arcmon shot forward, her golden wings creating a sharp gust of wind, her sword held high in one hand and her staff in the other. Moretsuna panicked and held his arms up to defend himself as D'arcmon held her sword up to his throat. "Leave this sanctuary." She said boldly. "This is a safe place, and you have ruined it." Her voice sounded choked. "You and your kind have ruined this home."

"You talk a big talk about how we're all bad for hating your race, but your hatred for humans runs just as deep." He shot, spit visibly coming from his tight lips.

"You're wrong," D'arcmon said lowering her sword, "I do not hate humans. I hate nothing aside from cruelty." She pointed to the door with her sword, "Now go."

Moretsuna laughed, "Fine by me." He said, his grin faltering for a second. "I've got what I want." He turned, and with an arrogant strut he left the building.

Taichi looked up to me and smiled, rushing over quickly. He threw his around me and laughed. "You're on a roll with those sassy one liners this week." I looked to him, confused, and he grinned at me, "Takeru told me all about the flower pot. You really don't like this Moretsuna guy, huh?"

"He's a jerk." I said flatly.

"I think Miyako's idea was good," Demidevimon said from her arms as the two of them came nearer. "Push the statue on him. Crush him like a bug!"

"Not even _I_ think that's a good idea." Miyako said, "I was just saying we needed to do something, and that was all I could think of." She looked embarrassed that she'd thought of it at all.

Sora cleared her throat and we all looked to her as she and Kiyoko joined our little group. "What did he mean?" She asked quietly, "That he got what he wanted?"

Kiyoko looked worriedly toward Sora and then said, "I think when you told him to come through the computers and through the gateway... it might have given him an idea."

"I thought so." She said, wincing at his words. "I'm so sorry." She was stone faced, like she couldn't even believe her own mistake.

"It's not your fault!" Taichi insisted, "We're all confused here, and all we can do is stay strong. The digimon are all free of their tracking devices, we can send them away, maybe. I don't—"

"I'm leaving," Sora cut him off. He looked confused, but she was serious. "I'm going to Earth." She was already reaching into her bag to hand Kiyoko his laptop back, and then turning toward the council rooms.

"You're just giving up?" Taichi asked, "Going home?"

Sora turned back, a confident grin on her face. "No way," she smirked, "I'm going to stop this where it all began. I'm still with you. Still fighting, just in a different world. If that's how the enemies are going to play the game, then I will too."

"What's your plan?" Taichi asked excited.

"No idea," Sora said, her shoulders drooping. "But when I think of it, it'll be good. And don't worry, I'll be safe." She said. She stepped forward and hugged Taichi quickly. "I'll be back."

With a quick wave to us, she was on her way, but I called out for her to stop. "Find Natsuni and Jenna?" I practically pleaded. "They went back I'm sure of it. Natsuni's been worried about her father for days. Make sure they're okay... please?"

"Of course," Sora nodded. "I'll find them and keep them safe." I smiled to her and she smiled back, and something inside me was screaming at me to tell her to stay and to not go. But I let it go. She had her path and I had mine.

"So we need our own pla—" Taichi started.

"Guys!"

We all turned to see Willis running along the outer wall. He was moving quickly and then veered toward us for the stairs, rushing down them. "Guys!" He shouted again, "They're doing something!"

"What?" was the general response, some, like myself asked it in a more shocked sort of way, and others, like Taichi who by this point had come to expect twists asked it in a way that said 'explain what it is that they are doing.'

"I have _no_ idea," Willis said, shrugging his shoulders in disbelief. "But they're doing _something_! I was hiding the digimon back in the boring part of the Temple—you know the place, with all the museums and libraries?"

"We are familiar with the location, yes," D'arcmon sounded impatient.

"And I heard something, so I checked it out," Willis said, "They're not in the tanks. The tanks were only to scare us. They were to make our lives difficult while they found the base of operations."

"How can you know that?" Taichi asked.

"It's only a theory," He admitted.

"But it makes sense." Kiyoko agreed. "They attacked only once, and that was when they knew we had a shield up. They don't want to destroy the Temple. How did that not come to me sooner?"

"Well it came to me, I just didn't say anything." Willis admitted.

"Say something next time!" Taichi and I said together.

Willis threw his hands up in defense and I felt bad about making him feel he needed to be defensive. I didn't mean to sound impatient or annoyed, this was just serious and I was really anxious to hear what they were actually doing out there, something he'd yet to mention. "Well," he said, hopefully getting to his point. "There's these weird purple things, and they're sticking them in the g—just come look." He rushed off, bouncing with fear and anticipation, looking like a kid on a sugar high. He slipped out the door and Kiyoko, Miyako (still holding Demidevimon), D'arcmon, Taichi and I followed him. We were all standing on the bridge now, in a line, watching as the enemies surrounding us did just as Willis had described. Each of them was holding a glowing purple stick of sorts and sticking them into the ground.

Well, not each of them. Two of them were walking directly toward us. They looked like they might have been higher in command, wearing different clothing than the rest. One looked a bit like Santa Clause and I was upset with myself for jumping to that. The other looked a little crazy.

"Greetings!" The tall, dark haired crazy one said. His eyes seemed to be permanently widened. "My name is Bitoru." He waved almost politely. "This is Aesop. We mean you no harm."

"As if." Taichi growled, "Stay back."

"We cannot penetrate your protective barrier anyhow, so that should not be an issue." Bitoru said. Aesop didn't seem to be much of a talker, but was grinning foolishly. "I only mean to inform you that your stalkers, or, rather those who have taken to surrounding your Temple are up to something."

"Does that mean they're not part of the team?" Miyako asked me in a whisper.

"It is unclear." D'arcmon said just as quietly.

"We know you're up to something." Willis said, "_What_ though?"

"While I am not at liberty to say, it is not good news." Bitoru said boldly. "Though your barrier seems sound. It should might hold. I'm not here to judge your handiwork."

"Well good..." Kiyoko muttered under his breath, defending his barrier. I took his hand gently, mostly because he was shaking with nervousness. I didn't know what was going on with these two men or why they were trying to help us. Or _if_ they were trying to help us.

Bitoru sighed and looked over his shoulder. "Now, pretend I've insulted you. I'm supposed to be distracting you all."

No one said a thing, or even moved. It was clear they were all as confused as I was.

"Good," Bitoru said, rolling his eyes, "None of you are the actor, boy, are you?" We all shook our heads. "Probably for the best—"

"I think it wise to stay on track Bitoru," Aesop said, his voice almost as floaty and mystical as D'arcmon's. "Time is running short for the two of us."

"Right," Bitoru said. "Long story short, you can't go home."

There was a pause, and then Taichi asked, "Why not?"

"Well, the _ have been tracking the movements between worlds for a while and are fully aware how the passageways work. Perhaps more than either you or I." Bitoru looked almost impressed, and then laughed, "Well not me. Maybe you. You know, one time—" Aesop elbowed him, "Right. They have now built a... well, for lack of a better word, a wall. There is now a solid impenetrable wall between Earth and the Digital World."

"I don't believe you." Taichi said, his arms crossed, "You wouldn't lock yourselves in here."

"Well," Aesop said, stepping in, "Bitoru is acting a tad dramatic. There is a way out and the wall is not entirely impenetrable. You do not possess the key however and will not be able to travel between worlds."

Taichi turned sharply to Miyako and pointed to the Temple. "Go get Sora." She didn't think twice, and was already pushing past D'arcmon, running as fast as her legs would carry her to where Sora was heading. I watched her go, only turning back when she'd slipped back through the doorway. "You two can leave." Taichi said, "I'm done talking to you."

"Why?" Willis asked, his hand on Taichi's shoulder, not letting the conversation end just yet. "Why are you blocking off the worlds? What does that prove? Who does that help? There are still digimon on Earth, so you're not blocking away the species."

"No," Bitoru admitted, "But I suppose there would be less digimon to deal with over all, and you know—" Aesop wrapped his hands around Bitoru's arm and shook his head, pulling gently backwards. They were leaving.

"Hey!" Willis shouted after them, but they didn't stop. Taichi was practically growling as he pushed past us all and back into the Temple.

"I don't understand," I found myself saying, "What's happening?" the news hadn't quite sunk in just yet. It didn't make sense. I was staring at my digivice wondering how we could simply not have the key anymore. Though this wasn't the first time the worlds had been locked apart. Gennai had done the very same thing to us twice. It was entirely possible... But he was the only one that knew how. Only Gennai could do this, and he was gone now. How was it that others were able to step into his place?

Miyako was barrelling toward us a second later, Demidevimon still in her arms. But she was accompanied by others this time. Miyako stopped running finally when she caught us, and she doubled over, panting heavily. Now that they were closer it was easy to identify one of her followers as my mother, holding Kamemon in her arms. She smiled to me quickly and walked directly to me, hugging me, crushing Kamemon between us as he gasped for air. There were two others as well. One was the blonde girl who worked at Mimi's restaurant and the other was a kind faced brown haired boy who I didn't recognize.

"Well?" Taichi asked Miyako eagerly.

"Gone," She gasped.

"Sora's gone?" I asked weakly.

"Momoe too," Mom said. "She brought us to the doorway and we all went through, but Momoe was coming right after us, but she just didn't make it through."

"Why not?" I asked, "What happened?"

Miyako, having caught her breath repeated herself. "Gone." She said, standing tall now, "It's gone. All of it."

"All of...?" Kiyoko asked.

"The door," Miyako said quietly. "It's gone. We really are stuck here."

_**Iori Hida:**_

I wanted this to be over.

Wanting it didn't make it so. It seemed to just cause disappointment. I shouldn't have been surprised when Haruhiko's face came onto the computer screen, having called us via video to alert us to the newest developments. But I was. Surprised, I mean. I'd thought we'd finally gotten one up on the enemy. That slowly but surely we'd continue to gain ground, letting us defeat them once and for all.

I was wrong.

Moretsuna figured out how to get around the shields. He'd waltzed right into the Temple in front of everyone, without fear. He walked into one of our bases of operations, surrounded by digimon trained for combat and didn't hesitate a second. How could he be so confident? How could they have let him walk out of there at all? They should have taken him down. They didn't need to kill him for that to happen. I didn't want anyone to get figurative blood on their hands. But they could have fought him, punched him, kicked him, wacked him in the head with an iron pole. They could have gotten literal blood on their hands, rendering him incapable of leaving through loss of consciousness.

I didn't voice those thoughts, obviously. I was in the minority. Everyone else didn't seem to care for such acts of violence. Hikari had done him harm once, but only as a last resort. Ken though, I could see he was on my side. He didn't forget what Moretsuna did. He remembered that Moretsuna shot _both_ Noriko and Jun, and had killed a small Burpmon. He'd chased Sora and Miyako through town, only stopping when Miyako had to shoot _him_ in order to get free. Ken remembered Moretsuna shooting Monimon—only for Katsue to save him with the use of Moretsuna's antidote. He remembered the fight between police officer and police chief. His knuckles were still healing from his attempted battle. So yes, Ken was on my side, but we remained the violent minority.

How hypocritical could we be?

It was alright for us digidestined to beat on the shadows with sticks and poles. It was alright for Ken to take on Shinsetsumon, the digimon of kindness, with his own bare hands when we'd first come across him. It was okay for us to do everything in our power to destroy Yggdrasil's robot army. Mimi was allowed to have a full on fight with Mari when Mari had still been active in the Alias III. Any of us were allowed to slap another digidestined across the face when we were behaving incorrigibly. It was alright for us to allow Fanglongmon to infiltrate our minds, to turn friends into foes. To send our best friends—our digital counterparts—into battle, asking them to destroy whomever we declared was acceptable. Those were all forgivable.

But to fight against Moretsuna, to _really_ fight, to _hurt_ him, that was too far.

Apparently we would become as bad as the DWD if we started fighting against other humans. I couldn't see it that way. I tried, I _really_ did. But my mind could not grasp that aspect. Perhaps my grandfather was right, and I had far too much anger inside, but I could not see how it was okay for us to fight digimon, robots, shadows, our _friends_, but it wasn't acceptable to fight against other humans.

And had I been there to actually _see_ Moretsuna stroll inside the Temple as though he owned it, well he wouldn't have been walking back out again. Moretsuna lost any chance at redemption when he shot that gun of his at a moving, _living_ target. He was on my list. And with his subsequent actions—shooting Noriko, Jun, attacking Yamato, Katsue and Ken, chasing after Miyako and Sora, killing Burpmon and any other digimon that I didn't personally know about—he was never getting off of it.

I wouldn't kill him.

But I wouldn't let him go either.

They had three of ours. They had Michael, they had Gomamon and I was damn sure they had Neo too. And that was only the ones we knew about. How many times had Isao pondered over Shin's location? How many times had Gatomon and Agumon wondered about Taichi and Hikari's father?

"I have to go," Gatomon and Takeru said at once. Haruhiko's face had disappeared from the screen in front of us. I hadn't realized he was still talking. I'd missed everything after his initial announcement about Moretsuna. I looked curiously to the faces of those that were also gathered around the computer. Takeru was determined, his fists, like mine, were clenched tightly. Gatomon's eyes were narrowed, and she started towards the door. Toshiko was in shock. What had her husband said to scare her so completely? Mom and Meiyomon were crying. Gabumon had slouched, Agumon gently patting him on the back.

"Not so fast," Natsuko said, stepping into Gatomon's path.

"Get outta my way, Hikari _needs_ me," Gatomon growled.

"She's fine," Natsuko insisted. "She's still at the Temple. The digimon don't have tracking devices anymore. They're going to call us back soon for the phones. She's going to be here before you know it."

"And how many times is the enemy going to come inside the Temple walls in the meantime?" Gatomon hissed. "She's not safe. She needs me. They could come again any second. They could be there right now!"

"Gatomon, Mom's right," Takeru said. "She's got Taichi with her. And Willis is there, and he won't let anything happen to her. And she won't let anything happen to him either, so don't you two go getting ideas," he said, shaking his finger in Lopmon and Terriermon's direction. The two were tiptoeing out of the room, determined to go after their partner. They stopped in their tracks though, when Takeru brought attention to them. "They will call when they want us. They'll just get mad if we show up sooner than expected."

"Besides," Rei said cheerily, though her hands were shaking with her suppressed fear. "The bad guys know about the invisibility thing now. You saw how fast they created that gun that destroyed the data streams. It was so fast it's crazy. And they've known about the invisibility since they shot Palmon with the tracker. They probably know how to counteract our invisibility by now."

"How is that supposed to make us feel better?" Ken asked aghast. His wife and unborn child were in the Temple too—though I wasn't sure whether Miyako had told him about the baby yet. It was obvious, even if she hadn't though. He was just as desperate as Gatomon and the twins to get to the Temple.

"It's not meant to make you feel better," Rei said shaking her head. "I just want you to think. How are your partners going to feel if you get caught or killed trying to sneak into the Temple? They'll be furious, and heartbroken. They'll be miserable forever if you get hurt because of them. You know it. Taichi's probably beating himself up enough for everybody right now, and I don't want to add to that stress. That's why I'm going to stay here. I can worry here just as much as I can over there. Going there won't _help_. It might just make things worse."

"Hikari has Wizardmon on her side as well," Takeru agreed grudgingly.

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Gatomon said, shoulders collapsing as she lowered herself to the floor in defeat. "It just gives me even more to worry about. I'm not supposed to be doing the worrying. I'm supposed to be out there bashing evil, and returning light to the world. I don't like this worrying one bit."

"I don't think anyone likes it," Natsuko said, crouching to the floor and pulling Gatomon into a hug. Gatomon allowed it, letting Natsuko scratch her head, closing her eyes and leaning into the touch. I knew that she'd be okay now though. It was her one weakness: being scratched behind the ears. It was something I'd learned about her, living in the same apartment.

"I have to tell Jou what has happened," Bearmon said solemnly, moving around Natsuko through the door. I felt, once again, as though I missed something important. I was one of the few, out of the twenty-three present that didn't look as though something was stolen from them. I was concerned about the shields, and was having violent thoughts, but I was very much so in the minority.

Takeru still looked like he was planning on leaving, but with Ken carefully positioning himself in his path; he couldn't do anything—yet. Kurayami was here, with her son curled in her arms. She was sad, yes, but she wasn't beating down any doors to escape like the others. Agumon was still comforting Gabumon. Hawkmon was upset, and glaring at Rei and Ken in turn, wanting to get to Miyako in the same way Gatomon wanted Hikari, and the twins wanted Willis. They weren't the only ones either. Tapirmon and Yoshie were torn, I could see that they very much wanted to get to the two Izumi digidestined, but logic appeared to be winning with them. Toshiko was fighting her tears, while Mother and Meiyomon put forth no such effort, and were openly crying. Michael's father—Michael Sr—looked as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and Betamon was frightened. It was Armadillomon and Goblimon though, that caused the concern building in my chest to bubble and expand. Goblimon was devastated, and Armadillomon didn't look much better. He was trying to hold Goblimon together, but his efforts were falling short.

Natsuni.

It had to be Natsuni. She and Hikari were the only members of our family that were missing. I was one of the luckier ones. My mother and brother were with me. My partner was with me. Only Daisuke and Jou could really boast the same luck. The only person in Daisuke's family that wasn't here was his father. And he didn't seem to mind that absence in the slightest. He was more worried about his adoptive family, the Yagamis, to waste any thoughts on him. Jou's father and step-family were all here, along with his daughter. Momoe wasn't here yet, but she probably would be soon.

My heart stopped.

Bearmon's face flickered through my mind. He looked like the bearer of bad news. Jou wasn't going to be pleased with whatever it was he had to say. It wasn't just Natsuni then. It was Momoe too. And perhaps Sora, with the way Toshiko was responding.

I needed to know what I'd missed.

Finding the best candidate, I walked to Kurayami, pulling her towards a corner, and talking with a low voice. "What's going on?"

"Didn't you hear him?" she said, her voice wavering. I winced. "The worlds are closed. Moretsuna"—her voice cracked on his name—"he did it. He's winning. Why does he keep winning?"

"He won't," I assured her. "I won't let him."

"Good," she said with fire in her eyes. It didn't last long, but I was glad to see that she wasn't planning to lecture me on good behaviour. That was a step in the right direction. "Iori, so many people are still on the other side. We can't get them anymore. We won't be able to have a proper funeral."

I didn't even know what she meant exactly, but knew it had something to do with what Moretsuna had done to make her hate him so much. Tears were close now, I could feel it, so I awkwardly put my arm around her shoulders. She leaned in to me, bouncing her small son in her arms. She sniffed, trying to keep her emotions in check, but she was fighting a losing battle. "What happened?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"You shouldn't be comforting me," she said, ignoring the question, looking up to me with the saddest pair of eyes I'd ever seen, and I just knew what it was. Her grandfather had been sick, and now she was talking of a funeral. I wondered if my eyes had looked that helpless when it was _my_ grandfather. I wondered if it was those eyes that made Miyako determined to keep me company, made Natsuni go above and beyond, that made Hikari cry in my place. I forced the memories out of the forefront of my brain. It wasn't about me, it was about her. "Your step-father is on the other side. Sora is on the other side, Jenna's on the other side. Iori, _Natsuni_ is on the other side."

Time halted, I could feel each individual beat of my heart, and everyone ceased to exist around me. She was lying of course. She had to be. Natsuni was at the Temple. She was waiting to get word from her father. She was still there. She had to be.

Time sped up, when the truth hit me hard. It was like I'd been punched in the stomach, all the air left me in a strangled gasp. A hand was squeezing my heart within my ribcage. One word, one single syllable made it through my lips.

"No."

"I'm sorry," Kurayami said. "It really sucks, and I don't know what to say to make it better. _Can_ I even make it better? I don't know what to do."

She bounced Haruki faster, losing control of her emotions once and for all. I didn't let go of her. Some small part of my mind remembered that she _needed_ comfort. That she was dealing with something more permanent, more _absolute_ than this. I had to remember that. Having Natsuni in another world did not mean the world was ending.

So why did it feel like it was?

I'd heard about her adventure getting to the Temple in the first place. I knew what had happened to her Dad, and how worried she'd been about him. I should have gone to get him myself. She would be safe in the Temple—if it could even be considered _safe_ anymore—and she'd have the answers she wanted. And she'd have her father too. But instead of doing that for her, I hung around the Coliseum, playing catch with Emiko, and games of hide and seek, with her and the other young ones. I oversaw games of soccer, making sure no one cheated, all to make sure that Emiko didn't pester her father while he was working. And I sat at Noriko's bedside, trying to keep her hopes and spirit alive.

Natsuni didn't blame me for it either, and that just made me feel worse.

And now she was gone, blocked off from me and the entire Digital World because of the DWD. She wasn't the only one either. A list was forming in my mind: Mr Yagami was still there, and Miyako's entire family, except for Masa. Shin was gone, Daisuke's father too, and Sora, and Jenna.

Poor Mr Washington. Both of his children were out of his reach—and his step-son was off at the Temple still as well. And Betamon was losing it, being without Michael in the one place he never wanted to return to.

It wasn't just Natsuni.

But I couldn't help but worry for her more than anyone else. It made me feel guilty, but I honestly didn't care about most of the people we didn't have with us. Sora, Jenna, sure, I cared a bit. I even cared a bit for Hiroaki—despite my intense dislike for the man.

It was _Natsuni_ though.

She was family in a way that nobody else was. No one could fill her role, and I didn't want anyone to try. She was perfect for me, and we worked together like a well oiled machine. We were inevitably going to make it official someday. I wanted her to share my name, and she wanted it too. We were just waiting for the right time.

Now we might never get the chance.

What if we couldn't find a way to open the gates again? What if we were all stuck in the Digital World for the rest of our lives? I would never _see_ her again. We'd never relax side by side on the sofa watching a movie together with Goblimon and Armadillomon by our side. I'd never get to watch her chopping vegetables with that less than graceful technique of hers. We'd never get to take the digimon on another picnic to the Land of Dreams. I'd never get to watch her walk down the aisle on her father's arm, never get the chance to ask for his blessing. She wouldn't ever hold my hand again, or kiss my cheek, my forehead, or my lips. I'd never get to hold her in my arms.

Would we even be able to _talk_?

When Moretsuna cut off the gates, did he cut off our access too? Video calls, email, the blog. Would any of those work anymore? Would I ever be able to tell her again how much I loved her?

It was Haruki's sniffling that brought me back to reality. He was reacting to the emotional atmosphere, feeling his mother's pain, and my turmoil wasn't helping matters. It wasn't until I heard Takeru gently hushing him that I realized he'd joined our emotional little hugging fest. I wanted to push him away, to remind him that he wasn't my brother and should stop acting like he was. But I couldn't do that. I needed the support, and it wasn't fair to assume he didn't need the same.

He, like Kurayami, probably needed it _more_ than I did.

He was Natsuni's friend too, and he'd considered Sora his sister for _forever_, and Hikari was at the Temple in potential danger, along with Wizardmon, his father's digimon partner, and Taichi, and all of the others. Angemon was still behind a shield in Primary Village, a location that was now susceptible to Moretsuna, since he could get through the shield now, thanks to the digivice he'd gotten his hands on. And as much as I disliked the man, Hiroaki was Takeru's father.

I was one of the luckier few still.

Takeru only had Gatomon, Gabumon and his mother here with him. His father was on earth, Yamato had wandered off _somewhere_, and I really wished I'd asked him before he'd gone off where it was he was heading. I was only missing Natsuni and Kotemon—and Hikari.

"Oh," Takeru gasped. "Emiko. Who's going to tell Emiko? And Masa?"

Damn it.

Trust Takeru to think of other people more than himself. I hadn't once thought of how Emiko was going to react to Momoe's predicament.

"I'm going to see if I can get Kiyoko on the line," Yoshie declared loudly. "I'll see if he can't add the invisibility program to the shield he created. They might know how to combat it, but they'll still have to locate them first, and that would be of at least a little help."

"I'm going to tell Mary the news," Mr Washington sighed.

"Should I go get Angemon?" Takeru whispered. "And Biyomon, and all of the others? Would it be safer if we moved them here?"

"There's not enough room here," I said bluntly, wincing at my callousness. He didn't seem to mind it though, he just nodded.

"I know," he said. "But it's hard to sit here and do _nothing_."

"But what if we do more harm than good," Kurayami cried.

"I _know_," Takeru sighed.

We fell into silence, each dwelling in our own circumstances. I let my fear, my longing, my _anger_ fill me, each feeling battling the other, until my emotions were tame enough to wrangle, and I was in control once more. Once my feelings weren't so wild, I found I wasn't quite as invested in our group hug, and I slowly, and carefully extracted myself, feeding them the obvious excuse that I needed to talk with Goblimon and Armadillomon—and Mother and Meiyomon.

It hurt, that I knew Mother was crying for Hiroaki, rather than Natsuni, the woman that would be her daughter someday. It was worse that I knew Meiyomon was crying for the same reasons. Deciding I couldn't deal with that, yet, angry about that situation still, I opted to head towards the two digimon. Goblimon was silent as I fell to the ground at his side. We didn't speak, not once, just drew strength from one another. Armadillomon talked enough for the both of us.

"It'll get better," he assured us. "It will. It might take time, but you'll be happy again. I just know it."

He couldn't know that though. If I was never able to pass through the gate again, never able to be with her, to hear her laugh, and cry, and rant about her mother—then I didn't think it would _ever_ be okay. I certainly wouldn't be _happy_.

"We'll figure it out. We _always_ come out on top. Just look at our track record," he said brightly. "We've never lost, not even once. There's hope yet. Just wait and see. Everything will be fine."

I let him continue talking, hoping that some of his optimism would rub off on me, and that I'd have enough hope to at least pretend to be anything other than angry. I was _not_ the emotional digidestined. That role was Mimi's, and I wanted to keep it that way. I was the serious, often angry observer. It was the reason that I noticed Betamon nervously shifting in his place in the corner. His eyes were wild, moving quickly from one place to another, always cautious, always jerky. He wasn't calm and resolved, or devastated, or angry. He was simply terrified.

I wasn't the only one that noticed either.

"Iori," Armadillomon said softly. "Goblimon and I will be okay for now. We can't change anything, and sitting around won't help. But you _could_ help Betamon, don't you think?"

"Probably," I admitted. He was right, of course. Why did he have to be so much like Takeru? His optimism and generous nature was tiring at times. I wouldn't change him though. He was the other half of my coin. He balanced me, grounding me in reality, allowing me to reign in most of my anger. He was the reason there was forgiveness inside of me now. It was because of this that he _was_ like Takeru. Takeru and I were DNA partners. He was my opposite too. I didn't know what it said about me, that I needed _two_ friends with the same personality to balance mine out, but I wasn't about to dwell on it.

Betamon needed me now.

I got to my feet, heading over to him, moving slowly so as not to surprise him. He was jumpy enough as it was. I didn't want to scare him further.

"Betamon," I said slowly. His eyes jumped to mine and he took a shaky breath. "Do you want to go for a walk?"

"Yes," he said quickly, eyeing the remnants of the cell's doors. It was once a jail cell, a cage, and I should've known he wouldn't want to be inside one. He practically ran out of the room, waiting briefly for me to catch up. I didn't know what to do with him, what to say. This situation was _exactly_ the type I would have left to Natsuni. She was the nurturing, comforting one. She was also the funny one, the fun one, the gentle one. She was all around my better half.

But she wasn't here.

I shook my head sharply, ridding myself of the thought. It wouldn't do to be so focussed on missing her, that I missed Moretsuna, if he came waltzing into the Coliseum next. Logically, I knew he'd have a much harder time finding us, since the Coliseum was doubly protected, with the invisibility and the shield, but I also knew he had a digivice now. I distinctly remembered many times where we relied on the digivices to locate one another. Digivices could detect the location of other digivices.

How long would it be before he figured out that feature?

It wouldn't be long, I was sure of it. And there was a large concentration of digivices inside the Coliseum. There was nothing we could do to stop him from finding us either, not unless Koushiro ever figured out a way to turn the signals off—but that would be a hindrance, as we were still missing our fellow digidestined. Michael and Neo were in unknown locations. Hideto was wandering the world around our safety zones, hoping to stumble upon either of them—or Gomamon, who was also missing. Mimi, Mari, Palmon and Koushiro were _somewhere_, hopefully out of the DWD's grasp. What would we do if we needed to find them and didn't have access to our digivices?

But then the question stood: what did we do if Moretsuna found all of us, and thousands of digimon too?

We were caught between a rock and a hard place and I wasn't happy about it. My fists were clenching again, and having caught sight of Betamon flinching, I tried using Grandpa's old breathing exercises.

"Sorry," I grunted, breathing in deeply.

"S'okay," he muttered. "You've got a lot on your mind. Everyone does. There's a lot of stuff to do, a lot of people to save. Someone _is_ looking for Michael though, right? Please say yes. I miss him. I _really_ miss him. He said he'd never leave me again. That he'd always be by my side, since he missed out on so many years, thinking some other Betamon was me... I don't want him to leave me here."

"He doesn't want to either," I assured him. "It's just the safest spot currently, for you to be. I'm sorry it's bringing up unpleasant memories, but until we find Michael...you'll have to stay here. It sucks. I get it. But Willis is looking into it. I know he is. Tatum is too, I'm sure. That means that the other members of the research team are probably helping too. He'll be found before you know it. And then he'll come here, and maybe he'll take you to Primary Village, or Neverland."

"I want to be with all of our friends," Betamon said sadly. "But I don't want to be here. I can't stay here, Iori. I'm afraid of every echo, every laugh, every _shadow_."

I winced. There were a lot of shadows and echoes in this place. The halls were long and lit only with the flames of torches. Shadows were cast every direction, and the place felt very medieval to me. It was good, me talking with Betamon. It was helping me remember that I was one of the luckier few. Betamon was in worse shape than me. I couldn't justify dwelling on my own problems when someone was living their biggest nightmares each day. If he could survive, I'd be able to.

And with a little effort, I'd be able to make his life easier too.

"Let's see if we can't find a room with better lighting," I suggested. He seemed excited, and we wandered down the hall together, never seeing anything more than cells—_rooms_. Some had digimon inside them, others didn't. Masa was playing in one with Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon. Wormmon was on the top bunk with a Kunemon—Masa's partner—discussing the finer points of computer animation as opposed to stop-frame animation. Hawkmon was across the room, on top of a small table, seated perfectly still in a nest of sorts. He was glaring over at Masa's giggling group, as they obviously disturbed his nap. It was a crowded cell. Ken stayed there too, though he typically was only there during the night, and Miyako would join them eventually too.

For a moment, I thought perhaps Betamon wanted to join them, but he hurried forward. There were too many shadows around still.

We passed more friends—_allies_, at least—on our travels, never stopping. The shadows were still ever present. Isao's partner, Unimon was being pampered by Eri, Cho and Kazue—Isao's step-daughters. He didn't look particularly happy, but he was allowing it, so I didn't interrupt. Labramon weaved around us, racing down the hall, and we were nearly trampled by Veemon when he came thundering along after him. Coronamon and Lunamon weren't far behind, trying desperately to keep up.

"No running in the halls!" Babamon screeched, shaking her broom at them, not bothering to chase after them. She sighed, and walked after them at a rather slow pace.

Before too long, we came across the doorway to the recreation room. There were couches spread out, a few dining tables surrounded by wooden chairs. There were shelves of books, and televisions. And there were a lot of digimon and humans just relaxing. Mr Ogremon was letting the kids have recess—hence Masa and Kunemon's little adventure—utilizing MetallifeKuwagamon's presence as a second set of eyes. MetallifeKuwagamon looked overwhelmed by all of the children swarming around him, asking him about his job and staring in awe at someone as important as him. He was on the council didn't you know, and that fact made him their hero.

It looked promising when Betamon caught sight of two Gizamon and a Floramon talking by a large fireplace. He seemed interested in joining them, but he stuck by my side—even when we found Willis' mother, Mary. She was seated around a table with Mimi's father Keisuke, Yuudai, and the Jeffersons. Minervamon and Kudamon joined them too, and they seemed to be having a good time. Kurayami's father was hovering a few feet away, unsure of whether to join them or not. I was distracted from his decision by a rather intriguing conversation.

"Of course I am Gabumon, why ever would you think that I was not?" Melga said slowly, looking at Agumon as though he'd lost his mind.

"Who's your partner then," Agumon asked slyly.

"Yamato Ishida of course," Melga answered confidently. "And our crest is friendship, and I am a part of the Council, where I give Taichi Yagami—your partner—council, and help the Digital World. I also train with the Knights. You and I are best friends, and are often seen together frolicking through the halls and investigating mysterious, hidden passage ways."

"I don't know..." Agumon said scratching his head.

I shook my head at the pair, noticing some spies peeking over the back of the sofa. Emiko was next to Monmon and Warg. Pal and Pul were sitting beside them, and they all giggled like fools, obviously thinking this was the cleverest prank ever. Dracomon was snickering to himself from his place on a second couch. He had a blanket strewn over his lap, but his legs continued across the couch much further than they should be able to. Narrowing my eyes, I noticed his feet were golden, and he had a long spiked, golden tail as well...and was wearing white and blue fur... I realized he was hiding the real Gabumon under the blanket so that Melga's prank would have a better chance of success. I rolled my eyes at the lot of them.

"Shall we carry on?" I asked Betamon. "I think there's food in the next room, if you're interested."

"Maybe," Betamon said nodding.

We slipped through the doorway, and continued to the dining hall. There were at _least_ a hundred digimon crammed inside. Most were eating loudly, causing a ruckus, at their seats, but there was a fairly long line to the table that Kae and Satoe were manning. They were ladling out portions of soup into cups or bowls for the digimon in front of them. If the digimon continued along the line, they would come to Digitamamon and his Tapirmon friend, who prepared rice balls, and Kazuya and Masami, who had beverages to offer. Toshiko's Mushroomon was wandering around with some volunteers, collecting any empty dishes, so they could be washed and reused.

Betamon was shaking with all the noise, so I led him back to the hall. There _had_ to be somewhere that wouldn't frighten him. Nowhere was quiet enough without possessing haunting echoes, there was only enough light in crowded areas, but he wanted seclusion. I was running out of places to look.

But we'd come to a room I simply wasn't able to pass by without walking into: the infirmary. It was such a habit by now, that I didn't even think of it. Betamon followed along, never questioning. The room was bright, with only two beds occupied, one on either side of the room.

Jun was surrounded. She was curled into Shuu's arms, crying softly. At first, I thought she was crying about her situation, but then my eyes strayed to Bearmon, and I knew they'd just heard the news. Otamamon and Gekomon were sitting at Jun's feet on her bed. At a table nearby, Isao was hunched over some papers, clearly trying to solve the problem and save both Noriko and his future daughter-in-law. Jou was standing at the wall with his forehead pressed against it, and his fisted hand above his head, against the wall. Everything was against him. I felt for him, I really did. Momoe was with Natsuni, after all. Jun's mother looked positively miserable, standing next to Daisuke, hovering at Jun's bedside, and Daisuke didn't look much better. The only person with any sort of positivity was Aimi, who was holding a tray with a teapot and several tea cups on it, with a sunny smile plastered on her face.

Across the room, Noriko was propped up on a pillow, an oxygen tube tucked under her nose. Impmon was curled into her side, sleeping with his head resting on her stomach. Tomotsu was perched on an uncomfortable, guest chair that he'd moved directly beside the bed. He was holding his fiancé's hand, talking with her in a low voice, careful not to wake Impmon. There were heavy bags under his eyes. He wasn't sleeping. He was too afraid to close his eyes, never wanting to leave Noriko alone. Her eyes brightened when she saw me, as they always did.

I was the excuse she always needed to send Tomotsu off to take care of himself for an hour or two. I let her use me however she wanted. It wasn't hurting anyone, and she stressed just as much about his health as he did hers.

"Look who's here for a visit," she said brightly. "Why don't you go eat something, Tomostu? Maybe you could have a nap too."

"I don't want to leave," he protested weakly. She raised her eyebrow at him and he sighed, pushing himself to his feet and walking towards the door. He stopped beside me, turning back to her. "Just _one_ hour."

"Take care of yourself," was all she said in response. He sighed again and left the room to brave the chaos that was in the dining room. He'd be longer than an hour for sure. It might take an hour to even _get_ the food.

"Thank you," Noriko said breathily. "He's been worrying himself sick. I don't want _both_ of us trapped in these beds."

I looked at her then. _Really_ looked at her, and I didn't like what I saw. She was still pretty, but there was paleness to her skin that was almost unnatural. Her cheeks lost their plumpness that was always so evident when she smiled. They were hollowing, and she'd lost all the extra weight she could stand to lose, and more. She was terribly thin. Her fingers were slim, and _long_. One hand was perched weakly around Impmon's shoulder, while the other rested on the bed beside her. Moving took much more conscious effort for her now. But for all her body was failing her, she didn't let it dampen her spirits.

"I heard what happened," Noriko said softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," I said quickly. "It sucks, yes, but it's not like she'd dying or something." I let my words sink in, and winced. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know how you meant it," Noriko said with a whispery laugh. "I lost a lung, not my common sense."

I noticed Betamon hovering at my side, and helped him into Tomotsu's discarded chair. "Noriko, this is Betamon. Betamon, this is Noriko."

"_That_ Noriko?" Betamon asked with wide eyes.

"I'm not crazy anymore," Noriko sighed.

"Crazy?" Betamon questioned.

I was hit again with unpleasant realizations. He was the Betamon that talked me into asking her out. And I'd done as he asked when he died. Only he _hadn't_ been the Betamon that died. He didn't know anything about the date, or anything. I'd fallen under the same assumptions that Michael had been convinced by, and I often forgot that Betamon hadn't been around. Not _this_ Betamon anyway. Not the _right_ one.

There was a silver lining in all this though, I decided. Betamon hadn't been told all of the negatives about Noriko; he'd only heard me sing her praise. He wouldn't be walking on eggshells around her, awkwardly playing nice even though she'd been quite frightening for a number of years. She wasn't like that anymore, and I _had_ noticed that people had a lot of trouble ignoring her past behaviour.

And in her current condition, she needed as much _positive_ atmosphere we could provide her with.

"Never mind that," I said hastily. "She is though, _that_ Noriko."

"Iori had the _biggest_ crush on you," Betamon said instantly, in a rather excited voice. I voiced my protests, but he didn't seem to mind, rambling on and on about our meeting in the factory town, and how he made me promise to ask her out. Amusement was bubbling in her eyes, and she _would not_ take her eyes off of me. I sighed. At least someone was enjoying the painful re-imaginings of my awkward past encounters. Both of them were enjoying it too. I'd finally found a place that Betamon wasn't scared, wasn't nervous. I could suffer some embarrassment, knowing that I'd succeeded in my mission.

Once Betamon had exhausted his fairly limited supply of "Awkward Iori" stories, Noriko turned to me, her smile falling slowly. "I've been thinking of Owikawa a lot recently. Mostly about how he sacrificed what little life he had left and turned himself into butterflies."

"You're planning on becoming bugs?" Betamon asked, confused.

"No," she said shaking her head. "I've decided against it. The butterflies wouldn't last. Not with this virus. And what's the point of becoming guardian butterflies if the butterflies are deleted before they can do any good. It's a waste."

"You're not losing hope," I said shaking my head. Not believing it.

"Hardly," she said with a small laugh. "Just thinking negative things, that's all."

"Focus on the positive," I practically ordered. She needed to stay positive. If _she_ wasn't positive, how could _I _be? I'd lost access to Natsuni, and Hikari wasn't anywhere around. Noriko was my _only_ source of obnoxious positivity—aside from Armadillomon and Takeru, but they were both upset, and slacking in their duties.

"I wanted to thank you," she said seemingly complying with my instructions. "I know I was crazy for awhile there. It was probably terrifying on your end, how intense I was about it all. But you gave me a second chance."

"That was a horrible date," I pointed out. "We agreed never to talk about it."

"I wasn't," she said with a wink. "You gave _me_ a second chance, not our doomed-from-the-start "relationship". You didn't ignore me when we worked together. You supported me during the hardest time in my life. You gave me an olive branch; you offered me friendship when I'd never done anything to deserve it."

"Careful now," I said, feeling my heart beat in my throat. "This is starting to sound dangerously like a good-bye speech."

"Just listen, okay?" she said. "You were exactly what I needed, and you offered me adventure, and excitement, even after everything I did to you. I followed you home _daily_. You didn't have a single reason to accept my apology, or give me the time of day. But I'm so happy you did. And I'm so happy that Hikari and I are friends now, and that I had the chance—however brief it might've been—to teach Emiko. I love that Natsuni doesn't hate me, even though I was horrible to her, and I love that nobody ever tells Tomotsu how scary I was, even though he already knows. You don't talk bad about me, even when I deserve it."

"You're different," I argued. "You've changed. You deserve everything."

"That's sweet," she said, rubbing her thumb along Impmon's shoulder. "I love Impmon, and I loved watching him grow. I love that my dream of being a kindergarten teacher helped save the world from one of the nine great evils."

"Noriko?" I said slowly.

"I'm being silly, I know, I _know_," she said, shaking her head. "But I really wanted to tell you that. There's so much I want to do, so many things that I want to say, you know?"

"I do," I said, remembering the time I'd looked death in the face, and how much more effort I'd put into living my life after it happened. I did my best to appreciate every day, and to _enjoy_ each one. It was much harder these days, but still I tried.

"Look at me," she said, raising her free hand to wipe her face. "I'm crying. How ridiculous is that?"

"Very," I said seriously, almost robotic. Our eyes met and we both started laughing. Her laugh was joyous, and carefree—at first. Then it gave way to a startled gasp of pain. Her eyes widened, meeting mine once again, her hand flying to her chest. Impmon was jostled awake, and he was staring at her in horror, screaming at her to tell him that she was okay.

"Jou!" I shouted. "JOU!"

"Aimi, find Tomotsu," Jou ordered, practically appearing at my side. He had his stethoscope ready, checking her chest. She flung her head back against the bed, her skin slowly turning a deep, dark red. The veins in her neck stood out prominently, as she clenched her fists at her side, her body convulsing.

"What is it?" I asked. "What's happening?"

"It's her other lung," Jou said solemnly. "It's gone."

"How will she breathe?" Impmon shrieked. "Noriko! NORIKO! BREATHE!"

"She can't," Jou told him. "She can't get oxygen."

"So she'd just going to asphyxiate?" I demanded. "She can't. Noriko!"

I was at her side with Impmon in an instant. My hands were on her shoulders, trying to get her to look at me, but she just continued convulsing. Her face was losing the redness. The blood wasn't able to carry oxygen through her system without lungs to provide it. Her eyelids were fluttering, showing only the whites of her eyes. Jun was shrieking and screaming at what could be _her_ eventual fate.

"NORIKO!" I screamed at her.

"DO SOMETHING!" Impmon demanded to Jou.

"There's nothing I _can_ do," Jou insisted, I turned to him, and saw tears streaming down his face. The next thing I knew, I was being ripped away from Noriko by Tomotsu, and I let him, I wasn't doing any good there anyway. Aimi came to me and wrapped her arms around me, and I was too horrified to push her away.

All the blood had drained from Noriko's face, and she was still.

She was gone.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Now that Noriko has been taken, what will happen to Jun? How will the Digidestined react to losing someone who cannot come back?


	41. Banding Together

**U/N: **So this chapter seems a bit out of place because neither characters were really present for what went on with Noriko, but we did something really grim in the previous chapter, and so this is kind of a chance to view things outside of the infirmary in the Coliseum. I mean, it's not the first time we've killed a character, but it was the first time an actual human character had died in present time. It's creepy and even I feel weird about it. Anyway, here's Matt and I think Willis?

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 5: Threatened**

**Chapter 41: Banding Together**

_**Yamato Ishida:**_

"Where exactly are we going?" Katsue asked.

Her confusion was totally understandable though. I was walking in circles around town, avoiding the place it was clear I was heading. My legs sure wanted to go there anyway, despite my mind's constant arguments. There wasn't any solid points against heading there though, and I couldn't even convince myself there was. "This way," I said finally, taking a sharp turn through an alley.

Katsue rushed after me, catching up and I noticed her short ponytail was bouncing around. It was like she did that on purpose, like some sort of exotic bird that craved attention with every step. Or maybe her hair was just inhumanly light and bouncy. Monimon was held in her arms, facing her stomach to keep him a secret. I wasn't sure why she had to bring him everywhere with her, but it obviously wasn't my choice, or my place to speak up. "Do you think the footage of that man will be enough?"

About an hour ago we'd found a man standing on a bench in the park preaching about digimon, and then some twelve year old girl started yelling at him for being a lowlife for not accepting them. She did it in a way that was far classier than I ever could have done though, and that's why I was glad I hadn't stepped up to say anything. I shrugged my shoulders as a simple response to Katsue, and when she sighed I added, "We could always use more footage. We just need to be in the right place at the right time. Something is bound to pop up sooner or later."

"Then we'll show the world who the real enemy is." Katsue nodded.

"And we can hire some Tyrannomon to eat them." Monimon piped up. Katsue held him tighter and hissed at him to stay quiet. Even if we were in a dark secluded alley it made sense to not make noise. We needed everyone to buy into the whole disguise.

When we emerged into the sunlight on the other side of the alley, and felt the warm breeze again, a small blonde haired boy rushed past us laughing loudly. His mother was not far behind, looking exhausted and all together annoyed. It reminded me of Takeru and my own mother. I threw my head back, biting back a groan. Takeru was still mad at me, and it was because I was a total moron. I'd yelled at him. No, I lashed out at him. I popped the top off of the bottled anger that was brewing inside and sure it felt good, but knowing I was directing it to the one person I knew I was always supposed to have on my side reminded me of how entirely repugnant I could be as a human being.

I just needed to apologize to him. I wasn't much of an emotional person, or one who would go up and actually tell someone how I felt exactly, but in the case of Takeru I'd make an exception. I couldn't let this one heal over on its own. If I kept doing that, eventually it wouldn't be able to heal anymore. Not fully, anyway.

"Do you think she's on the side of the digimon?" I looked to Katsue who was staring to the same woman I'd been looking at. Funny how one thing could spur such different emotional responses within different observers. "If she's not, she'll raise that boy to be horrible, just like her."

"Having a wrong opinion doesn't make you horrible," I said quietly, tearing my eyes away from the woman finally. "Acting on that opinion is what makes you a bad person. An opinion is something everyone should be entitled to. You can't expect everyone to like you, and some people won't. That's fine. But someone who actively reminds you that they don't like you, and makes you feel bad about yourself—that's where the line is drawn."

Katsue looked directly into my eyes in a direct stare, her gaze felt like someone was surgically removing my thoughts. Like she could read my mind... no. More like she didn't have to, like she just knew. Staring back to the light brown eyes behind her square framed glasses was like stepping back into the past. We'd not looked at each other this long since we'd been dating.

Suddenly she looked away, adjusting her glasses. "Sora doesn't like me," she said, purposely looking away from me.

"Sure she does," I said awkwardly, staring to walk again.

Katsue was quick to catch up, and her ponytail was bouncing away again. My stomach tightened when I realized I was closer to my destination than I thought I was. "She really doesn't." Katsue said. I'd already forgot we were talking about Sora, and rolled my eyes when it came back up.

"Look," I said a little too quickly and loudly. "Sora doesn't dislike anyone. She's just that kind of girl. She dated Neo again after she found out he deleted the Digital World. Mimi is one of her best friends, and after everything they went through—I certainly would have trouble talking to her."

Katsue was quiet for a while as we walked, each step bringing us miles closer to the end of the line. "All Mimi did was a few petty acts induced by a jealous rage, and Neo just deleted the Digital World and tried to kill you all."

"That's a pretty big 'just'."

"Well you all ended up alive, and the Digital World is fine." Katsue said.

"Define 'fine'." Again, I rolled my eyes.

"But you and I dated," Katsue ignored me. "That's going to mean a lot to Sora, and I don't know if we could ever be friends because of that. I think she hates me, and I don't think that will change."

"Oh whatever," I laughed, "Sora's not that petty. She wouldn't care that you dated her ex boyfriend."

"No," Katsue said, "You're right, she wouldn't. But she would care if I had dated her _future_ boyfriend."

Annoyingly, my face betrayed me and turned red. I tried to hide it by looking down a street and pretending I was lost momentarily, just until I could regain control of myself. "Sora and I are done. I think she made that pretty clear. I told her I'd wait, and when she came back she cared more about her fashion than about me, and her fashion show horror fiasco was a month ago at least. She hasn't said a word to me about us—in fact she's hardly said _anything_ to me."

"So, she may be over you then, but are you over her?"

I was suddenly thankful for our close proximity to the place I so desperately did not want to be. "We're here!" I announced, looking up to the brick building towering over us. It was kind of a dump, but it was where it all started, so why would we change it now? Unless they had changed it... they'd certainly not been too fond of tradition after what they did to me. Maybe they wouldn't even be here after all. Maybe I was wasting my time.

I pulled open the black painted metal door and Katsue looked to me, eyebrows raised. She stepped in trying to ignore the chipping paint and broken floor tiles. "What are we doing here?" Katsue asked when I finally stepped in after her. The fluorescent lights were on, so that was a good sign, despite the fact that it made Katsue, and I'm sure myself, look ridiculously washed out.

"Teenage Wolves," I said simply, taking stride and walking past Katsue, down the hallway. I never did trust the elevator around here, so I headed immediately for the stairs. "You love elevators, right?" I asked Katsue, referring to the time where she had tried to tell me she loved me, but instead began telling me about her love of elevators and all other kinds of electrical transportation. She laughed, but rolled her eyes.

"I think I'll take the stairs, thanks." She said, eyeing up the dented door of the elevator. As she passed me, Monimon began struggling, and trying to escape her arms. "Relax, Monimon. We'll be somewhere you can play soon." I fell in line with Katsue again and we headed up multiple flights of stairs. "I know the Teenage Wolves are here," She said after we reached the third floor. "I did once work for 'Teen Dream Magazine' remember? It was once my job to know all about you and your silly boy band."

"Not a boy band."

"I was just wondering why we're here." Katsue clarified her previous question. "Didn't they kick you out?"

"That doesn't mean they're on the wrong side," I told her weakly. "And even if they are, they don't have to stay that way." She was right though. What _was_ I doing here? There was no reason for me to stick around these guys. They sold me out, kicked me to the curb and traded me for some newer, less-involved-with-the-digimon model. But they were my friends. Some of my best friends—entirely weird guys, and not really anything like myself, but still great—and I'd known them for years. Most of my life actually. Akira and I were in the first grade together, and I taught him to play the harmonica when we were eleven. Yutaka moved to our school in April following my first Digital World adventure. He was a musical prodigy and everyone thought he would become some famous composer, but instead he sat with us at lunch time and threw meat balls at the teacher when she wasn't looking. Then Takashi came along. He was a year younger than we were and was in the school band playing drums and when Akira suggested a band we recruited him to join us. Every band needs an awesome drummer.

The band officially started thirteen years ago. Half of my entire life was spent with these three guys, playing ridiculous music about my 'Angel in the Sky'. I couldn't just give up on them.

But then again... they'd given up on me. They lied to me, and replaced me—or tried to. I didn't know how far that went. But I did know they were trying to replace me before I even left the band. The cowards didn't even have the decency to _tell_ me they were letting me go, or that they were throwing out _thirteen_ years of our friendship.

I stopped walking and seriously considered turning around. I didn't need them if they didn't need me. I wasn't the kind of guy who asked for forgiveness when I'd done nothing wrong.

"You okay?" Katsue asked, looking back to me. I nodded and turned to walk down the stairs, but a door opened behind me and I spun around to find Yutaka laughing loudly, a cell phone pressed against his ear, standing a few steps above Katsue and me.

"Alright, I'll be right there, Babe." He was saying, "Mhm, I promise—" He paused when he turned and caught sight of us. His dark eyes staring through the lenses of his glasses, "Hey, I'll call you back." He hung up the phone and pocketed it quickly then leaned back against the open metal door. He raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms as if he were the God of the stairwell.

Well he could have it. The place was disgusting.

"What can I do for you?" Yutaka asked me, a smirk on his stupid face.

"I've come to talk to you all." I said through gritted teeth. Yutaka ran his tongue along his bottom teeth while he thought, his devilish smirk never leaving his face. Finally he motioned for me to come along with him.

Katsue looked to me and I nodded, so together we followed him through the doorway. The room smelled of smoke and stale air. There were broken alcohol bottles littering the room, and more stains on the wall than were normal. I stifled a gag, but Katsue just rolled with it, dramatically coughing and wheezing, not bothering to cover her mouth. She finished with a soft 'ew' and we continued inside. On the broken red couch next to the drum set sat Akira who was flipping through a magazine, bored. There was a large open window behind him that was casting a brilliant sunlight into the room, highlighting all the spilled liquid all over the floor in dried up puddles. Yutaka finally stopped moving, crossing his arms and flexing them as if to show everyone that he was the strongest, even if it wasn't true. He cleared his throat and announced loudly, "Look who came crawling back from the depths of Tartarus where his lonely star landed after falling from the sky." He turned toward me and grinned, nearly maliciously. "Your fifteen minutes are up, so you ca—"

"Yamato!" I turned to see Takashi hopping up from his place by the gaming consoles. "Hi! Please join our band again. I'm sorry I ever agreed with Yutaka's idiotic plan. I don't like it anymore. Not without you. All they do is drink every night and we haven't even played music in over a week."

"I'm not here to put the band back together," I told Takashi apologetically, but it sure felt nice to know he at least still cared. It gave me enough confidence to say what I came here to do. I turned back to Akira and Yutaka and took a deep breath, readying myself. "Look, I know you guys don't hate digimon, you're just ambitious little freaks who would do anything to rise to fame."

"You are way out of line," Akira said, jumping to his feet, his blonde hair was longer than ever, I noticed as it fell over his shoulder when he stood. "You don't like the direction we took, but that's none of your business. You're not in the band, and you haven't spoken to us since you quit. You can't come back in here and just boss us around."

"Yeah," I said rolling my eyes, "I'm the one who broke the friendship. That's what you're implying right? You're the one who kicked me out of my own band Akira, so shut up and listen to me for a minute."

Yutaka was moving quickly, and before I knew it I was slammed up against the wall behind me with Yutaka holding me there tightly. "Don't talk to him like that."

"HEY!" Katsue screamed, rushing toward him, dropping Monimon and slamming her fists into Yutaka's back. He released me and turned around angry, but wouldn't hit Katsue. He wasn't that kind of guy. "This isn't a game. We're not here to fight you. Though I'm not sure why we're here at all because you're all a bunch of close minded douche bags." She turned to Takashi, "Except maybe you, I haven't made up my mind about you." She knelt down and picked up Monimon who was shaking in fear, absorbing the tension in the room.

"What right do you have to judge us?" Yutaka asked, finally tearing his dark glare away from me. He was always quick to anger, and to get defensive. As he stared toward Katsue realization seemed to dawn on him. "You look familiar. Do I know you?"

"We've met," Katsue said through pursed lips.

Akira laughed, "One of your ex's coming back to haunt you, eh Yutaka?"

"Oh give me a break, Tubbers," Katsue shot toward Akira which made him fall back to his couch. He'd actually lost a lot of weight since the last time the two had met. He was almost skin and bones now, and Katsue was probably out of line for insulting him where his insecurities lay, but she knew what she was doing. "Captain Four-Eyes and I would never work out."

"Why's that?" Yutaka asked, that irritable smirk returning to his face. "You not into my type? Are you a lesbian?" Akira leaned forward, interested. He had a strange fascination with gay people, and most of us just kind of went along with it.

Katsue let out a laugh, "I'd have to be a lesbian to not be interested in you, would I?" Yutaka shrugged. "What if my type was a _kind_ individual? Or one with a sense of dignity, or passion. Or one who wouldn't throw away years of friendship in a ridiculous plan crafted by a poorly inflated ego? What if I wasn't interested in arrogant, self-absorbed, narcissistic, manipulative, lying, neurotic, impolite, gluttonous, lazy, anger-driven, spiteful, vindictive, pessimistic, immature, unreliable, insensitive, psychotic jerks!?"

Everyone stared at Katsue in awe. How she managed to say all of that in one breath was beyond me. Trying to imagine how she even thought up that many insults that fast made me speechless just thinking about it. Katsue shook her head, her ponytail bouncing lightly and then she sighed, and pointed to me, holding Monimon in her other hand. "Now, Yamato has come to talk to you. So listen up."

They all turned to me, but I wasn't ready! I was still trying to wrap my head around everything Katsue said, but it was now or never really. "Look," I said starting off simple, "Friendship is about trust. I can't trust you guys anymore, but that doesn't mean we can't get that back. You obviously need me to keep you from falling into madness, and I'll do that, but I'm not joining the band because that's not something I want anymore. Or at least right now."

"Then why are you here?" Takashi asked calmly.

"I'm here because the humans are killing my friends." I said, swallowing a thick lump in my throat. "They're trying to kill all the digimon and I know you guys care. I know you have hearts. Yutaka, you cry at the end of every romantic comedy." Katsue laughed, but I kept going. "Akira, one night you declared you were going to break the animals out of the zoo because they were being mistreated. Takashi, you're the one who helps these two idiots every time they do something stupid, or feel like crap. All of you care about things, and sure you don't know many digimon—but you know Gabumon! Do you want him to die? Because he might, and that's going to suck. He's literally a part of me. If he dies, I think I just might die along with him. I know you can't want that to happen. Maybe your music is important to you, but isn't doing the right thing _more_ important? You're not bad people, so you _have_ to know that hurting an entire _species_ is a ridiculous notion." They were silent when I finished. I guess it didn't sound much like a closing argument, but I didn't know what else to say. "Be on the right side of history. Be on the side that actually cares about equality and don't be afraid to _say_ that you are."

"Well I love Gabumon." Takashi admitted. "I'm game with whatever you want, man."

Turning to Akira and Yutaka who were now both sitting on the couch I noticed they were seriously considering it. "Come on Pillsbury Dough-Turd," Katsue prodded, "Are you going to be that guy? The ambitious guy who can't see through the clouded vision of idiocy?" She held up Monimon. "This is my partner."

"Damn he's cute." Akira said quietly. "I'm in." He hopped to his feet and walked over to stand with us, leaving Yutaka sitting alone on the other side of the room. "C'mon, Dude."

"You may as well." Takashi said, "Without us your band kind of sucks, doesn't it?"

Yutaka rolled his eyes and got to his feet. "You're right." He said to me, "Friendship is about trust. You can't trust me, so why would you want me with you?"

"Because you're my friend, and for some reason I want to give you another chance." I told him. "You deserve it."

"No I don't." He said, "Your girlfriend is right too. I'm a bad person."

"She's not my girlfriend," I insisted stupidly, "But you're not a bad person Yutaka. You just need someone there to ground you. That's what we'll be. We'll ground you in sanity and together we can spread the word and be on the right team again."

He looked unsure, like maybe he didn't want to join us because he didn't feel worthy, but it didn't matter anymore really. I knew he knew he was wrong, and whether he joined us or not was unimportant for the digimon campaign. It only mattered to _me_. If he came with us, I would have my friend back, and if not, then I didn't think it would ever happen. "Okay." Yutaka said finally, nodding. "Okay, yeah, let's do it."

"Yeeaah!" Takashi cheered loudly, "YES! The band is back on! Teenage Wolves!"

"Aaoooooh!" Akira and Yutaka howled out. I laughed with them and the three of them hurried to the middle of the room jumping up and down in a circle, leaving room for Katsue to step next to me again.

"Boys," She said, rolling her eyes. Then she looked to me and smiled, "Good work in there. Sharing your feelings can get you places, huh? Weird, right?" I ignored her and watched my friends be total morons together, and found that I was smiling. "Ready to go back?"

I nodded, and turned to the others, "Guys?" I caught their attention and they all stopped jumping, turning to look at me. I turned to the computer in the corner and opened the gateway. "We're taking you to the Digital World. So hold on."

"Awesome!" Takashi cheered, running to grab my arm. Yutaka took Katsue's hand and both of them looked disgusted. Finally Akira threw his arms around Yutaka's waste and held tightly. I held up my digivice and waited for the light to surround us, but after a moment it became obvious that it wasn't going to. I looked closer and saw that the light was red.

"The gate is closed." I said quietly. I looked to Katsue, "It hasn't been closed since Ken and Koushiro stupidly locked themselves inside. It can only be locked if someone closes the door, right?"

"I don't know, maybe they accidentally closed it." She shrugged. "They'll probably open it again... right?"

"I don't even know if they can." I admitted. "We'll need someone with a D-3. So, the Dark Spore children."

She didn't even have to tell me because the realization hit me quick and hard. "They're already in the Coliseum."

"That's okay!" I said, internally panicking. "We'll just go hide out somewhere, and wait for it to open up again." That seemed like a fairly decent plan. Not a perfect plan by any means, but good enough. At least for now, maybe I'd be able to brainstorm a better one later—but I wasn't used to calling the shots, that was usually Koushiro's job.

"Well, where do we hide?" Yutaka asked.

"I think I know just the place..." I said with a smile.

_**Willis Kennedy:**_

This was not the first time Taichi had gathered his friends in his work place, but I hoped it would be the last time I was asked to take part. It was such an uncomfortable feeling. I was not the kind of person who wanted to sit around in a boring business room and discuss politics or anything else for that matter. I'd been offered loads of jobs that involved that very concept, where I would be required to pretend to be interested daily.

If it weren't such a serious meeting I might have been doing just that. Pretending to pay attention. But as it stood, ignoring what they were all saying would be not only rude, but horribly offensive to the Digital World and all who lived there.

This was serious.

This was war. And Taichi was our war general. The man in charge, and it felt really weird being one of the only Digidestined present because, well, he hated me. Okay, so maybe he didn't _hate_ me, but he was never fond of me exactly. That was of course because I was dating Hikari and he didn't like us together, which, as it turned out was not an uncommon opinion. I hadn't really spoken to him since we'd broken up... three years ago.

"The Digital World will always be at war," Centarumon said thoughtfully.

"But that does not mean it is okay for other world's to step into our feud!" Tinkermon objected, "We have to fight back. We have to show them we can't be pushed around! We're not weak! We are the digimon!" She threw her toothpick sized arm into the air and cheered dramatically, but no one cheered along with her.

"War is not right," Andromon said.

"Andromon is correct," Centarumon nodded his head in agreement. "Even if violence was the answer we would have no way to win. Not only are the humans in a position of power over our kind, but we no longer have access to their world the way they seem to have access to ours."

"How _are_ they doing that?" Hikari asked.

"No idea," Taichi said, frustrated.

"I think right now," I spoke, my voice a little broken from having merely listened for the hour long meeting thus far. "The more important thing to try to solve is _why_ they locked us in here in the first place."

"There are countless important things to try to solve," Centarumon countered. "That is merely one of them."

"A lesser one at that," Tinkermon said. "Isn't it obvious? They want us to be easier targets. If we can't go to Earth they know we can't escape."

"But digimon don't just travel between the worlds whenever they feel like it," Taichi said.

"They don't know that, now do they?" Tinkermon said, annoyed that no one seemed to be on her side.

It was hard to come to any sort of agreement when everyone in the room was completely different. There was the spunky and obnoxious Tinkermon, the pacifist Centarumon, the robot who seemed to have very little understanding of human emotions Andromon, then Benjamin who was in a bad mood because hardly anyone would listen to him, D'arcmon was continually telling us that things would come together in time if we were to trust the universe. Destiny was my crest and I still didn't believe that crap. Taichi was spending most of his time frustrated that nothing was coming to a close, so he and Benjamin were sort of on the same sort of angry page, but that was the worst kind of similarity. Two angry people in one room was not very helpful in the production side of things. Miyako wasn't even paying attention it seemed, with her head in her hands, and her hair dangling down to hide her face from us. Hikari was really the one that I'd put my trust in. She was following the whole meeting calmly, I only wish she knew what to do.

"But they can track us," Hikari said. "Any change in the Digital World they can track, so why wouldn't they be able to do that on Earth too? They could probably track any movement between the worlds. They're not keeping us here for convenience when it would be easier to find us if they hadn't done it. They must be planning something else. Again, we don't have enough information to see it yet."

"We may not have any information," I said, "But we know whatever it is can't be good. We need to get out before they do anything."

I couldn't see where I'd gone wrong, but everyone was now glaring at me, including Miyako, who was apparently paying attention after all. "I'm not leaving the digimon in this state. We can't just call it all off now and pretend it didn't happen. Sixteen years of digital adventures, and we just quit? Leave?"

"That's not what I meant," I said weakly, but it kind of was. When I'd said it, I pictured us getting the humans and leaving. And how selfish was that? Besides the fact that my two best friends were digimon and I hadn't seen them in thirty two days now. Not so long in the grand scheme of life, but too long as it was. I'd also been selfish in the aspect of those humans who were missing. My brother, for instance. The one I'd promised Jenna I'd help her find, and then did nothing of the sort. The reason I was here and not with Terriermon and Lopmon was because I was here to help Michael, and instead I was down in a dingy old lab most of the day helping Koushiro or Kiyoko or Centarumon or Tentomon. I needed to find Michael and get back to my partners. I'd spent too long away from them, it was time think of myself. "It doesn't matter anyway. We obviously don't have a way out."

"Then how are the enemies getting in and out?" Taichi asked. "If they can do it, so can we."

"Sigma once tore open a gateway." Kiyoko said quietly. "I don't know if I can copy him, but I can try."

Taichi shook his head, leaning forward in his chair, "You can't. We had no control over that gate and it resulted in Earth and the Digital World to be fused together."

"And the Dark Ocean," Hikari said, still embarrassed that she'd been the cause of that particular merge.

"Speaking of the Dark Ocean," I said, "Couldn't we go to the other worlds?"

"Koushiro suggested that too," Andromon said, "Is that what we are resorting to?"

"No," Taichi shook his head. "Of course not. We can't be that desperate. We can't run. This is our _home_. We can't let someone come in here and take what isn't theirs."

"They aren't taking anything!" Tinkermon argued. "They're destroying it! And everyone they can find!"

We were all silent again. It didn't last long, but the pause we did take was filled with a series of sighs. There had to be a way to get out of here, but I didn't know one, and Taichi didn't seem to be thinking clearly. If those who were against us were as evil as they seemed, we wouldn't be able to simply fight back. They were miles ahead of us in the planning stages. To catch up we'd need an immunity to their weapons. We'd need a way to block _them_ out, instead of the other way around. We'd need to know who they were! We'd need to know who was in charge. But we didn't know how to do any of that, and it didn't seem we would figure it out any time soon either.

I stood up, pushing my chair back, "If this meeting is going nowhere I'm going to go. I have to find Michael."

"You can't just go out on your own," Taichi said. "Sit down."

"I can't do that." I sighed, "Look, Taichi, I get you want to do what's best and that even _you_ can't find anything to do that might help, even anything rash and ridiculous, but I'm done sitting around here and waiting. I'm going to go find Michael. I'm going to use this digivice," I pulled out Masa's device and held it up, "And I'm going to track him down. Then, when we're back here we should shut off the signals. Sure that means Neo won't be found, but I'm just going to say it—I don't care. He's a big boy, he can take care of himself, and no one is bothering to go find him, so it's not my problem. We have to shut the signals off because if Moretsuna has a digivice—however he managed to get it—then he can track the rest of them. Which means he can find the Coliseum easily. That's not good. That's our next plan then, shut off the signals. That, or _get out of the Digital World_."

"We can't go to Earth!" Tinkermon shouted, reminding me pointlessly.

"But we _can_ go to the World of Dreams." I told her, "We could also go back in time and steal Moretsuna as a baby and raise him as our own. We can teach him right from wrong."

"That won't help," Hikari said, "Time isn't possible to change. We've tried."

"We brought Sora back," I shot.

"That's because it was destiny." Hikari countered.

"_I_ am destiny! And I'm suggesting, right now, we go cradle robbing!" They were all annoyed with me, and sure, I understood. I was being irritating. But they weren't getting anywhere and I wanted to get out of here. And for good reason! "Okay, so maybe that idea sucks, but we could use time for something! Or The In-Between—we could talk to Norn! She still exists, right? There are all kinds of options and we're sitting here pretending we only have one. We don't have to stay here, we _could_ go out and save everyone instead of risking them all on some ego trip. Why do we have to stay in the Digital World. Yes it _is_ home, but it doesn't mean they've won just because we leave."

It seemed for a moment like I'd convinced everyone, but then the door was thrown open. Well, not thrown open exactly, it simply was pushed open, like a normal person would open a door. Yuuko Yagami was walking into the room backwards. In her arms was one of those glowing purple rods that the enemy had shoved into the ground around the Temple. Izumi Orimoto and Tomoki Himi were following her in, carrying the wider end together.

"Don't bring that thing in here!" Tinkermon shouted in a panic, shooting from where she stood on the table to the other side of the room. Her panic seemed to stir something in Centarumon and Andromon who both shifted away from it.

"I asked her to." Taichi said. "Thanks guys, put it on the table."

"What is it?" Tomoki asked, doing as he was told.

"Heavy." Izumi told him, falling into a chair, gasping for breath. Then she looked up to Centarumon and smiled, "Hey Bokomon." He nodded to her kindly and she rolled her eyes, "No need to be so stingy!"

"I'm not sure," Taichi answered seriously. "I was hoping Kiyoko could figure that out." Kiyoko simply nodded. Then Taichi leaned forward to look at it, poking it with his finger. He shrugged finally, not having any ideas, but Tinkermon and the other digimon relaxed when it did not explode upon his touch. "Tatum can help you, and Tentomon too." Taichi told Kiyoko. "Mom, I want you to get to the Knights, and just stay with them. I'll text you if I need them, and you just bring them, no questions asked, okay?"

"I trust you," Yuuko smiled to her son, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Taichi moved on quickly though. "Centarumon and Andromon, you should try to reach out to Ogremon and Leomon. I haven't heard from them in a while. I want to be sure they're okay." Those who were addressed nodded quickly. "Tinkermon , you keep watch from the Temple wall. You're small, no one will notice you're watching." She rolled her eyes but nodded. "Anyone who needs something come to D'arcmon, she's your best bet if you have a question. She knows everything."

"And us?" Hikari asked, pointing to her two sides, to Miyako and myself.

"Willis was leaving, wasn't he?" Taichi asked, raising one eyebrow as his eyes rested on mine.

I nodded, crossing my arms, "Unless you can think of another reason for me to be here."

Taichi held up his finger and nodded, "I do," He said. He then hurried everyone who had jobs already to leave the room, and he followed them out, closing the doors behind him. An awkward silence fell over the five of us that remained. Izumi started playing with her hair absent mindedly, while Tomoki just leaned back in his chair.

Hikari cleared her throat, just so something was happening, and I found myself quickly growing impatient. I wanted to leave... like now. "Someone should check the door." Hikari said, "He's known for locking me in places to keep me from doing something stupid." Izumi looked genuinely concerned as she stood to check the doors, but just as she reached for them, Taichi had pushed them open again. In his arms were two boxes piled on top of one another, the bottom one much larger. He set the pile on the table in front of Tomoki and then slid the smaller one down toward me.

The cardboard box finally stopped, so I reached forward and pulled it closer to see the contents. It was strange seeing such an ordinary box filled with such abnormal objects. They were intricate and specific, and beautiful. Except one. I reached into the box and pulled out the rusted key that could lead me to my twin sister. "The keys?" I asked, but Taichi was busy, explaining that he wanted Izumi and Tomoki to stay in charge of the Digimentals, and to bring them to the Coliseum when they went. Izumi was hardly paying attention, pulling out the digimental of knowledge and faith, and holding them high in the air. Tomoki was listening though, so Taichi seemed content.

Then he looked up to me, "I want you, Hikari and Miyako to decide who gets which one." He said, "We may not be fleeing like you seem to want, Willis, but they're a good escape route if need be."

"I think I'm actually going to go rest," Miyako said, looking to the box. "I have a crazy head ache... and I just need to relax for a bit. I know that seems selfish—"

"Go," Hikari said, holding her friend's hand, "We've got this." Miyako nodded and smiled to her, before Taichi led her from the room.

"These are mine," Izumi said protectively to Tomoki when he tried to put the objects back into the box.

Hikari reached into the box in front of the two of us and gently laid them out on the table. There were nine in total, plus the one in my hand, which I set back in the box. "We're not using that one." I said to Hikari when she seemed confused. Then I picked up the swirling blue key and placed it inside as well. "Time travel won't help in an escape, not really. It always brings you back to where you started."

"Okay," She said, looking to the keys laying in front of her. "One for Miyako," She said simply, sliding one away from her at random. "Obviously." I didn't know why that was entirely obvious, but that didn't matter. "We should get a couple to the Coliseum... but not this one." She placed a silver key back the box, but then hesitated, standing up and trying to use it. Nothing happened. "Useless..." She sighed. "That's to Earth."

"Right," I said slowly, "Well this one won't help either." I picked up the key to the Digital World and put it in the useless pile. "The people in the Coliseum are already safe," I noted, "So we won't need to give them more than one. They're just for emergencies, and one will be enough."

I grabbed the wooden key and slid it down the table. Tomoki and Izumi looked up and stared at it for a moment before staring towards us, "What is it?" Tomoki asked.

"A key," Hikari said, "That one goes to the in-between. If you use it you will leave the Digital World."

Izumi reached forward and picked it up, "For emergencies." She said, nodding.

"So I'll take this one," I grabbed the violet one because I didn't know where it went and that way if I had to use it, it would be simply for the escape and not for the excitement factor, though the witch hat design that was on the end of the key was hard to ignore. I then pushed the golden key toward Hikari.

"For Taichi?" She questioned.

"No, for you." I said simply. "Taichi can have another one." I pointed to the one that looked like a fairy's wing.

"I don't need one." She said, "What about when Mimi, and Mari return? Or Koushiro? They'll need to keep safe."

"And you don't?" I asked, "Just take the key." I knew before she shook her head that she wasn't going to take it. If we were on a sinking ship and there was one life jacket she'd refuse to take it even if everyone else wanted her to, and we'd probably all die because of her stubbornness and because we were all just as stubborn. "Just do it."

"No," She argued.

"Yes." I argued back.

"You take it," She blurted, her face turning red with frustration.

"I already have one!" I told her, "I was selfish enough to think of myself first, and now I'm thinking of you. Doesn't it make you feel better knowing you weren't the first person I bothered to save?"

"Not really," She said, annoyed, "I just think I'll give it to Koushiro when he comes. This one can be for Mimi and that way everyone will be safe."

"Except you," I growled. "And your mother—and Taichi—and the rest of the digimon." I listed people off as fast as I could, but it wasn't helping, "You can't save everyone and I'm sure if we took a vote everyone would say you get one."

"Well I don't want one." Hikari rolled her eyes.

"You two dated." Izumi said bluntly. "You did, didn't you? You're the typical ex's. I once dated this guy and he and I do _not_ get along anymore." She laughed and then sighed, "Pity."

We both stared at her and then to each other, and then finally down to the key. "If you don't take the key I'll actually tie you to me so I know you'll be safe." Hikari looked to me, more shocked than anything else and finally nodded.

"Fine," She said, grabbing the key. "But only because I don't want to be stuck with you." She stuck her tongue out at me playfully and got to her feet, picking up the extra keys except one goopy black one. "Take that to the Coliseum. I know you want to see Terriermon and Lopmon."

"Deal!" I said, jumping to my feet and grabbing the key. "I'm on it."

"Then come back here," Hikari said quietly, "I want to help you save Michael."

"Well, someone's got to do it," I joked, but it didn't feel right. He was actually in potential danger. "And Gomamon too." I added.

"I'll help!" Izumi smiled, "I don't have any powers like I used to, but I'm not useless."

"I'll help too," Tomoki grinned, "Gomamon are the cutest."

I didn't really know either of them, but the fact that we had two random people on our side meant a lot. It meant that not everyone aside from our families and ourselves were complete boneheads. It meant there was still hope for the human civilization. And I was determined to get out there and do something too. I was already out the door, but I froze and found myself heading into the lab again. I saw Tatum sitting at the corner computer, and Kiyoko examining the purple rod thing.

"Anyone using this?" I asked Tatum who shook her head. I sat down at the computer next to her and opened a program I downloaded, and began hacking. It just hit me that Director Arnold had my phone... I hacked into the software easily and erased it completely. Anything that I might've had on my phone was no longer visible. If he could have even decoded what was there in the first place.

He also had my digivice though...

A beeping on my computer startled me so I opened it quickly. It was a video message. "Tatum?" I said, poking her shoulder, "Should I open this?"

She craned her neck and shook her head, "Of course not."

"I'm going to."

"Don't!"

"Doing it."

I did it.

A big window popped up, and at first it was dark, but then the frame lit up and I found I was staring directly into the face of Director Arnold. He smiled to me, his faint wrinkles casting slight shadows across his face. "Ah, Willis." He sighed, "I thought it might be you."

"It is," I nodded. "What do you want?"

"Oh, I just wanted to be sure you weren't going to hack into anymore of my files."He said with a sigh. I furrowed my brow but was already opening up the hacking software and typing madly. I knew my way into his work files. I did work with him after all. I was watching the black screen with the contrasted green writing spin away like mad as it scanned everything, and worked by itself. "You might not want to do that." He told me as I clicked download on all of his files. Instantly a siren went off in the computer and a pop up warned me that the download would permanently damage the hard drive. I cancelled the download immediately, but opened the files attached to it. A picture of a horse was all that it would allow me to see. What was he doing with a horse? "You are fired, just in case that wasn't clear during our last interaction." Director Arnold said with a smirk. "And I thought, just as a settlement package, I would let you know that you're not going to be comfortable for much longer."

"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked loudly.

"Time is running out." Director Arnold said, dramatically reaching toward the power button on his computer. "Tick. Tick. Tick." And then the screen went black.

**Next Time on Digimon Adventure 06:** We head straight back into the Coliseum to get a closer look at what went on with Noriko and how those around her are reacting to this new development.


	42. Mourning

**Y/N: **This was a difficult one to write, because we killed Noriko last arc, and _that_ was hard, and now we're dealing with the fallout of that from the perspective of two of the digidestined that were most affected. There's so much still going on in the story that we're not given a whole lot of time to deal with this emotional time. I hope no one finds it too rushed.

**U/N:** So here we go back into Noriko mode, and that's upsetting. I like when Jou goes this way though, so that's awesome. Also, I've been re reading random bits of the story and I want to take this moment to apologize for the spelling/grammar mistakes within the chapters. We're firing out chapters like crazy over here, so when we write them, we read each other's chapters and edit them as we go. Sometimes we catch things, sometimes we don't. We don't overly have time for further editing, and so I'm sorry about that. Okay, anyway.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 5: Threatened**

**Chapter 42: Mourning**

_**Jou Kido:**_

Somehow it seemed I'd gone deaf. Somehow, no matter what anyone tried to say to me, I could not hear the words escaping their lips. The only sound I could hear was a constant ringing in my ears. A haunting sound that kept me from the reality of what had just happened.

Just.

It had not _just_ happened. And yet nothing else seemed to replace it in the overall time line. A sleepless night had gone past in which I sat still in my bed holding a pillow in my arms, squeezing tight. Nothing had helped. Watching Emiko lying in her bed next to mine gave me little comfort, but seeing the blankets rise and fall with each little breath she took told me she was at least okay. That not everything had fallen apart. Emiko was going to be okay.

But Emiko was not _everything_. She was a great deal of everything, at least to me—but it was hard to ignore the negatives. Impossible, actually.

The Digital World was now closed off. There was no access to the world I grew up in. The humans had made the decision, instead of learn and grow alongside the unknown, they would seal it away in an entirely alternate dimension. It was disgusting to know how close minded and arrogant people could be, not only as individuals, but as a whole. I'd always believed in aliens, and as a child I'd wondered how the human race would react to a newer species. Obviously not well. My mother had always told me to be open to any and all possibilities. This was one of those things that people should have been open to. They knew nothing about the digimon and yet they decided against giving them a chance. My mother would be rolling around in her grave right about now trying to escape to slap some sense into the people—any that she could find. And I'd never know because I may never get the chance to even see her grave again.

And I'd never get to see my wife again. Flashes of her voice kept playing in my mind whenever I thought of her, and it only made things worse. I remembered her telling me she wanted another child the most. And looking at Emiko I had to say that I agreed. I wanted another child _now_, especially if it meant that Momoe would be around. But who could justify bringing a child into this mess? There were enough troubles without bringing _more_ people into the danger zone. Momoe would have to wait for that child. And it might just have to be with someone else. The worlds were never opening again.

My mind suddenly flashed to Gennai and Mimi. "How long do we have to stay away?" She had asked. "Indefinitely," came his overly dramatic response. That was so long ago, so long that I'd nearly forgotten. We'd been locked away from our partners twice before, and yet here I was, sitting in the Digital World. Maybe I was being too dramatic. Maybe it would all work out. Koushiro hadn't gotten back to us yet—because he didn't even know it had happened. Once he returned to the Temple he would likely reveal some secret power the keys have, and we would be able to open the door back up and we'd be reunited with our partners once again.

Except the world's barriers weren't what was keeping me from my partner. Not this time. This time it was my own fault. I chose to not be out there searching for Gomamon because I was taking care of a sick and dying girl. I was taking care of Noriko, and now I couldn't even do that anymore because she'd died. I'd watched it happen, and the screams and the gasps wouldn't stop ringing around in my head. I could still see the dark veins showing themselves on the surface of her skin. I could see the impossibly desperate look in her eyes, and no matter how hard I tried to focus on the other issues in my life—the ones that still had a potential cure—I could not shake the lost girl from my memory.

Or the physical and emotional pain I'd felt when Tomotsu turned and punched me in the chest for not being able to save her. And I didn't blame him. It was my fault. She had died because I wasn't smart enough to save her. I couldn't come up with a cure on my own, and no one had thought to go get an antidote from the enemy. No one had said to me, that they'd go see if they could help while I was trying out my own ideas in the infirmary.

No, it had been left up to me. To the whiney and pathetic Jou Kido. To the person who spent most of his child, teenage and adult years complaining about things going wrong. To the man who was sitting, doing that right now in his unmade bed in the middle of a dark prison cell in the bottom of a Coliseum once used for keeping good digimon captive, and yet was turned into something much more heroic. What was once stifling and hidden was now a place where people found comfort. This building was saving lives. And what was I doing?

Whining.

At least I knew Momoe was alive. I knew Gomamon was alive. Well, I didn't _know_... but somehow I felt that if he wasn't, I would feel that. I would feel the pain of losing him. Partners are meant to be connected to each other. The connection was stupid and pointless if it couldn't lead me to him, but I still had traces of hope that maybe, just maybe, he was okay. At least my dad and Shuu were okay. And my, albeit slightly annoying, sisters were okay. Even Aimi was here, and Unimon. Meramon was over at the Temple which was no longer to be considered safe, and yet somehow my mind would not accept that as truth. The Temple hadn't been _safe_ for some time now with the tanks surrounding the building, but too much negative information was not able to fit into my head all at once. The Temple was safe.

It just was.

And that meant my entire family was going to be okay, aside from possibly Shin, but I wasn't worried. He was a big boy. He could handle himself.

Even though there were enough depressing facts to mull over in my own life, didn't it make sense to understand that I had it pretty good compared to some of the others. Some, like Toshiko had only her partner to keep her company. Some didn't even know the location of their loved ones, like Gomamon. Yamato was just gone. No one really knew where exactly he had gone, we only knew he was not here. Gatomon and Agumon were alone in this mess.

Right now, I should have been focusing on those I could help. On those who needed me—the doctor. Like Jun. My father was in there right now, taking the night shift. I was sure Shuu had to be there too. But what could I do to Jun that I hadn't done to Noriko? There was no new information, and no cure that I could find. If I sat in that room she would die just as Noriko had. Jun leaving would not only lead to one more death of a war, but one more death of our _family_.

And right now, Jou Kido was scared as ever. I was Jou, and Jou couldn't move or think. What was I going to do? Whenever Emiko looked away from me tears involuntarily poured down my face, and ever since she'd fallen asleep there had been a steady stream. Bearmon and Monmon both left me alone thankfully, and they made sure to keep the curtains closed so no one would see me crying, but it was only Emiko I cared about. I didn't want her to know I was scared—she couldn't live her life in fear. She had to know that I was strong and that I'd be able to protect her if she was scared. That wouldn't be true if she knew I was just as scared as she was.

After all this time, it turned out that I was right. Six years in and my first impression was true. I wasn't a good father. Emiko could not rely on me—I was a pathetic loser who couldn't even find the strength to move my own legs. It was morning. Others were awake. I could hear the echoes of their empty voices, and yet somehow could still not hear the sound. My eyelids were heavy and I wanted to sleep. So badly I wanted to sleep. But I couldn't sleep, because I had to go stand in the infirmary and look over the notes again and again and pretend to myself and to everyone else that there was something I could do. Studying had never failed me before and yet now it had. It had failed me in the worst way possible. A girl was dead because of Jou Kido. Because all Jou could do was be comforting, or study and do only as he knows to do. Someone else maybe could have saved her though.

Someone different.

Someone heroic and strong and brave and more creative than me. There was a cure out there—Ken had seen it. Katsue and Yamato had seen it. There had to be a way to replicate it...

If only I had some of my own, then I could copy it and use it to save Jun.

Of course if I had some I wouldn't need to replicate it. I could just use it. And she'd be okay... But there wasn't any way for _me_ to get the antidote. What was Joe supposed to do?

Slowly, my grip lessened on the pillow I'd been holding so close to me. It fell to the surface of my bed, and my legs started moving on their own. I stood, my legs shaky at first, staring down to Emiko. She needed someone in her life she could look up to, and without Momoe I felt that was going to be me. Momoe was spontaneous, courageous and intelligent. I would have to be all of those things if I wanted Emiko to be okay.

I threw apart the curtains keeping me locked in darkness and walked swiftly down the hallway toward the infirmary. I could feel the eyes of everyone around me. There weren't many people awake this early, but every one of them looked to me with their pity and sorrow. I ignored them all, and the smell of the food being cooked, for it made me nauseous.

I gently pushed open the infirmary door and stepped inside. I could see Jun, sleeping softly and peacefully. It made some part of my negativity disperse. Until I saw the bed where Noriko once slept. In her place was a tear stained Impmon, clutching the thin sheets and shivering. I grabbed a knitted orange blanket from the shelves and threw one over him, apologizing softly, though I could not hear my own voice. My eyes found Tomotsu's chair but he wasn't there. He was missing. Had he finally gone to sleep? I didn't know. I only knew that I never wanted to see his face again. I couldn't bear to look at him.

I grabbed my bag from my desk and turned for the door.

"Earth to Jou?"

I froze and looked over my shoulder. I'd heard a voice. Where had it come from?

"Jou?" Finally I found myself staring at Shuu. He was sitting next to Jun, his hair a mess. Otamamon and Gekomon were awake and sitting at the foot of her bed, all three of them looked like they could fall into a never ending sleep at any moment with the bags under their eyes. "Where are you going?"

"Out." I said.

"Where?" Shuu asked. "Why? What are you doing?"

"Something stupid." I admitted, and then grabbed the door and pulled it open. I was walking down the hallway, not thinking clearly when Shuu started shouting down the hallway in a distant, echoed voice. He wanted me to stay or to at least tell him what I was going to do, but how could I answer a question that had no answer? There was no end result to this day. Today was different than any other day. Today wasn't planned, or set in stone. Today, I was not Jou Kido. Today, I was a stranger, one who I did not care for, and one who was going to do everything he could do save his sister-in-law.

Future sister-in-law.

I came back to focus as I reached up to the dark wall. Where was I? I looked around and panic shot through me quickly. I was alone in Sigma's study. My hand was hovering over a sharp, glistening spear on the wall. Why did I need a weapon? Who cares?

I tore the weapon from its place on the wall and left the room, slamming the door behind me, falling into my head once again until I was in the antechamber.

"You are not permitted to leave without a cloaking device." Babamon called to me lazily. "You must not leave."

I ignored her and opened the heavy front gate.

"Jou!" at first I thought it had been Babamon again, but a soft hand was soon placed in mine. I looked down and saw Bearmon, looking up to me from under that blue cap of his. "I'm coming too." I would have told him to stay to look after Emiko, but as I was not Jou Kido today, I had no opinion on the matter. I nodded to him and we both stepped out into the morning air. It was cool, but not unwelcome. Breathing fresh air somehow gave life back to me. Life was something that although taken less than twenty four hours ago, I thought I could never feel again.

And it also gave me serious doubt about what I was doing.

But how could I doubt something that didn't exist? I had no plan. And without a plan, there was nothing to question. Nothing to stress over. Was it perfect? I didn't know. It didn't exist.

I was walking blindly, and sound was feeling more natural to me now that I was outside, seeing less familiar sights. It had been so long since I'd been away from the infirmary or my bedroom. But somehow every cloud up in the sky reminded me of Emiko, and every tree stirred my memories around bringing me to different moments I'd had with Momoe. The distant splashes of water were forcing Gomamon to the forefront of my mind, and the screams of pain—the gasps and panic was Noriko all over again.

Again and again her face flashed into my mind, gasping for air when there was nowhere for her to keep it. Her attempts to survive were never going to work because there was no possibility for life. She'd known it was coming... she knew she wasn't going to make it, and that was because of me. She knew I was a pathetic, uninvolved, no-good, useless loser. I was no doctor. A doctor would have done whatever it took to save her. And I only looked to the one road. There was always more than one road. This time, I was going to take the second. Jun wasn't going to go the same way Noriko had because Tomotsu had lit a burning flame in my chest when he'd punched me. A flame that was going to motivate me until I had nothing left to give.

"The Temple?" Bearmon asked. I looked up and saw that we had indeed come to the Temple. What was I supposed to do here? If Taichi had the stupid antidote he'd have given it to me. Why was I here? "Because the enemies were here? Are you going to get yourself hurt?"

The enemies _were_ here. He was right. They each carried those guns. The ones that had killed Noriko and that meant an antidote had to be out here somewhere. The tanks were gone though, and so were the enemies. They had left the Temple. But why? Why had they been here at all? What was the purpose of that? Where had they stayed when they were here?

Slowly my head turned toward Taichi's house and I was walking through the trees a moment later. "Where are we going?" Bearmon asked, his voice bold. He trusted me too much. It could be dangerous. He shouldn't be coming, but I wasn't about to tell him to not help. He had every right to do as he wanted, and if he wasn't going to come then he could stay, that was his choice entirely. I was going though and there was nothing that was going to stop me from doing so. Not when someone else's life was on the line. Someone else's happiness.

Jun wanted to be married so badly, and it was my fault they weren't already married. If I'd just given up my stupid contract three years ago they would probably be married already, but Jun had spent all her time planning my own wedding which seemed to be invalid now that I didn't have any access to my own _wife_. I was going to make sure Jun could get married. That was going to happen.

I didn't bother knocking when I came up to Taichi's house. I just pushed through the door and stepped inside. The place was a mess, and I was sure the enemies had stayed here like I expected. Taichi was not _this_ messy. Books were thrown from their shelves, a chair had been smashed through a window, the couch cushions were torn to pieces, the television was smashed, there was garbage everywhere... They'd trashed Taichi's house. Bastards.

"Look around." I told Bearmon. "If you see anyone, shout for me. We're looking for something—_anything_ the enemies left behind."

"Sure," Bearmon saluted me, and rushed off. I checked the kitchen, but they'd left nothing but moulding food in there. They'd even emptied the fridge of most of its contents. The cupboards were a mess, but not a single sign of any medicinal substances. The dining room was empty, and so was the basement. At least of anything I was looking for. When I was looking through the living room I caught sight of a calendar, and found myself strangely interested in it. I moved closer and placed one finger on the box for the previous day. Then, with another finger traced back through my memory, sliding along the boxes until I was pointing to the day Noriko had been shot.

Seven days apart. She died after seven days... was that part of the weapon's workings, or was it because of the location she'd been shot? After the third day of her suffering her first lung had vanished... then four days later, the other one followed suit.

My heart started beating faster as my memory began working again and my finger stopped on the day Jun had been shot.

Four days ago...

My hands dropped from the calendar as Bearmon's footsteps invaded my mind. He was coming down the stairs swiftly. "Find anything?" I asked him.

"No."

"That's because there's nothing here." I said, reeling my foot back and kicking the wall as hard as I could. I turned, shouting in anger, rushing out of the house, leaving the door open. I heard it click shut as Bearmon followed behind me. "What am I _doing_?" I asked as I fell to my knees, and the tears started pouring again. I was totally numb at this point and couldn't even feel them. It was like watching someone else cry from inside them. I was okay, but Jou was not.

I tried to pull myself to my feet, but my knees buckled and I landed in a heap on the ground next to the pond outside Taichi's house. Bearmon was rubbing my shoulder, comforting me, as I stared down into the water, looking for a solution. Hoping one would come along with the bubbles steadily rising to the surface.

I sat up quickly and leaned over the edge, the water soaking through the knees of my pants as I looked down, following the bubbles. I reached my hand in, not caring about getting my sweater sleeve wet, and grabbed the familiar source of the air bubbles. The shell opened and closed quickly on my hand and I shouted in pain, but grabbed hold anyway and pulled quickly, extracting Syakomon from the depths of the water. The pink and black shell opened again and released my throbbing hand and was about to shut sharply once more when the green monster inside caught sight of me.

"Jou?" He asked, his voice shaky. "Jou! I'm so sorry! I thought you were one of those mean men!"

"Were you in there the whole time?" I asked him. He nodded, "Are you okay?"

"Of course," Syakomon said, "They didn't see me—not once!" He then paused, the optimism draining from his voice, "Are_ you_ okay?"

"Fine," I said sharply. "I'm going to take you back to the Coliseum with me, okay?"

"Of course," He nodded, "That's where everyone is staying safe, right?"

"Hopefully." I said quietly.

"Yes," Bearmon countered with much more strength to his voice. "We'll go there soon, but first we're trying to do something." Bearmon looked to me with his big blue eyes, expecting me to explain, but I barely knew what I was doing. Syakomon noticed the spear that I must've dropped to the ground and looked up to me too, also confused. "I thought we were saving Gomamon, but it looks like we're looking for something else."

"We are." I admitted. "I want to save Jun. That's what everyone is expecting from me. Then I'll get Gomamon. But I can't save Jun without the antidote, so we need to find the enemies. The DWD. They have to have some with them."

"Well, do we know where they hide?" Bearmon asked.

"I don't," Syakomon said, "But I do know how to find them." We both turned to him, hoping for more information but he just looked worried. "I-I don't mean to seem weak, b-b-but it's not s-safe."

"I don't care." I said, possibly a little rudely.

"Just digivolve." Syakomon said quietly. "They always come when someone digivolves."

I groaned and sat back. "I'm a human. I can't."

"I only have once," Syakomon said, "When I was infected with that virus."

"I can," Bearmon said. "For years I've been able to be Monzaemon without the help of Momoe. Before I met her. Long before... maybe fifteen years before. I can digivolve, Jou, just say the word."

It was so weird that they kept calling me Jou, but they didn't know I wasn't him. They thought they knew who they were talking to but they were wrong. I knew Jou though, and he wouldn't let me put Bearmon into that much danger. If he digivolved he would never survive to tell the tale. "No," I said. "No good. Don't." My sentences were short and choppy, but I knew he understood.

"I don't care about danger, Jou." Bearmon said, looking over his shoulder with a sigh. "I've been taking care of Emiko and Momoe for a long time, but before that I wasn't just a cuddly teddy bear. I mean, I was a cuddly teddy bear, but I was also a digimon. I'm not just a babysitter, and although I love doing that, I'm also a fighter. I'm a warrior Jou! Let me help. Jun is Momoe's best friend."

"So are you," I said, shaking my head.

"And if I die, she'll know I did it for her." He argued.

"And that will make it worse!" I shouted, standing on my knees now, to be taller than him. "She'll know it was her fault—and my fault. If I let you do this she'll never forgive me."

"Then don't lie to her." Bearmon said, shrugging his shoulders.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Tell her exactly what happened." He said, "How you didn't have a choice."

"Wha—?" I couldn't even finish my words because he'd begun glowing.

"**Bearmon digivolve to...**" I was aware of Syakomon panicking and jumping into the water, but I didn't have time to react to that. I was lunging forward and grabbing the spear I'd brought from Sigma's study. My hands wrapped around the places where Sigma must have wrapped thin black cloth around the wooden staff."**Monzaemon!**" I had barely pulled myself to my feet when the shadow of the giant bear cast over me, and another second later a rip had torn its way through the air in front of us.

It opened faster than I was expecting and half a dozen soldiers poured out, each bearing those ridiculous guns. I reacted quickly in a panic and hit one of them with the bottom of the spear, right in the forehead. He fell back and collapsed onto the ground.

"Tongue attack!"

"Slamming attack!"

Two separate voices sounded off, followed by an intense battle cry. I turned briefly and saw a long pink tongue wrap itself around the soldier furthest to my left, and a ball of purple, screaming loudly, crashed into the side of the same soldier, knocking him over. Monzaemon was kicking and stomping as more soldiers came through, and suddenly Syakomon had jumped out, biting the one nearest his pond with his shell. The woman screamed out in pain and aimed her gun toward him. The spear in my hand practically acted on its own and it shot through the air, hitting the woman's weapon and knocking it out of her hand as she toppled over.

Jou was panicking inside, but the man who was in control was no child. He wasn't going to let this scare him. I rushed forward and grabbed my spear, spinning around and hitting another soldier directly in the back of the head as hard as I could just as a loud sound filled the clearing. It was brassy and ear piercing. I dropped my weapon and threw my hands over my ears, my eyes clenching shut, hoping to help block the sound out. I felt my heart beating louder and faster as everything in my body heated up and began to sear with pain.

And then it stopped.

I looked up slowly and saw every enemy in the clearing was floating around in pink, heart shaped bubbles, relaxed and leaning against the walls of their prisons. My hands were shaking, but slowly I looked around and saw Syakomon at my feet, alive. Monzaemon was standing tall, his arms hanging loosely at his side as he looked at his accomplishments. And the two newcomers were Otamamon, and of course Gekomon—the source of that horrible noise.

"What are you two doing here?" I asked them.

"Shuu was worried." Otamamon announced. "We followed you."

Oh. Well, without them this could have been a fiasco. But somehow the most ridiculous team ever had managed to one-up the enemies. "Good job everyone." I said, reaching down to my spear, slowly feeling more and more like myself as the panic set in. What the actual _crap_ was I doing? Who did I think I was? Jackie freaking Chan? I wasn't a hero! I was Jou Kido! And I was holding a _spear_!

It was painfully obvious now that I was panicking, the spear shaking wildly in my hands... but I'd come this far. I, Jou Kido, had accomplished this much. With a lot of help, of course. But I was close now. I just had to keep channeling whatever monster it was that was feeding the flames in my chest. Just a little longer. I reached up quickly, feeling more confident, and popped one of the bubbles. One soldier fell from the sky and landed on the ground, quickly recovering from the elated sense of euphoria that Monzaemon's bubbles could cause. I held my spear up faster than he could pull up his gun and had it pressed to his throat.

"If you move," I said slowly, "I will kill you."

"Your entire stance in this war is peace," The man said, "You're one of those idiots who think these monsters are worthy of our time."

"And you're one of the idiots who killed one of my friends." I said, pushing harder with the spear. "A human girl died last night because of your ignorance. If you don't give me the antidote for that God damn weapon right now, then she won't be the only human who dies this week. And I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about another girl who is dying because she got in the way of that monster."

"Which one?" The man asked, looking to my digimon companions.

"Your leader. Moretsuna." I said flatly. "If you don't give me an antidote—then she'll die. Do you want that to happen?"

He was silent as he stared up to me. His eyes showed how much fear and frustration was flowing through his mind. I didn't even feel guilty though. I didn't feel bad for a second that he was uncomfortable. He was one of them. And I was Jou... A man who did not care about anyone aside from Jun Motomiya just then. She was going to be okay, and that was because this man was going to give me the antidote. And if he didn't, there were ten others floating in the air above me, ready to give me what I needed.

My eyes flicked away from him just for a moment to look to the others, and then I felt the spear move. He had pushed it away from himself and when I looked back he had his weapon raised, not to me, or to the digimon, but to another bubble. He shot and the bubble popped, releasing his friend.

"Water pressure!" Syakomon shot, sending an intense blast of water directly to the man's face. He face planted and was being pushed slowly away from where he had been sitting. I reacted in quick succession, grabbing the weapon from the ground and turning to face the woman he had freed. She was pointing her gun to Monzaemon.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Shoot him and I'll shoot you."

"Well, I can be cured." She said, tossing her wild black hair out of her eyes. "He won't be able to."

"Neither will you if I shoot more than once." I told her. She hesitated for a moment, looking toward me, her eyes lidded heavily with makeup. "The virus—that's what it is, right? A small concentrated virus? Well it slowly deletes humans from the inside out, deleting whatever is closest to the target point. If I shoot you in enough places, enough times. You'll die right here and right now."

"Prove it." She snarled.

"Really?" I asked, "I can if you want." I moved my other hand to the gun to ready the shot and she panicked. She dropped the gun and threw her hands up.

"Fine!" She screamed, "Fine! What do you want?"

"I think you know exactly what I want."

_**Iori Hida:**_

It was different.

Every time I lost someone, I felt different inside. A sort of hollowness was always present, but it never felt the same. I supposed it was because of my own personal connections with the person I'd lost. With my father it was all consuming; I was pained in a way that was too much for a three year old to bear. I'd internalized everything, since my mother wasn't strong enough to share my burden. I'd blamed myself, twisting my father's parting words in a way only a child's mind was able. I took them literally.

"_Will you come back?"_

"_I always come back," Dad would say. "Because I love you."_

I thought he didn't love me, I thought it was my fault. It was only because of Grandpa—and a strange woman I suspected was actually my aunt Summer—that I was able to pull myself out of my sinkhole of despair.

Then we lost Gennai, and no one could tell me it wasn't _my_ fault. He sacrificed his life to save my own. I had nearly died in my own rescue attempts, trying to save Hikari, and I knew she blamed herself for Gennai's loss as well, but she was wrong. It was _my_ fault. I was the one that interpreted Summer's visions incorrectly. She'd sent me a warning of what _could_ happen, and I was meant to change it, instead I waited too long and let everything play out as she'd predicted it.

I could have stopped it. But I didn't.

It was my fault.

And then Grandpa left me too. Nothing could have changed that. It wasn't an act of heroism that stole him from me, like the earlier two. He was old, and his body couldn't keep going anymore. He'd had a long, _good_ life, and I knew he was happy to be seeing his son—my father—again, but it didn't make it any easier on me. There was no change in circumstances, no "what if" to dwell on. _Nothing_ could have prevented him from going.

It was an awful feeling, but it was worse, to know I _could_ have, but didn't bother.

I felt _that_ way now.

I had dwelled long and hard on losing Noriko. All I needed to do to have saved her was produce the antidote. Why didn't I? I didn't need to join the research team at the Temple, struggling to recreate it. But there had to be some _somewhere_. I could've infiltrated their base, the way Sora and Koushiro had _twice_ in the past. There had to be a recipe, a formula written _somewhere_ that I could've found it.

But I didn't.

I stayed here like a good boy, and I talked with Noriko and I babysat Emiko. I stayed here and did everything I could to keep morale up, but it was all useless. Noriko was still gone, everyone was still sad. It was like Noriko's death had cast a plague across the Coliseum. The digimon weren't playing anymore. They were all somber, and I could literally _feel_ their fear in the air. They all dreaded the future. Jun was next, and there was nothing we could do, because I couldn't find it in me to go out and change anything. I'd lost the fight that was an ever present fixture in my personality. Instead, I was dwelling on the past. Thinking of Noriko, and all the mean things I'd said to her—and about her. I dwelled on everyone who'd ever left me. My anger had been extinguished, and I didn't know whether it was a temporary thing or not.

I hoped it was.

Without my anger, I was lost. My anger drove me forward; it helped me continue to fight against our enemies, whoever they may be. Without it, I was a lost little sheep, waiting for someone else to do something, so that I could follow suit. I was closed off inside my cell—_room_. The curtains were closed, and I was sitting on Goblimon's bed, continually hitting my head on the bunk above it—Natsuni's.

I needed her now, and I couldn't be with her. We were forcibly separated, worlds apart. I didn't know how she was doing, and she didn't know Noriko was dead. I didn't know if her dad was alive, or if he'd been captured—or worse. I didn't know where she was either. Was she in Japan, or was she in America? She went through with Jenna, so it was a tossup. Both had people they wanted to see. Was she stuck in America? A place she wasn't familiar with, a place she'd never been, a place so drastically far from where her father was—hopefully—waiting for her.

She had her own troubles, and I felt guilty, wanting her to be here to help me through my own. But I was lost without her. She always knew what to do. And Mother sure wasn't going to help me. She never did. She was always distraught herself, and clung to the nearest person, not able to help anyone else. It was like that with Dad, and it was like that with Grandpa.

Even now, she wasn't able to console me, or Meiyomon. She was sitting on Hikari's bed, across the room. Hikari had the bottom bunk, while I had the one above her. Armadillomon and Gatomon both had large cushion beds—we weren't allowed to call them _dog_ beds, Gatomon's rule—on the stone floor. Armadillomon was in his, trying his best to catch my eye, wanting to help me, but I couldn't. I was just glaring at my mother. She was sobbing uncontrollably wrapped in Goblimon's arms. She'd latched onto him when she'd come into my room. I'd thought, for just a second, she'd come for _me_. But she'd come for herself. Goblimon was upset himself, and allowed her the comfort she craved, though I doubted he was getting much in return. Betamon was in Gatomon's bed—Gatomon had escaped long ago. She'd left in search of Takeru when Mother arrived.

Betamon was dealing with his terror, and horror, and sadness in a very different way than I was. He was talking incessantly. It was as if he was afraid to let there be silence.

"One time, Michael brought me to a restaurant, and the waiter kept trying to get us to order a fish dish, and I just wasn't going to do that, of course, but he wouldn't take the hint, so Michael had to tell him that if he didn't shut up about the fish and take our orders, we'd be forced to find an _alternate_ restaurant for lunch, but the guy just _really_ wanted us to eat the fish, so Michael just picked me right up and we left the restaurant, and the guy _followed us into the street_! He was just freaking out now because Michael was actually serious when he said we'd leave, and he was just so very sorry for pestering us, couldn't we go back to our table? He really didn't want to get fired for scaring off customers. Michael's really nice, so we went back, and he didn't pester us about the fish anymore, which should have been cool, but he started to rave about the clam chowder, and the scallops, which was just as bad, you know?"

He continued rambling stories, each completely different, unrelated in the slightest to the sadness lingering in the room. They were enough to scare away Meiyomon's bad mood. He was laughing happily at each one, and I was glad for that. I knew he wasn't dwelling on Noriko, so much as Hiroaki, but I didn't like to see him sad, even if I didn't care for Hiroaki myself.

I glared harder when Mother let out a fresh bout of sobs. She wasn't close to Noriko, she had met her _once_ at the most, and I didn't know if they'd even said anything to one another when they _had_ been in the same room. I knew her sadness wasn't entirely about Noriko though—she was saddened simply reading the obituary section of the newspaper. Death depressed her, being separated from her new husband _really _depressed her, watching her sons struggle through grief depressed her—not that she ever did anything about it, except cry more.

I felt the flickering of anger at the thought. My anger was returning, however slightly. I could always trust my mother to bring it back; it was one of the constants about her. She was often selfish, and completely overbearing and irritating. And I loved her. She just made me _mad_ a lot of the time, like now, sobbing about Hiroaki into Goblimon's shoulder, knowing full well that Goblimon's partner was trapped along with Hiroaki, and didn't even _try_ to think about Goblimon's own pain. Natsuni was going to be her daughter-in-law someday, she could at least _pretend_ to be upset about her missing presence.

I sighed, finally tearing my eyes away from my mother's tear stained face.

How could I be thinking about marriage at a time like this? Noriko was engaged to be married, and now she never would be. Her fiancé was somewhere in the Coliseum, grieving over Noriko, who he thought was _his_ future. Natsuni wasn't dead. I knew she wasn't. Someone would have bothered to _tell_ me if she was. There was a wall between us now, but we'd find a way around it. I _knew_ we would. We would find a way to be together again. Tomotsu and Noriko never would be. How could I be so selfish as to forget that? Maybe I took after my mother after all.

It was a frightening thought.

I thought back again to that moment, the moment Noriko left us, forcing myself to remember every detail. The colour of her face, her terror filled eyes, her clenched fists, the pulsing veins. I remembered the exact moment she'd lost that fight, the vacancy that took the place of terror in her eyes. A chill passed through me, my skin crawled. I would never forget anything, even if I _wanted_ to.

_I was standing beside Jou, with Aimi's arms around me, watching as the fight left her, watching Impmon lament his partner, watching Tomotsu fill with rage. He whirled around, eyes locking on Jou instantly. He stalked over to us, clenching his fists. He swung his arm back and punched Jou in the chest with all of his might._

"_How could you let this happen?" Tomotsu screamed, his voice filled with a mix of anger and despair. "You're supposed to be a doctor! You were supposed to _save_ her!"_

_Jou didn't say anything. Tears were simply pouring from his eyes, he couldn't look away from Noriko. He had no fight in him, he couldn't bring himself to fight against Tomotsu. I knew instantly that he believed every word Tomotsu was spewing at him._

"_Some doctor!" Tomotsu sneered. "You let her die! You did nothing and just LET HER DIE! She wasn't supposed to. She was meant to live. She was meant to do great things!"_

_He clenched his fists again, and I caught his arm before he hit Jou a second time. He glared at me, trying to pry my grip from his arm, but Shuu had arrived by now, and helped me pull him back._

"_We were going to be married," Tomotsu said, the despair finally beating out the anger. "We had the wedding all planned. Now what I am supposed to do? What do I do without her? How can I go on without her?"_

"_One day at a time," Isao said solemnly. "It's hard, but you will make it through."_

"_How would you know?" Tomotsu lashed out._

"_I've lived it," Isao told him. "And I made it through. I thought my world had left me, but I had plenty of reasons to keep living. I just had to find them. I lost myself in my work for years, before I finally reached peace. It seemed hopeless, worthless, but I found those reasons. I'm still finding reasons all the time."_

"_I don't know what to do," Tomotsu said, his lips trembling, his body collapsed to the floor and he valiantly fought against his tears. "I need her. Noriko..."_

"_Let's get you a cup of tea," Aimi said, moving away from me, and kneeling down next to the grief-stricken man. "I won't tell you what to do, and I won't stop you from grieving—it's important—but I can listen. I've been through this too. Let's go, that's a good boy." She helped him to his feet, and I knew she wasn't leading him to the crowded dining room. She would give him privacy, allow Isao—since Jou didn't look capable of doing anything at this point—to take care of Noriko. He would make sure she looked peaceful by the time Tomotsu came back._

I wished I could have helped him, but I couldn't. I escaped at the first possible moment, I took Betamon with me, and I just crawled into my cell—my _room_—and stared at the wall for hours on end. It had almost been a whole day since I'd watched Noriko die, and I hadn't moved from my place on Goblimon's bed. It had just been Betamon and I until night came, and Armadillomon, Goblimon and Gatomon joined us.

"_Why the long face, Iori?" Gatomon asked, jumping effortlessly onto my bunk across the room._

"_Iori?" Armadillomon asked gently, sensing, as he often did, my mood just by looking at me. "What's wrong? What happened?"_

"_Is this because of Natsuni?" Goblimon asked sadly. "I too am feeling her separation most harshly. Would it help to talk of it?"_

"_It's not Natsuni," I said, my voice sounding robotic, hollow._

"_What is it?" Gatomon demanded. Panic was evident in her voice. Looking back, I could see how she thought maybe it was Hikari, but at the time, her panic meant little to me._

"_Noriko's dead," Betamon told them, when he realized I wasn't going to. I winced at the words. They were so final, so absolute. I didn't want to believe them, but I'd watched her go, I knew it was true._

"_No," Armadillomon gasped, hurrying over to Goblimon's bed, rubbing his head against my leg—his own personal form of comfort. Gatomon hopped down from my bed, plopping herself in my lap, and Goblimon sat at my side—opposite to Betamon—putting his arm around my back, rubbing gently._

I remembered little else until the morning came. I woke in a jumbled pile of digimon, feeling refreshed, lighter, until the memories crashed back into the forefront of my mind. I spent hours listening to Betamon's stories, and a few of the others' until Mother arrived with Meiyomon. Their stories hadn't helped me any, but I preferred them to listening to my mother's sobs. She was making _me_ want to cry, and I wasn't going to. I promised myself. I would stay strong through all of this. I was a grown man, I could deal with this without breaking down. There was more going on than just Noriko's death. We were at war with the humans, and war didn't take a break just because people were grieving.

I couldn't spend all of my time thinking about Noriko, about how she'd never get to finish her first year of teaching. She would never get married, or have kids, or retire. She'd never get to go skydiving. She'd never get to go to Mexico, or Puerto Rico, or the Bahamas, or Greenland. She'd never get to see her digimon digivolve passed rookie, and she'd never get to go out and find her children's partners, or Tomotsu's. She'd never get to joke about her stalking me, or laugh at a joke. She'd never get the chance to sleep in a cell—_room_, other than the infirmary. She'd never get to smile, or blink, or _breathe_ again.

She'd never get to do anything.

Her body was currently lying on a bed in Takeru's "office". He had graciously given up the room so that Jun wouldn't have to share the infirmary with Noriko's lifeless body. Jun had suffered panic attacks all night—as Meiyomon informed me—and still hadn't fully relaxed by morning. Why would she? She'd just seen what was waiting for her. I knew Daisuke had stormed out of the infirmary, angry, frustrated and terrified. He'd left before I had, and I didn't know whether he had recovered enough to go back. I knew I hadn't.

"Hey, Iori," Meiyomon said brightly, sitting on my lap and looking up to me with bright, wide eyes. "Do you think you and Natsuni can take me on a picnic again?"

"She's not here," I said, my voice cracking.

"I know, but _later_," Meiyomon said. "When she's back, or we're back where she is. Whatever one comes first. I just want to go play with the butterflies. Do you think she'd want to go?"

"Probably," I said, cracking a small smile. He was so sure of the future, so confident that Natsuni would be a constant in our lives, and that we wouldn't be worlds apart forever. It was uplifting, the amount of hope he possessed.

"Maybe we could bring Mom and Dad too," Meiyomon suggested bubbly, chasing away my smile. He chattered on, not noticing. "I think they'd like to see the butterflies too. And maybe we could bring Takeru and Yamato, and Patamon and Gabumon, and Kotemon and Wizardmon too. Wouldn't that be fun? It would be a big, happy, family party."

"It will never happen!" Mother cried out, sobbing even louder than before. "We'll never see Hiroaki again. I'll never be happy again!"

I stood up instantly, not able to bear another second of her personal torments. "Natsuni is gone too, Mother, and a girl just _died_. Try thinking of someone other than yourself for once!"

"Iori!" Meiyomon called, as Mother just cried harder.

I didn't wait around for more of this anguish. I burst through the curtains, and stormed down the hall. I needed air, I needed space. I needed a chance to clear my head. I needed to see Noriko. So I wandered down the halls, careful not to look anyone in the eyes. They were all filled with pity, and it was sickening. I didn't want their pity, nor did I need it. I was just thankful they weren't forcing me to give _them_ comfort like my mother had been. I didn't have any to give. I was in need of it myself, and Mother had stolen my sources when she commandeered Goblimon and scared Gatomon away.

I sighed, knowing I'd hurt Armadillomon by running away from him, avoiding eye contact. I just didn't want to hear his voice of reason yet. I wanted blind comfort, I wanted to dwell, to just feel miserable for awhile before I let him help me wade through the sea of emotions and get to dry land again. Was it too much to ask for to just _stew_ for awhile?

There were a few digimon loitering in the hallway around Takeru's office, now Noriko's resting place. They all looked curious. I knew they were confused by humans, and their deaths were no less interesting to them. Humans didn't turn to data and get reborn. We just had the one shot at life. I glared at them, and they skittered away. Once they were gone, I slipped into the room and paused for a second, trying to comprehend how this peaceful looking woman was the same girl I'd watched die. She looked so calm; there was almost a smile on her face, with the way her lips curled upwards. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were resting gently on her stomach. She could almost be sleeping.

"Hey, Noriko," I said, knowing full well she couldn't hear me. But letting myself pretend. "I'm sorry I didn't try to save you. I don't know what I could have done, but there has to be something. I don't know whether Tomotsu has been here yet, but I know he will be soon. He's lost without you. I'm a little lost myself."

I let out a breathy laugh, just one. I looked around the room. There was very little lighting, just one torch in the corner of the room, giving off a soft, warm light. The room was dark, only helping my mind be tricked into thinking she was simply sleeping.

"Why did you have to go?" I said sadly. "I didn't know what a good friend you were until you were gone, you know? I'm really going to miss all of our conversations about nothing and everything. I'm going to miss _you_. I was such a jerk to you during high school. You were creepy, but you didn't deserve it all. Natsuni was always saying so, but I didn't believe her. I let my anger take charge. I _always_ let my anger take charge. It's not just with you. It's so weird, talking to you without interruptions. I've never really done this before. Not even with Grandpa. You're just special I guess. Betamon was right though. You were my first love, even if it never amounted to anything. And isn't it like compulsory to hold a special place for a first love? It's in like every romantic movie, so I guess it must be."

I reached my hand out, intending to hold hers or something, but I couldn't do it. I looked away from her, to the wall.

"I'm so sorry it had to be you," I said, letting all of my thoughts pour out of me, in whatever order they managed to escape. "I'd have taken your place, if I could. It was so hard watching you smile day in and day out, knowing what was happening and seeing that you could find the happiness anyway. I could never do that. This is going to kill Natsuni and Hikari, knowing that they weren't there for you in your last moments, and that they could've been. I don't know how I'm going to tell them. Hikari might already know. But she might not. I don't know if anyone called the Temple."

"They didn't."

I whirled around, my eyes locking on the speaker: Tomotsu. I stepped away from Noriko awkwardly, unsure of how he felt about my impromptu one-sided conversation. It was probably a very weird thing to do. I shouldn't have come.

"She'd be happy to know you're here," he said. "She ranted a lot about how stupid she'd been, about how ridiculous she was when it came to you. She was happy you'd let her have another go at it."

"I know," I said. "She told me, right before...you know."

"Did she?" he said, cautiously. "Could you—I mean, what else did—"

"She mentioned you," I said, understanding what he wanted. "She said she loved you, and that she was happy you looked to her future instead of her past. That you never held any of it against her, and she loved you for it."

"Yeah?" he said, not exactly _happy_, but pleased at the idea.

"Yes," I assured him. "She loved you very much. She talked about you all the time."

"I know she loved me," he said, shrugging. "But it doesn't help much now, does it?"

"No," I agreed. "But later, after some time has passed, it might help then."

"I hope so," he said, his voice cracking. "I was just in the infirmary. Isao asked for me. He said the virus was most likely going to continue to spread, that there's no point waiting for a funeral, since the worlds are locked apart. If we wait, she won't get a proper funeral, a resting place. But if we don't wait, her family won't be able to be there. I don't know what to do. But I told Isao to arrange a little something here. He said he's planning for Saturday, he said that she won't have _deteriorated by then_."

He'd reached his limit, and couldn't help but lose himself to his emotions then. I didn't know what to do. Should I comfort him? I wasn't good at that—it was Natsuni's strong suit—and I didn't know if he actually wanted it or not. So instead of doing anything at all, I stood there awkwardly like a fool.

"I think she might've liked it...to...to h-ha-have this p-pl-place be her final r-re-rest-resting place," he said, through his tears. "She l-loved d-di-digi-digimon so m-mu-much, and th-their world. She d-di-died for it aft-after a-all."

His voice gave way to sobs at that point, and he reached out and cupped Noriko's face, not caring if I saw him in this vulnerable state. In a rare moment of empathy, I reached out and put my hand on his shoulder, and then panicked, not knowing what to do after that. It was a few minutes before the sobs softened. He turned to me. "I'm okay. I'm okay," he assured me, and I dropped my hand, knowing full well that he was lying through his teeth.

"I'm mad, mostly," he confided in me. "That doctor, Jou couldn't save her. And it makes me mad. But what really gets me going is that he's stormed off who knows where. His brother was complaining that he was in a trance or something, rushing off like he had a freaking mission. He _had_ a mission. He was supposed to keep Noriko alive, and he failed, but there's another woman that needs his help, and he'd just left her behind, going on some fool's errand."

"Jou's gone?" I asked, concerned. Jou didn't _do_ solo missions, it wasn't in his character. "In a trance?"

"Like a crazy person," Tomotsu confirmed. "His brother's freaked out about it. I would be too if my own brother abandoned my fiancé in her time of greatest need. Not that staying would be much help. Look at Noriko. _Noriko_."

He started crying again, and I didn't know how much more I could take of his anger. Jou wasn't at fault. Jou had to stay here, to monitor Noriko and all of her progress. He had to try and save her. It was _me_ that should have gone out after a solution. Not everything _needed_ to be on Jou's shoulders. It wasn't fair to do that to him.

"Why couldn't he have been that determined _yesterday_?" Tomtosu lamented. "Then Noriko might still be here. It's his fault."

"No it isn't," I contradicted him.

"Yes it is," he insisted.

"It's mine," Impmon said, frightening me. He stepped out of the dark corner across the room. "It's my fault. She got shot protecting _me_. It's me that's to blame. I know it is. I got my partner killed. I'm the worst partner _ever_. I was supposed to be protecting _her_, it shouldn't have been the other way around. And now she's gone, and I can't get her back. _I want her back_!"

"It's not your fault," I said in a harsher voice than I intended. "I was there. I saw it happen. Noriko protected you, because she blamed herself for taking you outside, when she _knew_ that people were after digimon, after _you_. She made her own choice, and nothing you could've done or said would've changed that choice. She loved you, and _never_ wanted anything to happen to you."

Impmon had tears in his eyes, and he looked to Tomotsu, desperate to hear that Tomotsu felt the same conviction I did. But Tomotsu was silent, he met Impmon's eyes, but didn't say a word. The tears fell in big, round droplets as Impmon let out a wail, fleeing from the room, devastated.

I glared at Tomtosu, but my glare softened slightly when I saw the regret prominently displayed on his face. Tomotsu still flinched at my gaze—my glare had that effect on people—and opened his mouth to apologize.

"It's not me you should apologize to," I said, knowing I had to cut him a bit of a break—however miniscule I made it—since he'd just lost his fiancé and was obviously a broken man. I left him with his fiancé, putting the responsibility for finding Impmon on myself. He couldn't have gotten too far. Another scattering of digimon were waiting in the hall when I emerged. I looked to them imploringly, and they pointed in the direction Impmon had run. "Thank you," I said tersely. "Now go away. Let him grieve in peace. You're all being annoying."

They sighed and set about leaving, but I was already gone, racing down the halls, determined to find Impmon before he did something rash and stupid. I rounded the corner, and slammed into Jou, causing him to drop his spear, nearly hitting Otamamon and Gekomon as he did so. Bearmon was standing behind him, holding a Syakomon in his paws. I paused and looked to the weapon. _Why_ did Jou have a _spear_? It was so unlike him. I looked to him, quirking my head.

"It's a long story," he said. "I've got to get to Jun. I've got the antidote. I've got it." He grinned to me, only to have the grin fall. "What's wrong?"

"Impmon's run away," I said. "I'm going to find him. Save the story for later."

"Take this," he said, forcing a creepy, black key into my hand. I flinched, and tried to give it back, but he wouldn't let me. "It's Taichi's plan. If we leave the Coliseum, we should take the key with us. If we get into trouble, we'll have an escape route. That's what Willis told me when he gave it to me, anyway."

"I don't want it," I said firmly.

"Take it, please," he said. "For me."

"Fine," I agreed begrudgingly. I would never use it. I knew exactly where it led. This was the key Kurayami had that led to the Dark Ocean. I wasn't about to go there, especially with Impmon. He was sad enough already, the Dark Ocean would just eat him alive.

"We're heroes now," Otamamon said happily. "Maybe Yamato will write songs about us. Do you think he might?"

"No," Jou said, rolling his eyes. "Be careful, Iori. I met up with DWD, they're still dangerous, and they're quick to use their weapons. Make sure Impmon doesn't get hit."

"I will," I said, backing away from him, continuing down the hallway. "And next time you decide to play hero, invite me!"

I whirled around, knowing that Impmon could've done plenty of stupid things by now. I needed to find him. I was in the antechamber within minutes, and I searched through the scattered digimon, trying to catch sight of him. I didn't see him anywhere. I _did_ see Hawkmon though, and he'd seen me too. He flew at me immediately.

"Did you see Impmon?" I asked, before he could offer me pity or comfort, like he was planning to do.

"I did, actually," he said thoughtfully. "He was running very fast. He was crying, though that _is_ understandable, really. I didn't see where he was going though."

"I'll tell you where he was going," Babamon said, slamming her broomstick against the ground angrily. "He left! He didn't follow protocol or anything. That's the second time today someone's ignored my orders."

"He's outside?" I asked, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. "Alone?"

"Without any protection," Babamon said disdainfully. "I don't know why I bother trying; no one listens to me anyway. I wish we had some sort of punishment in place, so people could learn that there are consequences to not listening to me. But Taichi won't allow it."

"I'm going to find him," I said, knowing there was a slim chance of that happening. It would be dark soon, and he blended into the shadows so effortlessly. "Tell Armadillomon where I've gone, will you?"

"Babamon will have to do it," Hawkmon said shaking his head. "You can't search alone."

"It could take _forever_," I pointed out.

"Let it," he said confidently. "It would take you twice as long without my help. I can conduct an aerial search while you're on the ground. We can find him. We _will_ find him."

"But Miyako—"

"Isn't here," Hawkmon said firmly. "And I make my own choices. Impmon is in no state to be out there, not while there are enemies lurking about. We must get him back safely."

"Then we'd better get going," I said determined. Hawkmon and I rushed through the doors, hurrying to start what was bound to be a long, exhausting search, and not listening to Babamon's shouts.

"Three times! _Three_! All in one day! People have _no_ respect for their elders! None, I tell you."

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Izzy and Mari work together to bring a little more peace to the world that their opponents have been meddling in, and Michael gets a confusing visit from some unexpected and unexplained guests.


	43. Untraceable

**Y/N: **As it turned out, the plot that we gave Mimi, Koushiro and Mari wasn't quite as action-packed as we'd expected, and so we had to draw the very few pieces rather thin, but it we took it as an opportunity to explore the world a little more, develop more of the world and the characters in it, that we may have been neglecting up until this point.

**U/N: **I remember not being pleased with the outcome of Mari's chapter, but I didn't hate it anyway, so that's alright. I didn't feel like I wrote it properly and it was kind of a random sort of plot anyway. We always tend to have a couple random chapters in the 40's of the stories though so this fits right in :P Then Michael's part that I am preeeetty sure is in this chapter had to be rewritten a couple times, and although I didn't mind because insane michael is fun, it was a bit frustrating having to redo so much of it. Anyway, I hope you like it anyway...

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 5: Threatened**

**Chapter 43: Untraceable**

_**Koushiro Izumi:**_

It was dawn now. We'd been travelling all night, following the signals on the handheld device Mari had stolen from Yorokobi. We'd been travelling a lot these past few days since leaving Toy Town. We'd covered a lot of ground. Mari first led us to the old, abandoned amusement park, where a Crowmon—an aviary digimon in possession of three legs—was hiding in one of the uppermost carriages on the Ferris wheel. There was also a Peckmon hiding in the merry-go-round, pretending to be one of the ceramic digimon available for riding, and two smaller digimon, a Muchomon—similar to a Penguinmon, though red and yellow in colour—and a Toucanmon—a small toucan digimon, wearing the bottom half of its shell in place of pants—in the carts of the roller coaster. After freeing the four digimon of their tracking devices, I erected another barrier around the park, and then we were on our way.

Our journey next led us to a large—and by large I, of course, mean enormous—house that was home to a large assortment of insect digimon. Snimon and Flymon were buzzing about. I counted no fewer than seven Kuwagamon, and spotted a small collection of Tentomon in the far corner staying as far away from the entire colony of Dokugamon. Mimi kept a brave face through the entire situation, though I knew her skin was crawling. She loved Tentomon, and she loved all of digimon, but she didn't enjoy bugs as much as I did, for example. I was fascinated by all the digimon around us. I could have stayed there far longer than the forty-six and a half minutes it took Mari to locate—and be rid of—all of the tracking devices located within the walls. Again, I places a barrier around the house, ensuring the safety of all those inside.

During the first night, I led the others—not so subtly—to the ruins where I'd first encountered Centarumon so many years ago, where I'd ignored Mimi until she'd run off crying. I'd not returned to study the ruins there yet, and while the small temple _could_ provide us with ample shelter and was an excellent hiding place, I'd only gone to ensure its safety by placing a shield around it.

It was the amphibian palace that _Mimi_ led us to that really monopolized most of our time, however. There were digimon there bearing the tracking devices, but once they were removed, ShogunGekomon demanded we stay and celebrate their returned freedom. The Gekomon and Otamamon remembered Mimi as the wonderful princess that woke their master during our first adventure. They were reluctant to let her go so soon, and they'd all but physically dragged her to the room they had kept for her, hoping for her return. Palmon was permitted to go along with her, but Mari and I weren't so lucky. ShogunGekomon sent us outside to wait for the coming feast, and we were left for four hours in the swampy area around the palace. My shoes _still_ hadn't dried out completely. It had taken another hour and a half for Mimi to convince them to let us go, we had a lot of work to do, and they were keeping us from saving the lives of other digimon—other Gekomon, or Otamamon too. I'd stopped to put up a barrier, but afterwards, we'd all but fled.

There had been other digimon as well, digimon that weren't in largely populated areas, and once we'd freed them of their burdens, we sent them towards whichever shield was closest.

Now, as the sun was rising above the horizon, we were standing in Factory Town. I'd been here before too, on that same adventure. This was the location where I had met Kabuterimon for the first time. I'd found the ruins in a small room that allowed me to write the program I'd used. It was still there, Andromon had ensured it. I was tempted to slip away and take a look, but with the long delay at ShogunGekomon's Palace, I knew I couldn't give in to that desire. We had a lot of ground to cover. There were plenty of digimon out there trying to hide from the DWD, despite their tracking devices.

And we weren't the only ones looking for them.

Mari had noticed immediately that some of the signals had disappeared long before we got to them. We were racing against the clock, trying to get to these digimon before the DWD could. We had to save as many lives as possible, and no matter _how_ much I longed to be at my desk in my basement lab, I could not give up on the digimon. I had a duty as a digidestined—and as a decent human being—to protect the innocent digimon that were getting caught up in a war that should never have been started.

There were twelve digimon within Factory Town alone that had tracking devices somewhere on their person. If we hadn't gotten to them first, the entire population—now at one thousand, two hundred and six, and climbing—could have been wiped out of the Digital World's memory. I couldn't help but think of all the lost signals. How many digimon were being taken out along with the one that bore the tracking device? Were there only eleven losses, or were there thousands? I didn't know, and I hated it. I hated knowing so little about such important facts. I needed to know how many digimon we were failing. How many digimon had I subjected to death for my foolish desire to save those ruins? How many were gone because I couldn't find it in me to stand up to an overgrown frog and demand he let us go, instead of just waiting for Mimi to do it for me? How many were going to die because we weren't fast enough? We only had two feet and we were tired. We'd travelled all night, to try and make up for lost time. But we were slower, for the lack of rest. How many digimon would die if we were to stop now and sleep, even for just a few hours?

"We cannot thank you enough for your actions here today," Guardromon said, repeating his statement for the fifth time.

"It's really not a problem," Mimi said with a bright smile. "We're happy to help. If you have any problems, just let one of us know, or Andromon."

"We have not seen Andromon in quite some time," Guardromon said. "He has yet to return from the council meeting he left for one month prior to now."

"Oh dear," Palmon said. "I'll be sure to talk to him. He and Babamon have both been slacking in their duties. We just rounded up a bunch of plant digimon in her place."

"We would greatly appreciate any news available," Guardromon replied. He had been nominated as spokes person in Andromon's absence. "Be sure to inform him that production has improved by one hundred and ten percent. The influx of new staff and inhabitants has aided us immensely."

"I remember when this place was like a ghost town," Mimi said with a giggle. "It's so weird to see so many digimon living here now. I like it. It's a good change."

She'd been in a much lighter mood since Palmon's tracking device had been removed. She was still sad; she was just able to hide her sadness beneath joy now that she was in possession of some. Palmon too, had a brighter disposition now that she wasn't being chased throughout the Digital World.

"Another signal just went out," Mari announced, looking up from the black device she was holding. "We've got to get a move on. I don't like this."

"I don't either," Mimi said, her own personal rain cloud returned, and the smile washed off of her face. "You're right. I'll be sure to tell Andromon when I see him. You just keep up the good work. And try to make sure no one leaves the barrier, okay? It's really important that you stay inside. The enemies' guns can't get you if the shield is between you and them."

"I will remember, and I will share this knowledge at our next production meeting," Guardromon said. "There are only thirty six minutes between now and then."

"Good," Mimi said. Palmon nodded her agreement. "I'll be back to visit sometime. I can't wait to see how good your production levels are the next time I come."

"We hope to improve exponentially," Guardromon said.

We left then, following after Mari. She was a woman on a mission. I nearly had to run to keep up with her pace. It was unsettling, that she was able to move so much faster than I was while wearing heels of incredible heights. Had I been more physically inclined, perhaps I might've kept pace better. After all of this walking, I was seriously considering introducing an exercise regiment to my daily schedule. I did _not_ want to reach this level of exhaustion again by simply walking. It was rather embarrassing.

"After this next one, do you think we could have a break?" Palmon asked, echoing my sentiments exactly.

"No we cannot," Mimi said quickly. "We can't _rest_ when digimon could be targeted. We can't stand idly by when digimon could be tracked down by _Yorokobi_ and the other monsters in the DWD!"

"Mimi Suki Tachikawa, don't you _dare_ use monsters as a negative term," Palmon scolded her. "I _happen_ to be a monster myself, thank you very much!"

"Obviously I didn't mean monsters of the digital variety, Palmon dear," Mimi said hastily. "I meant the kind of monsters that hunt down innocent digimon and slaughter them without regret or remorse."

"Suki?" I questioned aloud.

"What do you mean by 'Suki?'?" Mimi asked, raising her eyebrow at me.

"I didn't know that was your middle name," I said, just as shocked as she seemed to be. Her eyes narrowed into little slits as she glared at me. "Contrary to popular belief, I don't actually know _everything_."

"Well _that's _news to me," Mimi snapped, crossing her arms and turning her face away from me.

"You can't be that upset," I said, rolling my eyes. "You don't know my middle name either."

"Akio," Mimi supplied without hesitation.

I blinked. How could she possibly _know_ that? I'd never told her. It hadn't occurred to me that it was important information to share. It couldn't mean that much to her. She'd never _asked_ me.

"I asked your mother," she told me. "Because _I_ care about the little details. I thought you did to, since you like to know everything about everything. But apparently you want to know everything _except_ anything about me."

"I know things about you," I argued. "I know exactly how you like your eggs in the morning, and that you prefer coffee over tea. I know your favourite colour is the exact shade of green as your crest, and that you have a very specific pair of cowboy boots that you claim are your favourite shoes, but you haven't worn them in the entire time we've been dating."

"You didn't know my middle name," Mimi said. "That's important. What _other_ personal things do you _not_ know about me?"

"If I don't know them, how am I supposed to specify," I argued.

"Shut up," Mari snapped. "All your bickering is going to do is attract the enemies. This device doesn't show me where _they _are. Just the digimon, and we're coming up to one now. You've probably already scared it away."

The silence that followed was tense. She was right, of course. There was no need to be arguing here and now—especially since we had an audience. There would be time later to argue. Mimi would make sure of it. For now, I could relish in our mission, knowing that she wouldn't bring it up again for awhile at least.

We emerged from the trees we had been travelling through. In front of us, was a large, open space. The area was covered in bright green grass, cut short, like one would keep a golf course. It wasn't a golf course, though. There were no flags, or carts, just rolling green hills. The only interruption of the large, green canvas was the rectangular platform, made of smaller squares. It was a sort of jagged oval shape, and the squares shone in BlackWargreymon's image, just as they had done since his death. Flowers grew in small flowerbeds around the oval's perimeter, and beds of moss were scattered about as well.

There weren't any visible digimon, however.

"That can't be right," Mari said, looking down to the device once more. She looked up, narrowing her eyes, scrutinizing the land, trying to find _something_. "It says there's a digimon here."

"Maybe it's just a little one," Palmon suggested. "Maybe he's hiding in the flowers?"

"You think so?" Mimi asked. Palmon nodded.

"Then we should definitely check it out," Mari agreed. "I don't want to leave it behind. I want to save it before whoever else is after them comes to get it."

So we set about searching. There were no fewer than twenty-six flowerbeds. I searched through daffodils, and tulips, and a dozen or so other flowers that I didn't care to know the names of. I found nothing—until I started searching my sixth. I pulled on a strange, green bulb, with round little leaves and a stem on top.

And then I was screaming.

Little teeth had bit my hand, and a tiny voice shouted "Acid Bubbles!" and I was in the middle of a cloud of bubbles, each popping on my skin in turn, leaving angry red welts, and hurting something fierce. I desperately covered my eyes, lest some serious damage be done to them. Mimi was screaming right along with me, which was almost nice. She didn't hate me too much then, if she was upset about my pain.

"Palmon!" Mari called.

"On it," Palmon agreed. "Poison Ivy!" she called, wrapping the small, green digimon in her vines, pulling it away from me, leaving me _thankfully_ out of range. "What's the big idea, small fry?"

"Who are you?" the digimon stammered. He was shaking like a leaf. "How could you _help_ them? They've been following me. You're a digimon, don't you understand?"

"If they weren't the digidestined, I just might," Palmon said with a smile. "But they _are_ the digidestined, which means they came all this way to _save_ you, and you hurt them for their troubles."

"The digidestined?" the digimon said slowly. "I met them before, a _long_ time ago, just before my partner died. I didn't stick around long. I couldn't stay, you know, once Yukio was gone."

"Yukio?" Mari asked confused.

"Yukio Owikawa," I explained instantly. "This is Datirimon. We met him briefly following the defeat of MaloMyotismon, and haven't seen him since. If I remember correctly, you left to explore the world that your partner so desperately wanted to see."

"Yup," Datirimon said brightly. "And I've seen a _whole _lot of it. Not a lot of it has been good lately. Did ya know about that?"

"We did," Mari said solemnly. "It's the DWD."

"They're the bad people?" he said confused.

"We don't know what they call themselves," Mimi offered. "But we know their motto: Down With Digimon. It's horrible."

"Sounds like it," Datirimon said. "I've seen them, lotsa times. They hit me with this red thing, and now they show up all the time. They don't see me in the flowers though. They aren't very bright, these bad guys. They don't put much effort into things. I've been here for days, and they haven't found me yet."

"And they won't," Mimi assured him. "Because we're here to get rid of that tracking device, once and for all. Then you'll be a free digimon again. We can give you a big list of places to go next, places that are safe. The DWD can't get in them."

"I think I'd like that," Datirimon said softly. "I've been travellin' a long time now. It might be nice to just rest a while."

Mimi sprayed the little red disk, and it fell away from the tiny digimon's body. He smiled brightly at her once it was gone, and he ran around the BlackWargreymon tribute, jumping and laughing. Palmon joined him, and soon, so did Mimi. Mari was already hunched over the device, looking for the next digimon, whichever was closest.

"Another one's gone," Mari told me with a gasp. "It's not far from here. Koushiro we can't stay. We've got to get them and leave. They're too close."

"Mimi!" I called, but I didn't get any farther, because Mari gasped again. I whirled around to see Wizardmon poking the tracking device Mimi had left lying in the grass. It stuck to his finger, and he shook it, trying to get free. He shook harder when it wouldn't come off.

"That was a silly thing to do," Mimi said, grabbing the spray bottle and squirting Wizardmon's hand. The device fell off and landed silently in the grass once more.

"It was 'silly' of you to leave the device where any digimon could accidentally come into contact with it," Wizardmon countered.

"I was going to pick it up," Mimi said defensively.

"What are you doing here, Wizardmon?" Palmon asked.

"I am trying to locate the disturbances that the tracking devices cause. It is difficult, twice now I have found agents of the DWD who were simply wearing their tracking guns on their belt. I do not want to leave any digimon in the situation I was once—now twice—in. I am removing them as quickly and diligently as possible," Wizardmon informed us.

"That teleportation trick sure must make it easy," Mari commented.

"It would, if I were able to pinpoint which devices were attached to digimon. It is difficult work finding them, and they all give out the same disturbance, whether they are actively giving off a signal or not," Wizardmon said.

"And that little eyedropper has to be cumbersome," Mari commented, looking to the small glass bottle in a leather holster on his hip. A small glass eyedropper was tucked in beside it.

"Perhaps this conversation would move faster if you were blunt, rather than hinting," Wizardmon suggested.

"Do you want my stolen goods or not," Mari said rolling her eyes. "We're not going fast enough. They could still get digimon while we're talking. They've been getting digimon at an alarming rate."

"_I_ have been saving digimon at an above average speed," Wizardmon pointed out.

"Okay, so some of them might've been you. _Most_ of them could have been, but I don't for one second believe that _all_ of them were you. We're losing digimon, Wizardmon. And you can teleport. You can go and spray the tracking devices, and then read the digimon a list of nearby safe zones and they can all be safe. Don't you understand?" Mari said frustrated. "Fewer digimon will die if you take it. You're just more efficient than us. We can trade the spray bottle for the eyedropper, in case we stumble upon others, but it's really in the digimon's best interest if it's _you_ that has the better equipment."

"C'mon, Wizardmon," Palmon urged. "Say you'll do it. You're a Knight of the Digital World."

"Besides," I said, rubbing a rather painful welt on my arm. "Digimon are more likely to feel at ease if another digimon is rescuing them. You're much less likely to be attacked."

"Sorry," Datirimon muttered.

"I will do it," Wizardmon said. "I just don't like feeling as though I'm taking the duty of a digidestined."

"Digidestined are just the human versions of the Knights," Mimi said. "You're just as capable as we are to save the digital world; you just don't have crests, and mostly can't walk down the streets of Odaiba without getting spotted."

"I will do my best to live up your expectations," Wizardmon said. He exchanged his own solvent for the spray bottle Mimi was carrying, and took the device from Mari with a little trepidation. "I bid you adieu," he said, and then he was gone with the blink of an eye.

"He was so _cool_!" Datirimon cheered.

Datirimon was off playing again soon after, dragging Palmon with him. Mimi however decided to stay and discuss what we would be doing next. We all sat on one of the soft moss beds and let some of the tension lift from our shoulders. "Are we going back then?" she asked. "To the Temple, I mean, now that we gave Wizardmon our mission?"

"It's probably a good idea," Mari said, covering her mouth as she let out a big yawn. "I really need a nap, and then Taichi can tell us what we're supposed to do next. He's good at that, giving out orders."

"He sure is," Mimi said with a sigh. "This moss is soft. I could probably sleep right here."

"Why don't we?" I suggested. "We don't have anywhere to rush off to at the moment. And travelling through the potentially dangerous woods would be ill advised whilst sleep deprived. We'd be unable to respond if we were attacked."

Mari yawned again. "I like that idea." She sprawled herself out on the moss and using her arm, covered her eyes to keep the sun out. I looked at Mimi, and she turned her head away sharply. She crawled a good six feet away, crossed her arms and glared at me. Obviously she wasn't going to talk to me.

"I'm _sorry_," I said in a voice that was far more like a whine than I'd like to admit. She huffed and turned her back to me. I was clearly in the proverbial dog house. I still didn't understand why it was so important. If it was something she _wanted_ me to know, then why didn't she _tell_ me? I wasn't going to pry into her personal matters. She knew that. And I certainly wasn't going to scold her by calling out her entire name like a parent would to a belligerent child. I was her boyfriend, not her father.

Instead of pursuing an argument, I sighed and lay down. Palmon would alert us if something happened. She didn't seem interested in sleeping herself. She and Datirimon had settled down on a different moss bed and were singing nursery rhymes to one another. I let their songs fill my mind and _just_ as I was about to let sleep take a hold of me, a large rustling came from the trees. I sat up immediately, and I wasn't the only one. Both Mari and Mimi heard it too.

"Poison Ivy!" Palmon shouted, whipping her vines towards the intruders. When she retracted her vines, she pulled two intruders with her. One _small_ pink rodent, and one large, gold blob reminiscent of animal excrement.

"Sukamon! Chuumon!" Mimi called, relieved it wasn't the DWD.

"Mimi?" they called in unison. They were _beyond_ excited. I couldn't find it in myself to share in that excitement. "Fair Mimi, beautiful Mimi, will you do us the honour of your company on a date?"

I rolled my eyes, sure of her answer.

"I don't know..." Mimi said slowly. "You don't happen to know my middle name?"

"You can't be serious," I gasped, looking between her and the digimon.

"Mimi _Suki_ Tachikawa," Sukamon answered quickly after Chuumon whispered in his ear. The pair were grinning widely. "_Now_ will you go out with us?"

"I just might have to consider it," she said, sending a glare in my direction. "Since you took the time to know something so personal about me and everything. You're actually kind of a sweet lemon custard, aren't you?"

"Gosh, you're making me blush," Sukamon said embarrassed.

I rolled my eyes and turned away from them. She wasn't being serious. She _wasn't._ She was just punishing me for not knowing something that it was impossible for me to have known without her _telling_ me. I couldn't help but think I was in for a _long_ experience with the silent treatment though.

_**Michael Washington:**_

Veronica was standing, her back against the wall opposite me, her lips pursed as her eyes burned through me. Her long black braid was hanging over one of her shoulders. She looked annoyed, and for good reason. She was close to her target, but then she'd been forced to give up her search because some invisible foe had caused her to drop her locating device. Of course it had to have been Mari, because it couldn't have been Palmon or they would have seen the dot coming closer on the grid. And it certainly wasn't Mimi. I laughed aloud again and Veronica deepened her intense gaze.

Marshall was sitting on the floor next to her, his legs spread apart, looking like a very bizarre child. His face was dirty and his clothes were ripped, and he looked tired. In a way that made him look more like an infant... but the massive forearms threw that imagery out the window. Both Ricky and Tyler were standing to his left, arms crossed, probably only pretending to know what was going on.

I didn't know either though, so whatever.

The room I was in was round and metal. They'd taken me into their weird ship thing—it was like a spaceship almost, but it could apparently swim too. Sora had told me all about this place. They'd found it twice, hopefully they could find it again. I was in the uppermost floor where a rounded window was placed in the center of the room showing me the sky outside. It was morning finally, so now I could stop pretending to be comfortable in the stupid chair. The ropes that were tied around my wrists rubbed against me with every miniscule movement and burned every time now that they'd rubbed off a few layers of skin. I was also just not okay with the idea of being tied down. It was making me feel claustrophobic really and I didn't even know I had that fear.

I'd been tied to the wooden chair in the middle of the room since about midday yesterday. Veronica had called someone when we'd gotten here telling them that she "found one of them" and then hung up and expected me to be okay with waiting until whomever it was she had called would show up.

I was kind of cold too. The room was freezing, and I could feel the freezing cold metal through the bottom of my shoes. The room wasn't even interesting to look at either. There were a few computers along the rounded wall to my left, but other than that it was pretty much empty.

"I thought you were sleeping," Marshall said, rolling his eyes.

"I woke up," I told him. "It was a very comfortable sleep, thank you for the privilege of staying in this welcoming abode."

"You woke up like a hundred times through the night." He reminded me.

"I always do that," I countered, "I don't trust anyone. I wake up every hour on the hour, to be sure no one is killing me." Of course it was a lie, I just didn't want them to know that I was uncomfortable. I wanted them to be sure I was totally fine. Even if that just wasn't true. I'd been punched in the eye by Marshall and it hurt like hell, my arms were all scraped up from the walk in the woods and that was only half of the problem.

"What if someone kills you on the half-hour?" Tyler questioned thoughtfully.

"Then I die," I shrugged.

"Then what's the point of waking up at all?" Tyler asked.

I shrugged my shoulders but didn't respond. I was hoping whoever it was they had called would show up soon. Veronica had said they would. When I was pretending to sleep about an hour ago she'd mentioned that "they were coming" so that had to be good. They could literally rip open the sky and teleport to wherever they wanted to go, so why couldn't they come here faster?

And since when did bad guys not keep their prisoners in more comfortable situations? I mean, Daemon gave Miyako new clothes, food and a room to herself when he kidnapped her. Sure, he intended to eat her—or... whatever he was going to do to her, but at least she was comfortable. And sure, Marshall was the ninth Great Evil, but that didn't mean he had to be any worse than any of the others. I actually considered asking them for something to drink, but I figured they'd just throw it on me and I'd be even less comfortable.

If I knew where my digivice was then I could call Betamon to come save me. Or Terriermon and Lopmon—or Taichi—or Tatum, or someone. Basically anyone. Mari had tried. I saw her trying, but it hadn't worked out and right now she was busy saving Palmon. I didn't get a chance to let her know there were others in the woods looking for them. I hoped she found them and warned the others. Or that they never came in contact. Even better. As long as they were safe.

A loud buzzing sound filled the room and Ricky jumped, startled. Veronica moved quickly toward the big iron doors and pulled pushed some buttons on the small electrical box by the door. Apparently this room had a password from the inside. Crazy. The doors finally opened and two men stepped inside.

One was exciting looking, with his wild eyes and his curly hair that shot in random directions. I thought I might've seen him before, but not in the modern clothes he was wearing now. He had a turtleneck sweater on, and tight blue jeans with a loud orange raincoat. The other man looked familiar too, but older and fuller. He looked friendly though, so that was nice. He was wearing overalls and a bowler hat.

Strange fashion choices. Bold and daring.

And they were both smiling. That's what mattered. They didn't seem horrifying at all! Which was strange, because 'horrified' would be the word I'd use to describe Veronica's expression. "You're not who I called."

"We're the backup," The curly haired one said. He held his hand out to shake hers, "Bitoru is my name. I am here because the man you called was unable to make it. I offered to take over. Is that the boy?" He looked to me, "Funny, I thought he would be smaller. They call themselves Chosen Children, right? He's not a child. Does he know?"

"He knows," I said, loud enough for them to hear. "But I'm a Digidestined. Not just a Chosen Child." Bitoru's face lit up and he practically skipped toward me. He stood in front of me and leaned forward staring into my eyes. Through his glasses I could see his eyes were almost golden. Behind him I heard the second man telling Veronica she could leave now if she wanted, but she wouldn't go. "Can you step back?" I asked, "This is uncomfortable." I turned my head finally to break contact and he stepped away.

"Aesop," Bitoru said to his friend, "I think he's telling the truth."

Aesop, the man in the overalls, looked to Veronica once more. "Your services here are completed, I will be sure to let you know if you are needed in the future."

"You'll take all the credit!" She argued, her fists balling up. Marshall had got to his feet and looked like he was hoping Veronica would just give in so he could get some rest. Tyler and Ricky bore similar expressions. "I caught him and you'll get the recognition if I leave! No way!"

"My dear," Aesop said, "I heard through the grapevine that the boy walked into your home. You did not catch him, he caught himself." He then looked to me with a seemingly knowing look, "And I'm going to find out why. He was caught on purpose."

"That does make sense," Marshall said. "He kept howling—I thought he was crazy, but maybe he was doing something?"

"Alerting others of your whereabouts no doubt," Bitoru said nodding, "Mhm, smart boy."

I smiled up to him, "Thanks."

"I still caught him." Veronica pouted, crossing her arms, upset.

"And you could catch a Digidestined with a plate full of fresh waffles, my dear," Aesop said, pointing to the door, "It is no accomplishment." I didn't know if _that_ was true necessarily, though we would be pretty easy to catch. Just put someone in danger and the Universe will force us to save them and then voila! You caught us.

I did really like waffles though.

Aesop was still pointing to the door when Veronica finally gave in, leading the way for her three male companions. She opened the door with the pass code and then all four of them were finally gone. Now, I didn't totally know what these two wanted, but I had a feeling I wasn't going to be trapped much longer. "Okay," I said, "So how are we gonna do this? You untie me and then pretend you're moving me to a new prison, and then just let me go?"

"Why would we do that?" Bitoru asked. "That wouldn't help us at all."

"It would help me," I countered.

"Well it matters not," Aesop said, closing the distance between the two of us, "You are not our prisoner and we have no say in where you end up. We are merely here for our own purposes."

"Are ya gonna kill me?" I asked in the friendliest voice I could muster.

"Of course not," Aesop chuckled, shaking his head, "We're just going to ask you a few questions."

Bitoru leaned forward and smirked, "And if you don't answer them, _then_ we'll consider killing you." Aesop rolled his eyes, but Bitoru didn't lessen his serious glare. I honestly didn't know which one to believe. It reminded me of like, every television cop show ever. There was the good cop and the bad cop—but I wasn't going to fall for it.

Or was I? I didn't know! Was one of them acting bad, to get information? Or was one of them acting nice? If it was the latter, then I could seriously get hurt by not obeying them, but if it were the former, then they wouldn't hurt me if I didn't give them information...

Of course! I'd just give them the bare minimum of the information I knew, and they'd believe I was dumb as a post and go away. Then I'd wait patiently for some charming man on a horse with a sword to come save me. That's how cop movies ended, right? The prisoner leaves with the prince? "I'm so tired." I said aloud, not having meant to. But it was true. I was tired, and confused. And all of my memories were melding together... Which was why I couldn't remember who these two men were. But they sure did look familiar.

I wonder if they knew they were working with the Great Evil of Earth, Marshall.

Bitoru and Aesop were pacing around me, thinking. Bitoru was much more obvious in his thinking poses. He had his finger to his chin and a wondering expression, while Aesop's arms were simply folded behind his back as he paced. "What information do you want?"

"Any and all," Bitoru said, "I'm never against increasing my knowledge quota." Okay, well that was no good because I didn't know everything—but I guess it went along with my plan. "But for now, I want to know where you Digidestined came from."

"Oh," I said, well I could answer that. "I guess a bunch of them came from Odaiba—I'm from New York though, so is my brother. Well he's not really my brother—"

"Stop!" Bitoru shouted, throwing his hands up. He and Aesop had both come to a stop in front of me, just on the edge of the sunlight. It was like I was in a spotlight that the sun was casting and they were standing in the shadowy area, trying to look menacing. "I meant to ask how you became a Digidestined."

"Well, Gennai." I said. I figured it couldn't hurt, he was already dead.

"Yes, we know that much," Aesop said kindly, "But what did he have to do with it all?"

"How did you know that though?" I asked, confused.

Aesop and Bitoru shared a look, like Bitoru was asking permission from the older man, as though he were a child asking for a treat. Aesop shook his head lightly and Bitoru turned back to me, "None of your concern."

That was just about the worst answer ever. But whatever, I wasn't giving them anything better. "He was pretty much in charge around here I guess," I told them, "he was like the Digimon King—without being a king of course. Or a digimon. He was just in charge."

"Why was he in charge?" Aesop asked. "With digimon being as powerful as they are, you would think one of the more powerful archetypes would take over if a simple man was in charge. He would stand no chance against the likes of say, a Tyrannomon?"

"You don't think they tried?" I asked, laughing, "Oh, Gennai's pretty cool. He had this sword thing—he once killed a MarineDevimon with it in front of me."

Aesop looked impressed, but confused. "If he was so strong, then why is he no longer the king?"

"Well he died," I said, "You guys don't know anything, do you?" Bitoru looked like he was going to come bite me, but Aesop simply shrugged his shoulders. "Well yeah, he died, we had a funeral, it was sad. He's not the King anymore. No one is really."

"How did one so strong die?" Aesop asked.

"He sacrificed himself for my friend Iori." I said with a smile.

"Why are you smiling?" Bitoru asked, almost disgusted.

I laughed, "Oh, just Iori. Funny guy. He and I are friends now and that's pretty cool. He hates me—or he did. But now we're gonna babysit each other's kids in the future."

Both of them raised their eyebrows in the same way this time. A mixture of annoyance and amusement hidden in their eyes. I got that look a lot. I knew it well. "Gennai sacrificed himself for a Digidestined." Aesop said, "Because they are important, I imagine? Because they protect this world as he once did. Because they are born to be his successors?"

"Woah," I said, realization hitting me. "Awesome. I'm a king?" Aesop shook his head, more annoyed than amused this time. "Oh." Then there was a pause as they started thinking. It kind of gave me a chance to think too. Why did they care about Gennai in the first place? And they'd spoken of a digimon without being disgusted—and they referred to it by its real name. Were they even on the same side as the people who ran this ship? The very same people who were maybe killing digimon just one floor below me? And wait... "How did you know about Gennai?"

Aesop looked to me, and contemplated his answer carefully until Bitoru answered in his place, "We're asking the questions around here!" I let him have his way. It didn't matter much to me how they knew about Gennai. I just wanted to go home. "One person can rule an entire world?" Bitoru muttered. I think he thought I didn't hear it, but I had _pretty_ good hearing.

"Oh," I said, "This is about world domination?" I then shook my head, "Don't bother. Been there, done that. People can't rule the Digital World. If you want, you can use my phone and call my friend Ken. Or Neo even—while you're at it tell them our exact location?"

"That won't be necessary," Aesop said softly. "Are you sure Gennai is dead?" I nodded, but I mean there was no real way to know that. If he was digital, there was every possibility that he could come back too, right? Well he hadn't, so obviously that wasn't the case, "And I was so hoping to speak with him..." He looked up to me, "Who is in charge now?"

"No idea." I shrugged, "This isn't that kind of world. There's a council of digimon who each act as a representative of sorts. An ambassador, really, for each of the different types of digimon."

"The digimon sort themselves by attributes?" Bitoru asked, interested.

"Racist, I know." I nodded, "I've tried to make the Vilemon move into the other cities, but only chaos ensues." Aesop looked to me like maybe he was talking to the wrong person. Hopefully that meant I was going to be able to leave soon.

"Is it true that Gennai created this world?" Bitoru asked, that strange fascination still on his face.

"I guess you want the short answer?" I asked them. They both nodded. "Then yeah, he kind of did."

"If Gennai created this world, then would that not mean it would be possible to create a world of our own?" Bitoru asked Aesop excitedly, grabbing his shoulders. "Think of the possibil—"

"That doesn't make sense," I told them, rolling my eyes. "Yggdrasil's roots ran through each world, that's why they're connected and in the same dimensional system. You don't have his roots and so you can't make another world."

"I could make a world that is not connected to these ones," Bitoru said bitterly.

Aesop placed his hand gently on Bitoru's shoulder and silently asked him to back down. Bitoru looked up, confused and Aesop looked down to me, "You know of the other worlds already?"

"Maybe?" I shrugged, and even then I knew I shouldn't have said anything. How much was I supposed to let on that I knew? "There's like three worlds, right?" I tried.

Bitoru and Aesop looked down with narrowed eyes. Slowly Bitoru, who had been holding tightly to Aesop still, released his friend and stood, staring into nothingness until finally he looked at me. "Three worlds?"

"Just three," I nodded.

Aesop seemed to see right through me, he leaned closer, "Mhm," he hummed, "You're sure there are no more?"

"No," I said firmly. "Just three." Neither seemed to believe me. My stomach was tight now as my own stupidity tried to punish me with uncomfortable pains. "How many did you think there were? It's not like Yggdrasil just ran around creating planets out of nothingness, right?"

"There are only three," Bitoru said sharply, looking to Aesop who simply rolled his eyes. It was clear that everyone in the room knew full well that there were more, so what purpose was there in lying? None, really. They knew that Digidestined existed, that much they had hinted at, and I just didn't want them to know how much we knew, if we were supposed to be against them, we could outsmart them or something by playing dumb. Though at the moment I wasn't sure I was playing. What if I kept lying and kept playing dumb? How far would they let this go?

"Just curious though," I said cautiously, "how did you arrive at three? I thought there was only two. What's the third one?" It didn't work. I knew already that it didn't work.

"You're implying there are more." Bitoru said quietly. "What are they?"

"I asked first." I said, panicking.

Bitoru cleared his throat and turned to Aesop for advice. Aesop shrugged and let Bitoru do as he pleased. "Okay, well of course there's the Digital World." He squinted and looked into my eyes and then smiled, "Your turn."

I panicked. Which world did I pick? Obviously, "Earth..." He looked to me like he expected me to continue, "Your turn!"

"Right," He nodded, swallowing loudly. He thought quietly to himself and then nervously said, "Earth?"

"No repeats!" I shouted.

"Fine," Bitoru pouted, "Sidhendor." I didn't exactly know what world that was, but I figured it had to be the Fairy land. The only one we didn't really know the real name to.

"Yeah that's all of them." I smiled, "Wow, three whole worlds. Three worlds to save, three Great Evils. Obviously we've only defeated... two of them. Yeah, Fanglongmon and..." Who was the Great Evil from the Fairy Land? Right! "Sigma. Two evil guys being all evil and we killed 'em." Both of them froze again, staring at me, wide eyes. "What did I do this time?"

"You did not kill Sigma," Aesop said, "That happened far too many years ago."

"Right," I nodded, "The fairies killed him. We just vanquished his soul or whatever. No big deal. Actually I didn't do it at all. It was my friend Iori! The one I mentioned before. Weird that we're such good friends now right?"

"I don't understand, why is that odd?" Bitoru asked.

"Oh!" I laughed, "Sigma's my grandpa! I forgot to say that. Iori, my friend, vanquished my own grandfather to oblivion."

"Y-y-you're the grandson of Sigma?" Bitoru stammered.

"You know him?" I asked slowly.

"Not particularly well it seems," Aesop said, seemingly holding himself together much better than Bitoru had been. And then he looked up to the skylight and sighed, "What more information do you have on Gennai?"

"Nothing," I lied quickly.

"Well he's most definitely lying," Bitoru said, exasperated.

"Prove it," I snarled, daringly. "I don't even understand why you care. If you're so worried about Gennai and his past why don't you go to _any_ place in the whole world? He created it, and his story is everywhere. I don't see what good it'll do you though because he _died_, and you can't talk to him like you wanted to, so whatever it is that you want, you're going to have to find a different way to find it out." Both of them looked to me like I was simply insane for talking to my interrogators in that way, but it seemed it might be working to my advantage because they looked like they might be leaving. And that's what I wanted from them, but I'd love if they could take me with them. "Just for the record," I added, "What _are_ you looking to gain from him?"

Aesop looked to me and a smile grew on his face, Bitoru just laughed, like he thought I was a funny guy for thinking I could get that information. Aesop finally bowed his head kindly to me and said, "We will be taking our leave now. The sun is at quarter height. We will be late to our engagements if we do not leave now." Bitoru looked upset because there was more he wanted to ask me. Aesop was ready to go though. He was already walking toward the door where he knocked twice and someone from the outside opened it for him. "Bitoru. Come."

Bitoru looked anxious, like he was running through something in his head as he started walking toward Aesop. Then he stopped and came back to me, pointed to me, took a deep breath, then let his arm fall and continued on his way to Aesop. Weirdo. Then finally he turned and said loudly, "One more question!" I nodded, not really caring what the question was. I thought I was handling this pretty well so far. I hadn't given them much information, and they hadn't beaten me up like Marshall had. Soon enough someone would come save me and I could tell Tatum how I didn't give them any information that could help them. "What are the crests exactly?"

"Uh," I paused, "Well, there are I think... twenty-one of them. They represent a piece of a person's heart. There were six people in the past who created them I guess, and they protected the world until they formed tangible objects—I think Gennai did that part or something—or maybe_ that's_ the part that the six digidestined did. Then the crests awaited their proper holder, and now all aside from one of them has its owner. Once that last one finds a home the worlds are supposed to find everlasting peace." Bitoru seemed to find this information exciting, but it was nothing to how he reacted after what I said next. "Oh, and the crests keep the worlds separated from one another."

Bitoru's face lit up and his eyes bulged. His mouth dropped open and he let out a high pitched, "HA!" Then he fell into hysterical laughter, "Yes!" He cried out, "Oh this is wonderful!" He then practically flew out of the room, and I was left alone, watching the door close behind him.

"Oops..." I said quietly.

_**Mari Goutokuji:**_

My eyes opened quickly and I froze. Taking in my surroundings I found I was in some meadow—but why was it so dark?

Slowly the previous morning came back to me, and I remembered where I was. Koushiro, Mimi, Palmon and I had been searching for any digimon who needed to be freed from the tracking device, acting as the opposing force for the DWD, or whatever they were really called. Then we'd taken a break, after passing the torch to Wizardmon. That would explain why Koushiro was laying nearby, his eyes closed. I'd never seen him look so peaceful before, not that I looked at him too often to gauge his stress levels, it was just strange seeing him, well, doing nothing.

I rubbed the back of my neck, wishing we'd toughed it out and returned to the Temple before napping. I was definitely not cut out for sleeping on the ground—though, from all the times I'd done it, this had to be the most comfortable. And damp. The moss wasn't the most pleasant thing to touch. I looked behind me to where Palmon and Datirimon were laying with one another, Palmon wrapping her arm protectively around the smaller digimon. Wasn't she going to be keeping watch?

I vaguely remembered hearing Sukamon and Chuumon offering to take her place as they'd rested the previous night. I looked to the two of them and saw them, snoring away laying as close to Mimi as they could possibly get. Her face was scrunched up and she looked displeased with whatever scent that giant piece of talking poop was emitting.

Okay, so no one was keeping watch, but that was fine because we were all alive, and now I'd keep an eye out, and warn anyone if danger arose... why had I woken up so quickly though? My eyes, now used to the darkness were scanning the area lit poorly by the moonlight escaping through the gaps in the clouds overhead. There were big black shapes everywhere, but I knew them to be rocks. We'd come through rocks and trees to get to this strange memorial ground, for who looked to be a Wargreymon. I didn't know what that was about. I wasn't involved with digimon as long as the others were.

Looking back to the black shapes, I felt like someone was watching me. I knew I was probably just being paranoid, but just to be safe I pulled out my digivice. It felt weird to have it in my hands again. It wasn't even needed anymore. It was a worthless piece of equipment meant to connect me to someone who didn't even exist anymore. But it still had certain functions, like a flashlight for instance. I held my arm out and pressed the button on the front of the device. A beam of lime green light lit up the area, and I was proven correct. Just rocks, and trees.

I moved the light along each shape and then one of them jumped out of the way, diving behind what appeared to be another big rock. I panicked and dropped my digivice, then turned and hit Koushiro's arm. He spluttered incoherent nonsense and then sat up quickly. "What?" He gasped.

"Something is out there." I told him as quietly as I could.

He froze, listening. A moment passed and he whispered, "Are you su—?" I hissed at him to be quiet because I'd just heard a heavy foot fall to the squishy ground. "Who are you?" Koushiro asked, having heard it too.

They didn't answer so I grabbed my digivice once more and shone it quickly in the direction of the footstep and started screaming when it illuminated a large green form. Koushiro shouted in my ear and suddenly Mimi and the others were screaming along with the big monstrous man that was in my spotlight.

"Ogremon?" Mimi gasped, clutching her heart like she thought she might have a heart attack.

"What the _hell_ were you doing?" I gasped, trying to pretend I didn't feel the same as Mimi.

"I was coming to find you!" He said, his voice breathy from his screaming.

"Well why were you sneaking up on us?" I asked.

"You were sleeping, I didn't want to startle you!" He explained.

"And you jumped way and hid from my light." I reminded him.

"You shone a crazy bright light in my eye!" Ogremon argued, "What did you expect me to do? It's night time! My eyes are adjusted to the dark." So there was an explanation for everything, sure, but I wasn't sure I was entirely calmed down just yet. I wasn't used to being scared this much upon waking up. Not anymore. When Sigma was around, well that was a different story. I'd once woken up to him hanging over me in my sleep, and then I screamed and got to my feet and he was gone only to have appeared once more under Hideto's bed, his finger to his lips. Literally the scariest kid ever.

I was _so_ glad Sigma was gone.

Mimi yawned loudly, as her arms stretched into the air, and she rubbed her eyes, tossing her hair back as if she'd woken up from a peaceful sleep. Her eyes then fell onto Sukamon and she stood quickly. "Why were you looking for us?" Mimi asked, looking up to the sky, trying to figure out what time it was probably.

"I need your help," Ogremon explained, "There's been a disturbance."

"What kind of disturbance?" Koushiro groaned, clearly he was hoping to get back to the Temple sooner, rather than later.

"Well... nothing too out of the ordinary." Ogremon explained, "Perhaps it would be easier if I simply showed you all?"

"How far away is it?" Palmon asked. "We were hoping to get to the Temple soon."

"Oh, well if I'm burdening you," Ogremon said, trailing off. "I don't mean to be a bother. I guess I'll just go back and figure it out myself."

"No, no." Mimi insisted, "We'll help. Of course we'll help." She looked to all of us and smiled, "Right, guys?" She did not receive the most enthusiastic response from any of us. We were all tired, and wanted to go back, but because the universe trusted us inexplicably, we were required to, once again, save the day. Ogremon sure looked happy too, as he jumped up for joy and motioned for us to follow him.

Palmon ushered us all to hurry on ahead of her so she could keep watch from the back, but Mimi refused to leave her side. When Koushiro fell in step with the two of them she suggested he keep me company because I looked lonely. Rolling his eyes, he did as she said, mumbling profusely.

"Trouble in paradise?" I asked, a grin on my face.

"No," Koushiro insisted, "We're fine. I just have to think of something she doesn't know about me, but that I know about her." He smiled and turned to Mimi, "What's my IQ?"

"One hundred sixty two." Mimi said flatly. "Mine?"

"Niney-seven." Koushiro groaned. I couldn't help but laugh.

Koushiro looked up to me and glared, so I broke eye contact, staring to the ground as we followed Ogremon's footsteps. "Relationships are hard." I said finally. "But she'll get over it. As long as you remember her birthday and any anniversaries, I think she'll be okay."

"We're not married," Koushiro said, "we don't have an anniversary."

"Uh," I said, "Yeah you do."

"No, I would remember marriage," He said thoughtfully, "I'm not unintelligent, you know. Mimi was correct with my IQ, it is quite high."

"I get it," I nodded, "You're smart. But you _do_ have an anniversary." He looked like he was going to argue again so I just gave him the answer instead, "the day you first kissed her? The day you told her you loved her? The day you started dating? You have to remember at least one of them."

"Those all happened on the same day," Koushiro noted.

"Okay," I said, though that seemed like a really rushed relationship. Saying they loved each other on their first date? "When was it?"

"No idea," Koushiro admitted. I punched his arm, just for Mimi's sake and rolled my eyes, "Well it was in the Summer." He said, trying to think back. "August, maybe."

There was a growling that filled the silence Koushiro's thoughts had produced. We both looked down to see Sukamon looking up at Koushiro with a flame in his eyes. Chuumon was holding up his fist, looking really angry. "Palmon just told me you're dating Mimi." Sukamon said angrily.

"I am," Koushiro nodded.

"Well not for long, sucker!" Sukamon screamed out.

"Sukamon, relax." Chuumon insisted. "We don't want to scare the poor guy." He patted Sukamon's head and Koushiro sighed, relieved. "But we're gonna break the two of you up. Mimi is our love. Our one and only, and any marriage she takes part in will be with one, or both of us. You're going down, Kid. You're going _down_." There was a long moment where Sukamon hopped along with us as we walked, while Chuumon and Koushiro stared at one another. Finally Chuumon patted Sukamon's head and whispered loudly, "Hop away. It's dramatic." Then they were gone, heading toward Ogremon, leaving the two of us alone again.

"Did that just happen?" I asked, amusement showing in my voice.

"I'd like to pretend it didn't," Koushiro admitted.

The walk to wherever it was exactly that Ogremon was taking us went along quite like that for the next few hours. My legs were aching now more than they had been before the nap. The rest must have tricked them into thinking we were done walking, so they relaxed, but now that we were walking again, every muscle was aching. Even muscles I didn't know existed. My feet were killing me too. I'd never admit it, but I'd never walked this far in heels before. I was kind of hoping one of the heels would break so I could take the shoes off without it being embarrassing. And it was cold too! My jacket was not keeping me particularly warm anymore, not in the middle of the night anyway. Koushiro and I talked about random things to keep my mind off of my pain, but it was kind of painful listening to his personal opinion on why chemistry should be taught in schools as early as possible anyway.

Every now and then Mimi would laugh and Sukamon and Chuumon would coo and moan about how beautiful she was. Palmon and Datirimon were with Mimi the whole way, which was good because I kept forgetting he was here and didn't want to be the one in charge of him, and as such, the one who lost him and left him behind.

Koushiro began to talk about how the landscape looked familiar for at least twenty minutes before Ogremon had announced our arrival.

"I'm sorry to take you so far out of the way," He told us, "but we're just about there, and I can't thank you all enough for helping us here. We've been in a real pickle ever since we left you the other day."

"Honestly, it's no trouble," Mimi said kindly, placing her tiny hand on Ogremon's enormous one. "We're happy to help you, whenever you need it." Ogremon blushed and Sukamon pulled Mimi sharply away from him, jealous.

"Anyway," Ogremon said, pushing a branch out of his way with his club and stumbling through the opening he created. We followed him through and saw what looked to be a photo-shopped part of the forest. The grass ended immediately as if someone had handpicked each blade that dared to grow past their given space. The tree branches were even sawed off at the same line, like we were in some poisonous land in the middle of the woods. And the weirdest part was the massive hole in the center of the compacted dirt.

"Really?" Mimi asked, "Again?" She seemed unhappy. "At least the forest is growing nicely."

"And weirdly." I added. Mimi nodded. "Sorry, where is this?"

"You've never been here?" Ogremon asked. "Oh! You're going to love it!"

"Am I?" I asked, looking to Mimi who was slowly shaking her head from behind Ogremon, but he was going on and on about how nice it was down there now that the previous owners had left. There was a spa, and a marketplace and everything. "Sounds nice," I said honestly, but I felt like there was something I just might have been missing.

"Alright," Ogremon grinned, jumping forward, "Follow me!" He jumped right into the hole and I gasped, expecting him to fall all the way, but his feet landed on something so I stepped forward and saw a spiralling pathway leading all the way down to the depths of the deep dark hole. Ogremon began marching away, following the path excitedly.

I looked to Mimi who sighed, and followed along. Sukamon, Chuumon, Ditirimon and Palmon all followed closely, and then Koushiro motioned for me to go ahead of him. "Where is this?" I asked him when I took my first few steps on the path.

He hummed to himself, thinking of the best way to respond. "It is a prison." He said bluntly. I almost laughed. Ogremon was going on and on about how wonderful a prison was? "Of sorts." He added. "It's a home for the dark digimon to take refuge in. They find it comforting, given its history."

"Which is?" I asked.

"It was once used as the base of operations by one of the nine Great Evils." He explained. "The one who gave us the most trouble in just a three day time span, I think I can safely say. Fanglongmon. He used his powers to tap into the minds of each of us Digidestined, in a desperate attempt to force us to switch sides. I dare say it worked on a handful of us."

"He brainwashed you?" I asked.

"No, not me." Koushiro said defensively. "Not anyone, in reality. He merely offered them what their hearts truly desired, and some took the bait that Fanglongmon never intended to let them have." That sounded pretty rude. None of the Great Evils I had to encounter did anything like that. The Shadow King, I never saw him, but all he was doing was taking people's bodies. He didn't trick them with the thing that could hurt them the most. Ogudamon though. He was made up of two of the Great Evils, and it was because of his strength that Lalamon was gone. So I still hated him the most. And I always would. Then of course there was Sigma. He offered me a lot, but I never really listened...

"Who took the bait?" I asked. Koushiro didn't answer for a moment so I shook my head, "sorry, was I overstepping?"

"No," Koushiro said. "I think it does not matter who allowed themselves to be swayed by what Fanglongmon had to offer. Each showed their worth and came back to the side that truly mattered in the end, finding what they really desired was in their reach the entire time."

"That's poetic." I smiled.

"Except Ken." Koushiro said bluntly, and I burst into laughter. "Though what each desired would take work to achieve. And one of them in particular still has yet to work out his riddles, though, to be entirely fair, his is a very complicated riddle that changes her opinions quite often."

"That's Sora." I smirked. "You're talking about Sora and Yamato, aren't you?"

"I would rather not say."

"You are," I laughed.

I bumped into Mimi who had stopped and I gasped, trying to step away too quickly and slipping. Both Mimi and Koushiro caught me, pulling me back to the path, saving me from what was sure to be death. "Oh?" Mimi asked Koushiro, "you save any girl from falling down a cliff? And here I thought I was special."

"You _are_ special," Koushiro told promised. "Mimi, you must reali—"

Ogremon cleared his throat, "Sorry to interrupt," He said, "But there is an awful lot of talking going on back there, and I know I didn't necessarily tell you to stay quiet, I think you ought to. The digimon in here aren't known for their kindness, and it is night time."

"Right, don't disturb their sleep," Palmon nodded.

"No, they're all awake," Ogremon said. "It's night time. They're all like vampires, so just watch your step and they might not kill you."

He turned and continued leading us, but none of us followed along. "Is he serious?" Datirimon asked weakly.

"No way..." Mimi didn't sound very confident, but she started following along anyway. The seven of us said nothing as we followed Ogremon into the deepening darkness. We walked for a while until finally Ogremon stopped at the bottom of the spiralling decline. The earthy path melted into a metal floor that lead in many different directions. The pathways each led into total darkness though. The walls were high and arched and made of the same metal as the floor seamlessly. It was like we were walking through a strangely shaped metal pipe. "W-where to now?" Mimi asked, her eyes wide as she stared down a tunnel to her left.

"You don't remember the layout?" Ogremon asked.

"I've only been in here twice," She admitted, "Once I was a keychain for most of it, and another time I was in and out, just rescuing Takeru and Iori." These people had a lot of rescue missions, and odd stories to be told. The fact that she just said she was a keychain without any hesitation was proof of that.

Ogremon chuckled quietly, "Well, it's this way." He turned and headed to a path diagonal from where we were standing. "Watch the steps." He said as if he could see where he was going—maybe he could... I slowed my walking and felt around with my feet until they came in contact with a step. I walked up slowly, unsure how many there would be, and my foot surprised me, falling further than I was expecting when there were only three steps. Ahead of us there was light, and it was welcoming too. Maybe because Leomon was standing in the flickering flame of the torch in the wall. Behind him, there looked to be an oddly shaped balloon, floating at his waist height.

"Ogremon!" Leomon said brightly, looking toward us for only a moment before returning his stare toward the wall in front of him. As we came closer and into the light of the torch it became clear that there was in fact a large doorway. "You brought some Digidestined, good." He said brightly.

"So what's the problem?" Mimi asked.

"I am!" A squeaky voice shouted. We all looked around Leomon to where the balloon was floating, but it was not a balloon at all! It was a digimon. A strange sea monster digimon, pink in colour with bushy wings and a heart on its chest. There was also a golden ring around its neck like a collar.

"What is a MarineAngemon doing down here in the Dark Habitat?" Koushiro asked, stepping forward.

"Come any closer and I'll bit your finger off!" MarineAngemon shouted. "STAY AWAAAY!" He narrowed his eyes toward Koushiro and shouted, "Kahuna wave!" a tiny drop of water formed in the air and floated toward Koushiro and hit him on the forehead.

"That won't do anything," Koushiro shook his head. "I'm not trying to fight you."

"Not anymore you're not!" He squeaked, "Because I Kahuna-waved you!" Koushiro raised his eyebrows and frowned, "So take that!"

"What do you need our help with?" Palmon asked as the MarineAngemon stared at me as if he were daring me to come and attack him.

"It's kind of embarrassing," Leomon admitted. "But this tiny creature won't leave and we need help."

"That's all?" I asked, laughing. "Should be simple." I reached forward and grabbed the digimon, "Come on pipsqueak, let's get you out of here."

"NO!" MarineAngemon bit me sharply and I screamed, dropping it where it saved itself from landing on the metal flooring, and floated back to his place behind Leomon.

"Uhhh," Sukamon said stupidly, "Didn't Ogremon say that we shouldn't make noise?"

"Yeah," Chuumon said. "She's pretty, but she sure is dumb." I glared at him. "And scary!" He added.

"Yeah, nothing like our Mimi!" Sukamon cooed. Koushiro shot him a glare, but it didn't last long. There was a slamming behind us and we all spun to see a robotic digimon scurrying quickly along the ground toward us. I almost screamed again—it was like a scene from a horror movie. The digimon was muttering excitedly, rushing through the darkness looking like some strange alien-robot crossbreed. And a bit like an octopus too. And those things were pretty creepy.

"Ebemon, stop!" Ogremon shouted. Ebemon, the weird alien robot obeyed, looking annoyed. "Don't come any closer."

"YEAH!" MarineAngemon shouted.

"I heard human voices." Ebemon said, as he looked toward us, a long purple tongue escaped his mouth and licked where he should have lips. "I was excited."

"These are friends," Ogremon said, "These are the Digi—"

"—mon." Leomon finished. "These are digimon. They're just strange ones." Ebemon looked irritated, but believed the story, muttering to himself as he left. Once he was out of sight Leomon rounded on Ogremon, "Do you forget where we are? Calling them what they are is a death sentence. Do you think we could protect them from each digimon inside these walls?"

"I could help," Palmon offered.

"And as admirable as that is," Leomon said, "It would not be enough." Ogremon looked disappointed.

"What about him?" Koushiro asked, pointing into the room in which Leomon had been staring earlier, "He knows now." We all stood around Koushiro and looked at the mangled creature within. There were three eyes looking up to me, but unfortunately only one was where it was supposed to be. The other two eyes were in the center of the digimon's palms, protected by long claws. There were blood red wings shooting from the back of the creature, but otherwise it was pretty straightforward and grey. "Is that a Ghoulmon?" Koushiro asked. He looked to Mimi and smiled, "Like the one who broke my laptop and gave me the courage to tell you I loved you." Mimi smiled back but only until she noticed Koushiro adjusting the strap of his bag so his laptop was safe behind his back. Her jaw dropped, annoyed, and she crossed her arms. Koushiro sighed and turned back to Ghoulmon.

"Well, he is part of the issue too, you see." Leomon said. "He has been starting a group in one of the lower levels of the prison. A sort of club, really. He wants to destroy Kiboumon, Shojikomon and Ganboumon."

"Who?" Mimi and I asked together.

"The crest digimon," Koushiro explained, "Hope, Honesty and Desire." Mimi and I just smiled and nodded, though how he remembered each digimon's name I did not know. "Would you like us to take them elsewhere?"

"No," Ogremon said, shaking his head, "This is their home. We will handle that issue. Ghoulmon is just stupid enough to think that they still have the crests. He thinks that if can get one he'll get stronger."

"I have a crest," Palmon said proudly.

Ghoulmon barked loudly, running toward her quickly, but Ogremon was quicker and his club was dropped hard, hitting Ghoulmon in the head, causing him to retreat into his cell. Mimi grabbed Palmon and moved her behind her legs for safety, where Datirimon, Chuumon and Sukamon were already gathered. "I don't understand then," Mimi admitted.

"MarineAngemon won't leave," Ogremon said, "And he's making the dark digimon uncomfortable. He keeps taking away their will to fight, and purifying their meals."

"That's not so bad," Mimi said.

"Sure, not to you," Ogremon agreed, "But for a dark digimon, that means a lot."

"Why don't we just lock this place for good?" I thought out loud, "if these are _dark_ digimon, wouldn't it be easier to just keep them locked away?"

"Easier," Ogremon agreed, "But _rude_." He was glaring at me, so I shrugged and let him continue. "What we need you to do is explain to MarineAngemon there's nothing he can do here."

"There's nothing you can do here." I repeated.

"Bite me," MarineAngemon barked. "There are digimon here who need me to keep them happy! A dark place like this always needs a positive force!"

"Hey!" I said suddenly, "I know a dark dingy place that needs a positive force!" MarineAngemon looked excited, "Will they love me there?"

"Most likely!" I smiled, "There are all kinds of digimon there, and people, and well, there's a girl who is sick and dying. Maybe you could help?" MarineAngemon looked more than excited to be of assistance.

"Lead the way!"

"Seriously?" Leomon and Ogremon asked, expressionless. "It was that easy?"

I shrugged and laughed again, but shuddered when I felt something grab my leg. I looked down to Chuumon who was trying to climb my leg. "You're just my type! You should date me! We can double date with Mimi and Sukamon!"

"Uhm, no." I said flatly.

"Traitor!" Sukamon shouted, "Whatever though. More Mimi for me!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her down, attempting to kiss her.

"Ew no!" Mimi screeched, slapping him across the face. She looked embarrassed and then Leomon was rushing us from the depths of the base.

"Ogremon and I shall stay here to keep it safe for a while, and then we will go straight to the Temple." Leomon was saying as he hurried us down the hallway, "Send word to Taichi."

"Faster," Ogremon said impatiently, following behind us all, glancing over his shoulder, "You've disturbed them all!" I looked back to him and saw the fear in his eyes and it kind of worried me. If a dark digimon didn't feel safe here, then I certainly didn't. When I looked back I screamed, staring into a masked face. I swatted at it, finding there was no body.

"Oh, it's just Ganboumon," Koushiro insisted, hurrying around him. I looked back to the scary silver mask shrouded with black clouds and shuddered again, following Koushiro to the pathway that would take us from the prison. "I'll tell Taichi, we're going to the Temple now." Koushiro said, pulling his computer out of his bag. "But just to be sure you're all safe, I'm setting up a shield." The weird, warm bubbly sensation shot through my body as the shield inflated, and Leomon thanked Koushiro before hurrying him from the hole.

"See you soon!" Mimi shouted over her shoulder as she carried Datirimon. Palmon was rushing in front of her with Sukamon and Chuumon right behind.

"See you soon," Leomon repeated, calm now that he was sure we'd be safe, leaving the dark domain. I had to admit, I wasn't scared of much, but I was definitely not fond of that place.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Mimi and Kari are both in a state of shock and panic while they both make their own forms of public outcries in an attempt to find peace within and as a whole nation.


	44. Public Outcry

**Y/N: **Mimi's was a bit of a turning point, but it was kind of fun to write—well, more interesting. Fun makes it seem upbeat, and really, at this point, which chapter is?

**U/N: **Something I've never been a fan of writing, is crying people. Any other emotion is fun to me. Anger, fear, happiness-but this whole general sad thing is just so hard for me to get right, and throw it into Kari's chapters (a character I already have enough trouble getting right) and it just feels a little... unorganized, and like something I don't like much. I mean, I don't hate it, I think it's fine, and ultimately I like the way its going, but its just hard to do.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 5: Threatened**

**Chapter 44: Public Outcry**

_**Hikari Yagami:**_

I was scared. I could see the look of panic on Kiyoko's face. It wasn't good news. It had to be bad news and I was not going to allow my mind to make assumptions but I was really close to making some pretty bad ones.

The call was short, and horrible. The moment Kiyoko had picked up the phone his face had fallen and now he was looking like someone had punched him over and over again. I was biting my tongue, hard. I didn't want to cry, especially if I didn't even know what was wrong yet. But I just _knew_ that when he told me I'd start anyway. Taichi was holding my hand tightly, and I didn't know if he was just as scared as I was, or if he was just trying to comfort me.

But then Kiyoko hung up the phone, and placed it down on the table next to his breakfast. He swallowed in the silence and looked to Taichi and I, then shook his head. "Could you pass the salt?"

"What was that?" I asked, my voice failing me on many different levels, and once I'd opened my mouth my eyes stung with tears threatening to escape. "What did she say?"

"Well," Kiyoko said, "It was Yoshie, she wanted to know how everything was going..." He stopped talking and picked up his fork and then dropped it, "I don't want to say it. I'm sorry. I don't know how to say this without sounding blunt, and I'm just not the person to be delivering this kind of news."

I reached across the table and took his hand, "Kiyoko," I said, "I understand. But you have to tell us what happened."

He stared at me for a moment, then slowly looked away, "She died." It was like a slap in the face, and I didn't even entirely know who he meant. It didn't matter who it was. Death was something I was hoping to avoid, even in war. "Noriko." He clarified. And then it was like being hit by a truck, because everything that happened to her was my fault.

"When did it happen?" Taichi asked from inside the darkness around me.

"Three days ago." Kiyoko said quietly.

Oh my God. For three days she'd been gone and I didn't know. How could this have happened? How could we have let her die? How could we let anyone die? It was Moretsuna's fault, sure. But I knew it was my fault too. I let her do that. I _let_ her die. "What the hell?" Taichi asked loudly, snapping me from my thoughts. "Three days? Why didn't they tell us? What happened to Jun?"

"Cured," Kiyoko said. At least there was something good within all of this. But it was impossible to pretend poor Noriko didn't get the short end of the stick.

I let go of Kiyoko's hand and turned from my seat, standing quickly and striding toward the door. Taichi shouted out for me, but I was already walking out into the hallway where I ran into Willis. "Hey!" He smiled, then, noticing my tears he froze, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I said, forcing a smile, wiping the tears away. "Happy Birthday, Willis."

"It doesn't seem very happy," He said, quietly, "What happened?"

"Noriko," I was barely able to speak her name, but thankfully I didn't have to say anything else. He understood, and he let me go this time. I walked off, leaving him with the others. Miyako didn't know yet. Did I have to tell her too? I wasn't sure I could, but someone had to. Someone had to let Miyako know and be there for her when she fell into a panic attack.

A panic attack that would be brought on because someone had been killed. One of my friends. Noriko was the only person who made my job bearable. My dream job had turned into a nightmare with the only saving grace being the girl with the pretty black hair. The girl who talked on and on about her upcoming wedding, and the future she saw for herself. The girl who was now dead because of_ me._

"_I'm going to speak up, starting now. Impmon is my partner and I cannot keep that a secret any longer. I will let the world know the truth. I support the cause of justice."_

If I had just warned her to not do such rash acts then she would still be around. If she hadn't brought Impmon out to show him off she would never have had to stand in front of him, and I'd never have had to watch Iori carry her lifeless body to the Digital World and we would never have had to wait as she went through what she did. And she'd still be here.

Maybe Willis was right? Maybe we could use the keys to go back and stop it from happening! Maybe it wasn't too late?

I tried to smile but just found myself wiping more tears, and when I tried to swallow, I found I couldn't. And I wasn't even breathing either.

How many people had to die on my account? Iori was stabbed, taking the blow for me, and Gennai took that from him. Gennai was gone because of me, and Wizardmon too! And now so was Noriko—and the second time Patamon had left us was because he was protecting us from Arkadimon. Why did life always have to end in death? Couldn't there be one single happy ending? A light in the dark where the people you love don't always have to leave you? And now with Noriko's death that meant the war was really on. It meant it had started and it wouldn't stop until there was a clear winner, which meant more death was coming. I didn't want anyone else to die! What if it was my family? Or my friends? What if it was Gatomon, or Takeru?

I hit the ground hard, my legs failing me. I couldn't breathe, and I barely cared. The tears were pouring out of my eyes, and I curled myself into a ball until someone's arms wrapped around me.

Whoever it was, they said nothing. I couldn't see through the tears, but I threw my arms around them and sobbed into their shoulder. Loudly.

I couldn't let go of whoever it was. I didn't want them to go and die too. And anyone could die—anyone at all. And that meant that I might just never stop crying. Sora and Natsuni were both on Earth with my dad—I might not see them for a long time. What if they were already dead and we wouldn't find out for years? Maybe never.

"Breathe," I heard a soft voice say, and I tried to obey, but I couldn't. I didn't know how anymore. "Hikari, breathe." I gasped loudly, and held tighter to whoever was with me. "That's right," the voice said, "keep breathing." I was doing as the woman said, breathing in, and out, as calmly as my body would allow, but the breathing was chopped, and shaky and I kept falling back into panic, the tears, burning as they found a steady stream. "You're okay."

I loosened my grip and reached up, wiping the tears from my eyes. "Mom?" I asked, and was greeted by a comforting squeeze. "Mom, I'm scared."

"I know," She said. It sounded like she was crying too. "I'm here. I love you, and I'm promising you everything will be okay." That only made me cry harder. That was what she used to say to me when I'd wake up crying in the middle of the night, coughing. When I was sick. When _I_ was dying. She was right back then, so why couldn't I believe that she was right this time?

"I-I just don't see how that's p-possible," I finally admitted. She didn't answer right away, and instead just held me close. "I don't see how anything is going to be okay. Not anymore."

"What changed?" She asked me quietly, but I couldn't answer, I just started crying again. "It's okay," she said again. But it wasn't okay. It wasn't and it would not _be_ okay. My heart lurched and felt like it was dragging along the ground. Like someone was pulling me toward them. I finally released her and I pulled myself to my feet hugging myself tightly. "Where are you going?"

"This w-way," I said, taking off, "G-go find Taichi. T-tell him it's time we go. I can't let anyone be separated anymore. We have to stick together."

"Come with me," Mom said from behind me as I kept walking, "We'll tell him together."

"No," I said, finally getting some control of my voice. "I have to go this way." She didn't say anything else, and instead hurried off, probably to do as I asked as fast as she could so she could join me to make sure I'd be okay. I didn't think I would be, but I was an adult now. I could do this on my own. But I sure wished Gatomon were here. Or Takeru. Or my Mom...

I looked over my shoulder and saw her running off, and regretted sending her away. I bit my bottom lip and more tears welled up in my eyes.

Where the heck was my dad? Why didn't he come through? Why didn't Mom take him with her?

I turned a corner in the streets and found what my heart was taking me to. It was a beautiful house at the end of the street. I'd never been down this section of the Temple before. I'd never had much time to explore. I wasn't exploring now, either. I knew exactly where I was going, I just didn't know why.

I walked down the stone streets and found myself standing in front of the stone steps that led to the wooden door. This house was different than all the others. This one had an air of grace to it. A classy edge, unique compared to the rest of the housing districts. I stepped up to the door and knocked politely. I did not expect anyone to be home, as there were so few people in the Temple, and I stepped inside.

It looked to be three rooms large at the most, but each one was just as classy as the last. An open doorway led to a sunken bedroom where there was a large, beautiful canopy bed in the center of the dimly lit room. The rest of the house was empty aside from some basic furniture needs, such as a chair next to the fireplace, a refrigerator, and of course there was another door. One I expected to lead to a bathroom of sorts. But it was the pictures across the walls that caught my attention. Each one was framed in a unique wooden frame that seemed to match the picture inside.

One picture was of a small, familiar boy sitting next to a large bonfire, and the wood framing the photograph had tiny candles along the bottom, with large flames that made up the rest of the frame. Another photograph was of the same boy, a few years later, swimming, and the frame consisted of water themed carvings.

I walked down the line of the pictures until I found one of the boy, much older this time, holding a familiar looking staff, one with orange wings at the end.

"Gennai?" I said quietly.

"Hiraga, actually."

I screamed and spun around, gasping when I saw D'arcmon standing in the doorway. "He is my son." She said. "You've met him. Many, _many_ years ago."

"Yes," I said, nodding, "We've been through this."

I was being quite snappy, and I wanted to apologize, but as I was wiping my tears, D'arcmon said slowly, "What has happened? Did you hear news of the girl in the Coliseum?"

"You k-knew?" I asked. D'arcmon nodded. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"It was not my news to tell," D'arcmon said, "Your friends were taking the news hard, and so they did not tell you because they did not know how to voice the news aloud." I could forgive them for that. "But as you know now, would you like to talk to me about it? I do know what it means to lose someone important to you."

I didn't want to talk really. But the way she said that... it was painfully obvious she was not over the loss of her son. Even after all these years—a mother would never lose connection with her child. She would never be over such an intense separation. I didn't know what it was like to have a child, but I could imagine. Your entire world would revolve around them.

I hugged D'arcmon before I could stop myself and she hugged me back, her staff was really uncomfortable in the hug but I did not stop hugging her until she released me. "Thank you," she said, bowing her head politely.

"I'm so sorry," I said quietly, "Gennai is gone because I was too stupid to move."

"Gennai is gone because it was his time to go," D'arcmon corrected me. "But he was never truly my son. Hiraga never mastered emotions, and even if he could, a copy of what was there would never be the same. Gennai had no emotional attachments to me as his mother. He may have been all I had, but he was never Hiraga. The bond between a mother and her child is incomprehensible. And it cannot be copied by mere computer imagery."

"Well I think the bond between Gatomon and I is pretty strong." I said weakly.

"That is because both of you are living beings." D'arcmon said, "Gatomon may be digital now, but that is merely due to years of evolution. Her makeup slowly changed over the centuries of her captivity. She breathes air while in the human world, does she not? That is because she is alive. Gennai never truly was. And while each clone has their own unique traits, they are all merely as they look. Clones. I love them, I do. But it is not the same. Family is a bond that is strong and unbreakable, even with time or distance, it could never break."

I looked out the open door and let my eyes fall to the floor, thinking of my mother. And of Taichi, and Gatomon, and Agumon. Of Kamemon and Dad, and Dorumon. Even Daisuke and Veemon. "However," I said, looking up to D'arcmon, "time may not be able to break a bond as strong as family, but it can create new bonds just as strong. It can create a new family." D'arcmon looked confused. "I have the biggest family, maybe _ever_. Sora, and Yamato, and Tentomon and Kiyoko! Everyone. They're all my family. We've been through so much together. Too much to not consider each other that. No simple group of friends could go through what we went through. No, it takes something much stronger."

"Perhaps," D'arcmon said, actually cracking a smile. "There is no knowing for sure. The bond between two people, or between one hundred people... it cannot be understood. Not fully. And perhaps one day you and I might consider each other to be family."

"I hope so," I told her, hugging her once more. Over her shoulder, standing out on the streets I saw Taichi standing with my mother.

"Go," D'arcmon said, releasing me.

I looked up to her and could see that she might need a moment alone. I nodded, "See you later," I said, trying to smile. It was just too hard. "Sister? Aunt?"

"Grandmother," D'arcmon said thoughtfully. "I think I would prefer that, wouldn't you?"

"Sure," I said, nodding. "A new Grandma." She then waved to me and I smiled to her, and for a while she just kind of stared at each other until she broke out into a smile of her own.

I found myself heading down the street toward my _blood_ family. Taichi looked up when I came near and was happy to have found me.

"Where were you?" He asked.

"With D'arcmon." I told him, my voice so weak still. I felt pathetic. Like a child.

"Are you alright?" Mom asked, and I shook my head.

"I'll be okay though." She smiled to me, reaching forward and placing a hand comfortingly on my shoulder. Then I looked to Taichi. "Well?"

He looked to Mom and then back to me. "Do you think we should?" He asked. "Leave? Is it really time? Do we go hide out in an invisible bunker and wait for them to go away? If we do, does that mean we're done fighting? That we've given up?" He looked frustrated, like he'd already been thinking seriously about this. "I don't want to give up, Hikari. It just doesn't feel right."

"We won't be giving up," Mom said, "When have either of you two ever given up anything? I seem to remember the two of you making a game out of a carton of ice cream?" Taichi broke into a grin and even I felt my lips twitch a little. "The last one holding on gets to eat it all?"

"I won," Taichi grinned, staring to his feet.

"It melted, that's why I let go," I reminded him.

"I still won." He said quietly.

Mom was smiling, and put her arm around both of us. "You see? Giving up isn't in our nature."

"So you think we should stay here?" I asked, "We don't have any idea what those purple rods are, and everyone else is at the Coliseum."

"Not everyone." Taichi reminded me. "Sora, Neo, Michael, Hideto, Mimi, Koushiro and Mari are all out there somewhere. Willis is leaving again soon to find Michael. Gomamon is lost, Leomon and Ogremon still haven't gotten back to us. We're not all safe in the Coliseum."

"But they will be," I told him. "We're going to make sure everyone is okay, that's what we always do. But why keep ourselves in potential danger while doing it? What can we do here that we can't do in the Coliseum?"

Taichi thought for a moment and then sighed, "Nothing, really."

"Exactly." I said, "So we can go?"

He looked over his shoulder to the castle in the center of the Temple. The large stone pillars, the billowing flag on the highest tower. Gennai's home. Home base. It would mean a lot if we were to leave, but it didn't mean we were giving up. It just meant we were setting up base somewhere else. Somewhere secret. Somewhere we wouldn't be found.

"Hikari," Taichi said, not looking away from the castle. "You are the most important thing in the world. To a lot of people. I'm not naming names though." I could see him smiling. "I trust you. And if you think that's the best option... then, yeah. Let's do it."

He turned around to face me finally and his smile fell. "I guess that's it..." He said quietly as mom put her arms around us again. We both looked up to her and she nodded.

"We're leaving the Temple." She said.

_**Mimi Tachikawa:**_

My feet were killing me. I'd walked much too far in too little time. My shoes were practically garbage at this point, with all the mud and slime and grime. I just wanted to slip into a nice, hot, bubble bath and relax for six hours or so, until all of the tension lifted off of my shoulders and my muscles stopped aching.

I was miserable.

The worst part wasn't the physical stuff. I was emotionally a wreck. I didn't want anyone to know though. I was sick of being the weak one. I didn't want everyone to be too busy worrying about me that they forgot the _real_ problems. I was a _little_ relieved when Wizardmon took over the task of freeing the digimon. It meant I could sleep without feeling guilty, that I could take a break before wearing through the soles of my shoes. But now I just had a different worry to contend with. Wizardmon was out there saving digimon from people that could _kill_ digimon in an instant—and Wizardmon was a digimon!

How could I relax completely knowing we might've sent Wizardmon to his second—and final—death?

I couldn't.

Yet I didn't let it show. I tossed and turned, struggling to get some sleep, while being entirely too close to Sukamon and Chuumon. I kept a smile on my face though, knowing that Palmon was happy, and safe, and that was at least a little comforting to me. I didn't have to spend every waking moment panicking, looking over my shoulder, waiting for the DWD to arrive and take her away from me. Koushiro had saved her, and for that I was grateful.

But then he went and put his foot in his mouth, saying he didn't know my middle name, leaving me to worry about our relationship on top of everything else. Why did he _do_ stuff like that? He was supposed to know everything, but instead of knowing something so simple, so easy, he didn't. He couldn't even be bothered to figure it out. I did. I was obviously more invested in things.

No.

I didn't have time to think about things like that. It wasn't important in the grand scheme of things. We were at war. If the two of us survived it, we could talk about things afterwards. Not during. I needed to have my mind free to worry over other things. Noriko and Jun, for example, or all the people we still hadn't collected from Earth. Jenna had brought me my parents, so I didn't have to worry about _them_, but there were still so many others.

They had to be here by now though; we'd been gone for days. I really hoped they'd been proactive whilst I was away. Maybe they talked things over with the ambassadors, and called the whole war off. It wasn't likely, but it was one of the few small hopes I had.

"How many digimon are there?" MarineAngemon said, his voice cutting through my melancholy thoughts. He'd been doing that since we left the Dark Habitat. It was starting to get annoying. I didn't _want_ to have happiness rip through my righteous anger and sadness. I didn't want his false happiness and hope. He made me feel like nothing was wrong, that digimon weren't being killed at random, that two girls weren't dying, that all my friends weren't in trouble.

But digimon _were_ being killed, Noriko and Jun _were_ dying and all my friends _were_ in trouble!

All MarineAngemon's false happiness was doing was filling me with guilt for forgetting all of that even momentarily. I sent a glare in his direction, and he narrowed his eyes at me, sending another burst of serenity my way. I couldn't even scowl at him. I felt too positive thanks to his manipulations. Once I was feeling suitably miserable again, I slowed down, letting myself fall behind. Koushiro looked at me questioningly, but I turned away from him, and he knew he wasn't welcome. Palmon didn't seem to care that I wanted to wallow in misery while I still had the chance. Once I was at the Temple, I wouldn't let myself. I was strong. Mimi wouldn't be the one to break down _this_ time. Palmon, instead of leaving me to dwell, decided to skip along at my side, talking animatedly to Datirimon, trying to include me in the conversation in random intervals. I never could. I wasn't paying attention. I couldn't even remember a single word they said.

I remembered more of MarineAngemon's conversation with Mari to be honest, because he cast annoying burst of positive emotion and peace with every happy sentence. I wished—for just a second—we'd left him in the Dark Habitat, but I knew I could never inflict this much positivity on those poor, dark digimon. They didn't deserve this torture.

Koushiro was busy thinking up trivia questions about himself. I knew he wouldn't rest until there was something he knew about me that I didn't know in return. I may have a significantly smaller IQ, but I wasn't stupid. I had vastly different priorities to Koushiro's own. If he wanted to challenge me, he could just bring it on.

Sukamon and Chuumon were scheming. I didn't know what they were thinking _exactly_, but I knew it involved me, their lips and a date. I wasn't about to kiss either of them. A part of me was a little worried about Koushiro's safety, but then I remembered he didn't know my middle name, so I just left them to their plotting.

Mari for the most part seemed happy. It was strange, seeing her smile so much. I wasn't sure how much of it was her own, genuine happiness though. I strongly suspected she was not a happy person, and assumed the majority of that bubbly nature was the product of being in MarineAngemon's close proximity. The little guy was just _too_ happy to be going to the Coliseum. He wanted to know how many digimon were miserable, and what was the girl dying of, and were there any disputes between the digimon? My eye twitched with each question. He just wanted to help. I didn't know why he bothered me so much.

When the Temple was finally within reach, we slowed our pace, tried to keep the digimon hidden, using Mari's phone and mine to mask MarineAngemon and Sukamon. Chuumon clung to Sukamon, making it easy to hide him, but it was touch and go with Palmon and Datirimon. Palmon had enough trouble holding on to the phone in the first place, but she was trying to hold both the phone _and_ Datirimon. She kept flickering in and out of view.

And as it turned out, it didn't matter. The tanks were gone, there wasn't a DWD member in sight. I sighed with relief. Maybe, against all odds, my secret wish of a pleasant conversation had ended the war before it _really_ began. I crossed my fingers as we crossed the golden bridge. I closed my eyes as we walked through the gate. I wanted to keep my hope alive for as long as possible.

"What the hell?" Mari asked.

My eyes flickered open in reflex and I was met by a rather startling sight. Two of Gennai's clones, Ilya and Jose, were in the main square, securing the perimeter, being sure nothing could destroy the place. Candlemon was hopping alongside Hikari as she dragged a suitcase over to the pile by the door. Tatum followed after her with another one, assisted by her own partner, Monodramon. Andromon was coming down the stairs that lead up to the Council room, carrying file folders. He handed them to Benjamin once he reached the square and headed back up immediately. Benjamin in turn flicked through the pages, and put three files into one box, and the fourth into a separate one. He was clearly marking the fourth as important, I just couldn't understand _why_ they thought now was a good time to do some spring cleaning.

"Excuse me, coming through!" Dorumon called, carrying a box of granola bars, passing them out to everyone he met. He spun around Kotemon, who was carrying a bunch of juice boxes—also being passed out. Dorumon came running towards us. "Power snack?"

"Yes," Palmon said quickly, dropping her phone—and shattering it. I didn't know who it originally belonged to, but if I ever found out, I supposed I owed them a new phone. I held my hand out for Sukamon to return my phone, and Mari collected hers from MarineAngemon. The digimon all flocked around the snack delivery service, while Koushiro, Mari and I wandered further into the Temple. Koushiro headed for the stairs immediately. I didn't know if he was going to help Andromon, or if he just wanted to get to his lab. I didn't care; I was trying to stay mad at him. I sent a discreet glare at MarineAngemon for making that pretty darn impossible.

"You've been the head bookworm for _that long_?" I heard Izumi say astonished. I caught sight of her and who I assumed had to be her friend walking down one of the streets, heading for the main square. She was holding an elderly looking Wormmon, and he was nodding at her question. "Oh wow."

"I wouldn't have thought you were that old," her friend said.

"Thank you," Wormmon told him embarrassed at the praise.

"So you're going to let Kiyoko take more of the books?" Izumi pressed gently.

"I really shouldn't," Wormmon said. "But since the circumstances are so dire, I believe I must."

"That's what we wanted to hear!" Izumi's friend cheered, before him and Izumi high-fived and started laughing triumphantly. I knew his name. He'd been to my restaurant a few times. Tomoki! That was it. I wondered when they'd arrived, and who had invited them. I was glad to see them. I berated myself for not having thought to invite her myself.

"Does anyone know what we should do with all this food?" Yuuko called, emerging from a second path. "There's too much for us to ferry across. I think we should take some, but some of this stuff will just go bad if we leave it."

"Perhaps we can prepare a meal," D'Arcmon suggested, literally scaring me half to death. She was behind me, and I hadn't even notice her arrival. DemiDevimon was in her arms, and looked excited about a feast. "A farewell dinner, of sorts."

"We could do that," Yuuko agreed, really getting into the idea. "I'll go see if I can't wrangle up some volunteers."

Mari followed after her, as did Izumi and her friend. Wormmon opted to go inside where the other Council members were packing. I saw Kamemon, Starmon and Jackie were collected by Yuuko as well, and figured there were probably enough volunteers at that point. I didn't feel like cooking right then. Cooking made me feel happy, and I didn't want that. I _wanted_ to remember all of the crappy stuff; I wanted to be trapped in the sadness. I felt guilty when I wasn't, like I wasn't taking things seriously enough.

Over in the corner, Meramon was sitting. He looked around the Temple, and was clearly upset that he couldn't be of much help. He would burn anything he touched. He wasn't alone though, in that corner. He wasn't paying attention, but Falcomon, ToyAgumon and Hagurumon were sparring, practicing their fighting techniques so that they didn't get rusty. Hogan wasn't too far either, trying to convince either Tuskmon or Tankmon to pull a wooden cart behind them when the time came to leave.

"I'm not a pack mule!" Tankmon growled.

"But think of the benefits," Hogan pleaded. "We could bring more food, more records."

"If it's so important, why don't _you_ drag it?" Tankmon wanted to know.

"I'm not strong enough to take it, or big enough!" Hogan argued.

He wasn't getting anywhere with the argument. I didn't see Tankmon caving anytime soon. Tuskmon looked thoughtful though. I was distracted then by the sight of Willis. I gravitated towards him; glancing back towards Palmon to be sure she was still safe. She was. She and the other digimon had latched on to Hikari and were headed back to the residential area to collect someone else's bags.

"Willis, what's going on?" I asked when I was close enough.

"You're back!" he cheered. "Take this. You might need it, you never know, if you don't you can give it to someone else later. Just take it, please? Jou got on—super disappointing. Met him on my way to the Coliseum, and then I had no reason to go anymore, so I came back. Mari wouldn't take one. I got Hikari to take one though, so I suppose that's something, but I think I just saw her slip it to Koushiro."

"Willis?" I pleaded, accepting the intricately design key with fairy wings for a handle. I looked at it, confused. Why would I need this? "Please?"

"Okay," he said. "I've been handing out keys as per Taichi's request, as a failsafe in case anything bad should happen. Morestuna has a digivice, he walked right into the Temple. Now Hikari has _finally_ convinced Taichi that we need to gather up everyone that's left and get to the Coliseum. We should be together, we're stronger as a team."

"Everyone that's left?" I asked, my voice cracking. No. I wouldn't let it. I was strong, I wouldn't break. I couldn't comprehend what he'd just told me. He listed them off like they'd happened ages ago, and weren't entirely shocking. I hadn't been gone _that_ long. That was seriously _not_ the peaceful talk I'd been hoping for. This was horrible.

"Yeah, Morestuna made sure that the gates between Earth and the Digital World got sealed. A bunch of our people are still on the other side. And Michael, Neo and Gomamon are still missing. I'm half convinced Hideto's decided to become a hermit in the forest, since he hasn't come back yet."

"What?" I gasped. "Who? Who's trapped?"

"Well, Jenna for starters," Willis said. "Momoe's there too, and Natsuni. I think Jou's brother is there...and Taichi's dad?"

"Willis," I said warningly. He was hiding something from me. I could _hear_ it.

"Sora," he said in defeat.

No.

Damn it! It felt like someone ripped out a piece of my heart and stomped it into the dirt. Not _Sora_. Not that I would've liked hearing anyone else's name in her place, but it was Sora. She was strong, she was someone I could depend on to help me through everything, to lend an ear, to comfort me, to make me laugh! What were we going to do without her? And I hadn't known she was gone. It felt like I'd been lied to. Weren't you supposed to know if something bad happened to your loved ones? Wasn't there a sixth sense for that?

_Breathe_.

The fact that I hadn't felt anything could be a really good sign though, I reminded myself. It meant she wasn't in danger, simply barred from the Digital World. There were others too, so she wasn't alone. She had Jenna, Natsuni and Momoe at the very least. I didn't have to let go of my emotions. I could be reasonable, after all I was a new Mimi. I was strong, and I wouldn't break.

"Thank you for telling me," I said robotically, and I headed towards the stairs.

"Mimi," Willis called. I stopped and turned to him. "There's one more thing." I nodded for him to continue. "Noriko didn't make it."

I turned away from him and raced up the steps trying to outrun the tears that were quickly catching up to me. I was strong. I wouldn't break. I repeated it over and over in my head, trying to convince myself it was true, but always falling short. My ears were buzzing and I knew I was going to freak out. Noriko was dead. Sora was gone. Morestuna had a digivice. And why the hell had no one gone to save Michael and Neo? Why hadn't anyone found Gomamon? They'd been in danger longer than Palmon had, so why was Palmon saved first? I couldn't complain that she had been, I wanted her to be safe, but it wasn't really _fair_. My head was spinning and I needed to slow down, I needed to breathe, but I couldn't stop if I wanted to stay strong, if I didn't want to break.

"When are we leaving?" Tinkermon asked, her voice flittering into the hallway. "Is everyone else ready?"

"Not yet. We've got to wait until Miyako's ready. No one's heard a peep out of her since she went for a nap. Hikari's going to check on her. Yuuko's planning a feast too, so we'll be awhile yet."

It was Tatum. I vaguely recalled her walking up the steps before I'd gotten there. Good. Focus on Tatum's voice. Just focus.

"Good," Andromon said. "We aren't holding everyone back. I thought we might be."

I thought for a moment that they were done, but Tatum spoke again, saving me from decending into madness.

"Taichi?"

"Yeah?" Taichi called.

"I'm going to find Hideto," she said. "He's been out there for days, looking for Michael. I want to help him. I should be out there, looking. It's _Michael_."

"What about the Coliseum?"

"I'll meet you there. And I'll be bringing Michael and Hideto with me," she promised. Taichi accepted that, and then there wasn't any more talking. No. I needed something to listen to, something to focus on, to put my energy into. There was an idea wriggling at the back of my mind, and I knew I was going to do it. I walked into the Council room, intending to find Koushiro. He wasn't there though. It was just Taichi, Tinkermon and Andromon, all pouring over documents. Tatum was gone. She'd left just as I was entering.

"What's up?" Taichi asked, looking up at me.

"Koushiro?" I asked.

"In the lab," he said. I spun on my heel and stalked out of the room. I was halfway down the hall before Taichi recovered enough to call after me. "Mimi? Mimi come back! Are you okay?" I didn't answer him though. I was already at the closet door, the one that hid the door to the laboratory. I nearly fell down the stairs in my haste to reach the bottom. I entered the lab with a mission. It was only with my peripheral vision that I saw Centarumon and Tentomon pouring over the bookshelves, pulling out the most important ones and packing them in a box. Kiyoko was at one of the lab tables with Haruhiko, bent over a pile of purple steaks. I didn't understand _why_, but I didn't care either.

"Koushiro," I called, catching sight of him. He looked to me, wary. He thought I was mad at him—and I _was_, it just didn't matter anymore. I couldn't keep ahead of the tears. Noriko was the final straw, I was breaking. He seemed to understand something was wrong, since he left his laptop to come and hold me. "I need you to do something for me."

"What?"

"I need you to set up a broadcast," I told him. "I need you to broadcast me over the internet _everywhere_. On Earth and the Digital World. I have something to say."

"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly. "I don't want you to act rashly."

"Just do it," I pleaded, my voice cracking. No. I couldn't break yet, not until I'd said what I had to say. He seemed to realize I wasn't going to give up, and he headed back to his laptop. He started pressing buttons, doing his thing. I couldn't pay attention though. I was lost in thoughts.

Michan and Tako had burned down my restaurant over pettiness, they ruined Sora's fashion show and started an all out brawl. Yamato, Takeru, Taichi, and Ken had all lost their jobs too. Hikari was as good as unemployed by now, and I didn't have a restaurant for Hideto and Izumi to work in. I'd been kicked and stomped on by a mysterious man in black. Andromon, Wizardmon and _Palmon_ had been tagged along with hundreds of other digimon. The entirety of the fight club had been captured. Sora and Koushiro watched as a baby digimon died. We'd been trapped in the Temple, and now in the Digital World. Two girls got shot by the chief of police, and one had succumbed to the virus. Gomamon was gone, and no one knew where he was, or if he was still alive. They'd separated us, they'd beaten us, and they'd stolen us against our will. They had us running blind, always a step ahead of our technology, always there to stomp us down if we thought we could get the upper hand.

This wasn't the peace we were promised.

"Are you ready?" Koushiro asked, pulling me from my downward spiral. I nodded, and he placed the webcam on the desk in front of me, waiting for me to slide into the chair. I did, only to find that a chair was being rolled over next to me. Palmon had followed me, sensing my distress, and now she was going to help me do this. I reached over and held her hand. She grinned up at me, and I drew from her strength. "Five, four, three, two..." he said, pointing at me instead of saying the number one.

"Hi. You don't know me, but maybe you recognize my face?" I said awkwardly. "I was in a documentary that was released three years ago. People of Earth, you _need_ to stop fighting the digimon. They're too strong, and they _will_ fight back. They aren't _all_ nice creatures, just like humans aren't all nice. If you beat them, they'll fight back. Most digimon are good, they're kind and they just want peace with you. I want this war to _stop_. I want you to understand. Digimon aren't evil just because they're different from you and me. They are capable of great things, and they've got capable minds and feelings. They may be different on the outside, but inside they're the same. They're made of the same things as people. They're living beings, not digital. They were banished from Earth a long time ago, and now it's time for us to _welcome them home_, not slaughter them for being different!"

I couldn't speak anymore, my emotions were too big. They were all consuming, and tears were racing down my cheeks. I took in a few shaky breaths, but couldn't find the words to continue.

"We don't want to fight," Palmon agreed. "We don't want to lose anyone else. You're killing us, and it's not right. We aren't fighting you. We fight to _protect_ you."

"That's right," I said, thankful that Palmon had my back. "They've fought _for_ humans time and time again. They fought Myotismon and his entire army. They destroyed the control spires, and they beat Fanglongmon, and Dragomon, and Sigma and Yggdrasil! They saved your lives so many times I can't even keep track. And THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY THEM! You're not thankful at all to be alive. You should be thanking them, accepting them for what makes them different. You should make peace with them, _love_ them. You need to _trust_ them. They are your other half. They aren't something to be afraid of. All they want is to know you, to not fear every second on—"

"Well isn't this precious," a man's voice called out, interrupting me. I looked to Koushiro through my tear filled eyes. Through the blur, I saw him staring at his computer, anger and confusion at war on his face.

"He's interrupted the broadcast," Koushiro said.

"Yes," the man said. "I couldn't let her spread lies, after all. She's a pathetic, snivelling girl that's meddling in things she ought to not meddle in. She doesn't know _anything_. See how she's been entranced by that hideous monster."

"Palmon is _not_ hideous!" I countered. "You are. You and your people. You've blocked off the Digital World already, you've got us trapped, isn't that enough for you? You've got police officers in your pocket. The chief has been shooting humans on your quest for digimon extinction. Did you know that people of Earth? You're not safe just because you're human. They don't care anymore!"

"Enough," the man snapped.

"Did you know a girl was shot? Her name was Noriko Kawada, and she was a kindergarten teacher. She was engaged to be married, and the police chief _shot_ her with the virus. She's dead now. They've killed her. Your precious "heroes" that are supposedly "saving you" from the digimon _killed her_! Take a good long look at your heroes. The digimon never killed a human, but _you humans_ can't boast the same. You kill other humans and digimon for no reason! YOU'RE THE MONSTERS!"

"ENOUGH!" the man bellowed. "Don't you know what happens to meddlers when they've been caught? What you don't seem to understand is that I am fighting solely for the safety and comfort of the people I was chosen to represent. We here on Earth are not attacking blindly, nor will we fight with excessive force. We were confronted with the proposition of war and we are merely preparing for the worst. Do you expect us to not act upon a threat such as the one we were presented with? Would you sit back? No. So why should we?"

Palmon gasped, and I swallowed thickly. I knew what happened; I'd just been explaining it to the entire world. They kill people that get in their way. He was threatening me, but I couldn't find it in myself to care. I was a digidestined, which meant I was on the hit list already. And if my speech could sway even one person, then it was worth the risk.

A pair of hands clamped down on the back of Palmon's chair and my own, sending us sliding out of the camera's view. My chair spun around, and I stopped it with my feet. Palmon didn't have that option, she had to wait it out until the spinning stopped. I looked to see Taichi glaring at the webcam.

"We will not be backing down from our stance against the creatures!" the man was ranting. "Any that stand against us are an enemy of Earth!"

"You don't know what you're doing Rida," Taichi snarled. "You don't know what you'll be unleashing upon Earth. If _you_ don't back down, then Earth's protecters, the _digidestined_ will just have to use force and _make_ you."

"I'll be awaiting whatever pitiful attack you think you can manage, locked away in a world so far from us," Rida said pleasantly, _smugly_. "Don't worry though, I haven't forgotten about you. I'll be sending a little present your way later tonight."

"Present?" Taichi asked.

"Oh dear, did I say present?" Rida said with a laugh. "I meant virus."

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Well, Rida certainly blew his cover. Personally I don't think he should get away with that, but will he? Find out with whatever chapter goes up neexxt!


	45. Hide and Seek

**Y/N: **Hideto finally gets an explanation as to where he's been for the last….however long. He's just been doing whatever, he'll tell you. I don't need to spoil it here. He's going to go through some pretty interesting personal developments, but yep. That's all I can say without just telling you the plot.

**U/N:** So I wrote Tk here and we get a little glimpse at that boy who caught the whip when Ken tried to hit him, but not as much as I'd like :P I remember liking the plot for these two chapter parts because both Hideto and Tk want to get things done, and that's something the others have been putting off. Anyway, I hope you like it and review :)

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 5: Threatened**

**Chapter 45: Hide and Seek**

_**Hideto Fujimoto:**_

The sun was beaming down through the leaves and shining on my face. It was almost uncomfortably warm, but I'd grown so used to the sweltering heat in the last few days. It was now my sixth consecutive day living out in the wild. The first day I'd walked far more than I'd ever walked in my life, ferrying digimon away from the Temple, and sending them towards the Coliseum. The four days between that one and the current one, well, those were spent walking too. I didn't have a specific goal in mind. I wasn't trying to find anything in particular. There were several people I was _hoping_ to find: Michael, Gomamon, and Neo. For awhile there I'd toyed with the idea of finding Mimi, Mari and Palmon, but after Mimi's broadcast, I knew they were fine.

I checked my digivice religiously, like a good little digidestined. I searched and _searched_ for a solitary signal, any sign of finding Michael or Neo. I listened to any digimon I came across—after scaring the crap out of them, because I was wearing all black, _just _like the DWD—sending them to a safe house, and hoping for any word on a secret enemy base, a Gomamon sighting, a sign that any of them were even still _alive_.

But I got nothing for all my efforts.

I suppose I had the satisfaction of saving all those random digimon I came across, and while a part of me was thrilled that I was _helping_, rather than hindering them, I wasn't happy. I wasn't _looking_ for those digimon. I was looking for Michael, Neo or Gomamon. I wouldn't be content until I found them. I might be a little pleased if I found _one_, but I wanted the whole nine yards. I wanted to find them _all_. I didn't want to leave them wherever they were. I wanted to know they were safe, and I wanted to know that _I_ had been the one to find them.

I'd already messed up big time letting Palmon get tagged by my sister. I had a lot of ground to cover to make up for that mistake.

But was I doing all of that? Was I out there hunting them down despite the odds? Was I beating up the DWD, and taking prisoners for questioning? Was I even strolling around _hoping_ for something to stumble into my path?

No.

I was up a tree, sort of lounging in the branches, frustrated with my lack of results and just bathing myself in sunlight while wallowing in self pity. I'd been searching for _days_ and I hadn't found even one single sighting! I hadn't found a solitary signal even once since Koushiro went off after Mimi and Mari, and I hadn't even stumbled upon a member of the DWD, so I couldn't test out my interrogation skills. I might be _great_ at interrogations, and I couldn't even find out.

I probably wasn't though.

I wasn't really good at anything. If these last few days had taught me anything, it's that I _cannot_ accomplish anything that I set my mind to. I wasn't like Koushiro, I couldn't pull answers out of my butt and just be right all the time. I didn't have the strong moral compass that Hikari or Iori possessed. I couldn't even find my friends. It _should_ have been an easy job. They _should_ be the only digivice signals that are alone. Neo and Michael disappeared roughly around the same time, but I had been told that Michael was in America when he was taken, and Neo had disappeared in the streets of Japan. The enemies liked to keep bases here in the Digital World, so logically, _Neo_ should be in the digital version of Japan, meaning he should be around here somewhere. And for some reason that I didn't really understand, no one really _used_ the digital version of America for anything, so I would think that Michael would be somewhere around here too. It was only logical. And since they'd obviously been taken by _different_ branches of the DWD, then they would be in separate bases, right?

Granted, I was only about twelve percent sure Neo had been captured at all.

Mostly I was convinced he'd wandered off, bored with Daisuke's company, and with this whole situation in general. Either that or he'd gone to talk to that bar tender he liked so much. It was only the fact that we had Dracomon that kept me from assuming the worst. He would _never_ abandon Dracomon—or Rei for that matter. They were both in the Coliseum, waiting for his return, which, logically, meant that Neo was expecting to return.

Only now, I guess maybe he couldn't. Hadn't Mimi said that we'd been trapped in the Digital World? If Neo had just been taking a bit of a break, then he could've been trapped on the other side. He might never be able to come and see his partner or his sister again. Or his best friend for that matter.

I really hoped that bar tender was worth it.

Sighing, I replayed Mimi's broadcast in my mind. I didn't like doing that, but I had nothing better to do. I wasn't good at hide and seek apparently, and I couldn't bring myself to return to the Temple empty handed, not after being gone so long. _I_ knew I wasn't good at anything worthwhile, but I didn't really want the others to be privy to that knowledge, especially Kiyoko. For some reason, he still seemed to think the world of me, and in his eyes I could do no wrong. I didn't know what sort of rose tinted glasses he was wearing, but I really wished I had a pair.

Mimi said a girl was dead, which was obviously that Noriko girl I'd fought side by side with during the fight against Yggdrasil's drones. Noriko, Natsuni and I fought the drones back through the portal to the Digital World _just_ before the restaurant exploded behind us. I didn't _know_ Noriko, but I thought she'd been a real brave fighting companion. Now, I would never actually know her. A little part of me was really sad at the thought, but the larger part—the one that was more logical than wistful—realized that even if I _had_ the chance, I probably wouldn't have gotten to know her. I barely knew some of the other digidestined. Why would I spend time getting to know Iori's ex-stalker when I couldn't be bothered to get to know Iori?

But I'd had that choice before, and now the choice was made for me.

Seeing Mimi in the sky was both a blessing and a curse. I knew she was safe now, and that Palmon was back and the tracking device was obviously no longer a problem, but to see her crying for all this world—and Earth—to see was like being stabbed in the gut. She was such an emotional person, and I knew it. She'd cried six times during the brief week she'd thought about putting lobster on the menu because she just couldn't _cook_ it. She cried when Izumi couldn't come to work for a week because an old neighbour had passed away, and she had to go to the funeral. She literally cried at the drop of a hat—granted I'd accidentally dropped in on a cake she'd spent eight hours decorating in intricate, miniscule detailing, but still, the drop of a hat!

No hat had dropped this time though.

Her ex-best friends set fire to her restaurant, and then started a riot at Sora's fashion show. She'd lost her dream for the _second_ time, and then Noriko had gotten shot. And Jun was shot too. Palmon had a tracking device, and she'd been on the run for _days_. She got back and found out that the worlds had been separated, and that Noriko was dead, and it was just a recipe for disaster. Mimi _hated_ fighting. She wasn't built for this type of stress. She was bound to break at some point, and she'd done it—live and in the sky.

It was that other guy that really brought my anger to a boiling point though. Who the hell did he think he was to be threatening to _kill_ my boss? There was no way in hell he was ever going to accomplish that. I'd make sure of it myself. I may not be good at a lot, but I dragged Mimi out of a burning building. I wasn't about to let someone take the life I'd risked my own to protect. Mimi was one of my closest friends, and outside of Alias III, she was probably one of the only ones I had. She was also the only person in the entire world that would've believed that Genki story I'd told her, and she was _definitely_ the only person that would've continued to let me work for them when the truth came out. She believed in me, and I would be damned if I was going to let anyone hurt her.

Not that my determination really amounted to much. The ambassador was on the other side of the wall between the worlds. He wasn't about to get anywhere _near_ her. He just pushed exactly the right buttons to get me angry.

But the real kicker, the thing that _really_ turned my crank was the fact that my parents, my brother and my sister were out there, _helping_ people like him.

I don't know how people could be so horrible and manage to have a son that's one of the digidestined. I knew I wasn't exactly the poster boy of the year, or anything, but I wasn't as bad as _them_, and sometimes that's all it took to make me feel better about myself. Yeah, I stole a crap load of stuff that wasn't strictly necessary for survival at the Coliseum, but hey, at least I wasn't going around kidnapping Gomamon, and shooting at Palmon!

But then I had to admit that I shared DNA with those freaks, and I felt like crap again.

It was another reason that I was staying far away from the Temple. One of the reasons I didn't want to give up my search. I knew Kiyoko was there, and Mari was there now too, so I wouldn't _have_ to be alone anymore, but I kind of liked it. Being alone. It made it so much easier to dwell on my family's treacherousness without actually having to _talk_ about it with anyone. I didn't want to _talk_ about the fact that my family was still wandering around the Digital World, and were stuck here just like I was thanks to the worlds being locked apart. I thought I'd been doing so well, avoiding them for as long as I had. It had been ages since I'd seen them last. I _liked_ it that way. But now they were just popping up all over the place and it was driving me crazy.

How was I supposed to pretend I'd just magically been created out of thin air and didn't actually have a family or past if they kept showing their faces?

I couldn't, that's how.

I was being forced to think about my family, and how they made me feel and I could _swear_ it was making my self-confidence plummet with each successive thought. I would remember how Yorokobi had been trained by a gourmet chef, and that my working in a restaurant wasn't all that special. I would remember that Puraido got a full ride scholarship to further his education, and I'd quit the second I was able to do so—and had given up after just _researching _how much schooling it took to be a councillor. Puraido was athletic and successful, and charming and daring. Yorokobi was intelligent, driven and admired by all that knew her. I was disappointing, underwhelming, _ignored._

I was sick of being invisible.

I turned the program in my phone off, allowing myself to change the fact literally, even though I'd meant it figuratively. I was wearing all black, so the DWD would probably think I was one of them if I actually ran into any—the digimon all seemed to think so. And if that didn't work, I might just announce my last name, apparently the Fujimotos were pretty solidly involved with their cause.

I sighed and turned my face away from the sun, glancing down once again at the digivices strapped to my wrists, searching for that elusive solitary signal. I looked away, and then doubled back, eyes trained on not _one_ solitary signal, but _four_. Seriously? I look away for five minutes and I missed everything!

I looked to each signal in turn. One was off towards the Coliseum. Another wasn't _too_ far off from it, and the third was heading towards the others. It was the fourth one that caught my fancy though. It was headed directly towards me. Intrigued, I grabbed hold of one of the branches I was balanced on, and lowered myself down, dropping to the ground when I couldn't get any lower. I looked to my wrist again, and started running towards the signal. It _had_ to be Neo. He'd found out how to force his way into the Digital World again, and was coming to help us win this thing.

Only it couldn't be Neo.

Neo would never have turned tail and run away when another digidestined was coming towards him. Okay, so he wouldn't know I was a digidestined, but I had _two_ signals of my own, because I had two digivices, which made it _ridiculously_ easy to tell where I was. The two little dots were almost overlapped, causing my signal to look like a wonky oval. It was pretty unique—and Neo _knew_ it.

But why would _anyone_ with a digivice run away from another person with a digivice? That didn't make sense, and it was obvious this person was using their digivice to guide them. There was no way it was a coincidence that this person—_not_ Neo—started running a different direction the moment I started running towards him.

So, who _was_ this person?

I thanked whatever ancestor that gifted me with my ridiculous height and long legs, and pushed myself forward. I was gaining on this person, and I _would_ catch them. What if it was Michael? That could be cool. It probably wasn't though...

Racing through the trees—and subsequently _cursing_ my height after a face full of leaves—I hurried to find this mysterious person. It was like I was possessed—only I'd seen a possessed person before, and he didn't act anything at all like I was acting. One thought and one goal in my mind, everything else blanked away. I was so close to finding _someone_ and I needed it. I needed it badly. I needed to prove at least to myself that I wasn't the worthless loser my family thought of me as.

When I was practically on top of the dot, I sprung, bending my legs and flying through the air, crashing to the ground _just shy_ of actually catching my target.

"Hideto?" Tatum asked, breathing hard. Her voice was shaky; she'd expected me to be someone else, someone _bad_. Why though? I couldn't guess, so I asked her. "Morestuna," she said. "I thought you were him. He's got a digivice. When you started chasing me, I thought you must be him."

Huh.

These are the things a person misses when they decided to lurk about in the forest for going on six days instead of involving themselves in current events. Tatum—the bright girl that she is—was quick to pick up on my confusion, and proceeded to explain in a quick, precise summary just exactly what had been going on in my absence. If anything, it just made me even _surer_ that I needed to find Michael, Neo and Gomamon before I headed back.

"So, I packed up my stuff, and then left the Temple with Monodramon"—he'd been shoved into some bushes when she thought I was Morestuna—"to go and get Michael," Tatum concluded. "So, do you have any leads?"

"No," I admitted grudgingly.

"That's alright," she said. "I had to try."

"Wait," I said, holding up a finger, and looking to my wrist. "If Morestuna has a digivice, and is most likely waiting around the enemy base, I shouldn't have ever been looking for a solitary signal. I should be looking for two together. If they've got Michael, he'll be where Morestuna is...theoretically."

"It's a good theory," she said. "But can we put it into practice?"

"There are two signals over by the shore. I figured someone was explaining stuff to the water digimon," I said sheepishly. "I should have checked it out earlier. When I say it out loud it seems stupid. I should've known it didn't make sense. I—"

"Hey now," Tatum said shaking her head. "We can wish all we want, but we can't change the past. You were focused on finding someone _alone_. I should've come after you _ages_ ago to try and find Michael. Instead, I hung around the lab, waiting for everything to fix itself. I should've gone out to find him. He's my boyfriend, I think I should've shown more initiative. I just thought _Willis_ was doing it, and he wasn't, because he kept getting new projects. But it doesn't matter, because we can't change anything. All we can do is go out there and do our best and hope that we didn't wait too long."

I looked to Monodramon, who was slightly dishevelled, having been shoved in a bush. He had twigs and leaves in random places, but he was nodding, agreeing with Tatum's slightly-less-than-motivating speech. The vote was tallied; we were headed to the shore.

There wasn't a lot of conversation during our trek through the trees towards the water. Tatum was nervous, afraid of what we might find. I knew she was hoping we'd find Michael—_alive_—but I was still holding out for the hope that it could be Neo. I was friends with Michael and all—who wasn't?—but Neo had been my best friend since we were children. He was the one that suffered through all of my self-loathing right alongside me, and tried to pull me out of that dark place. He was the reason I had Kiyoko and Mari—he'd literally blindsided me when he announced the two strangers would be my new roommates—and the reason I had the job I did, and the friends I did. He was the reason I was able to escape my family, and yeah, Michael was cool, but Neo was _Neo_. So yeah, I was too busy hoping for Neo to actually _talk_ with Tatum.

And Monodramon, of course, was mute, so he didn't exactly do much for the conversation.

One thing though, without being distracted by talking, we made it there a lot faster than I thought we would've, though I suppose I was just used to the lax pace I'd been using on my travels. Before too long, the trees gave way to shrubs and rocks, and they gave way to sand. The wind flew across the clear, blue water, carrying a clean, salty smell our way. The view of the white sand beach was marred by the sight of a silver ship—I didn't know whether to expect pirates, or aliens.

"It's just like Koushiro said," Tatum muttered.

This was it. We needed to get inside without alerting anyone nearby. I narrowed my eyes at Tatum. She raised her eyebrow as I surveyed her clothing. "Lose the sweater," I ordered. She hesitated for only a second, before shedding the bright green garment. Underneath, she was wearing a black tank top, paired with black jeans. It was perfect. "We're DWD now," I said, trying to sound confident. "We've just apprehended one of the most dangerous—but _very_ important—digimon this world has ever known. It is imperative that the digimon remain unharmed, for future study."

"Which means it's our right to walk in that ship," Tatum continued trying to hold back her sly smile. "And no DWD would dare hurt Monodramon if there were direct orders against doing so."

"Exactly," I told her. "Which means bringing a digimon with us _wasn't_ stupid."

"This better work," she said, looking at Monodramon anxiously.

"It will," I said sounding far more confident than I really was. "You'll see. We'll be walking out of there in no time with Neo—or Michael and no one will bat an eye."

It wasn't the best plan in the world, but I'd never really excelled at planning. I wasn't even very good at carrying out plans given to me by other people. I was a quitter. But I couldn't quit today. Not with Neo's life potentially in danger.

We took a minute to compose ourselves before we each took one of Monodramon's arms and frogmarched him towards the ship's entrance. There was a moment, just a second, where panic overwhelmed me as we stood at the foot of the staircase. Could we really do this?

But the panic left in a hurry. No one had even _seen_ us yet, and that was a good sign. There was a chance that Moretsuna and Neo—or Michael—were the only people inside. I didn't _always_ have to think the worst. Good things supposedly happened to good people.

And Tatum was a _really_ good person.

I just hoped my presence didn't lower her chances with karma.

With one deep breath, I led us up the stairs. We walked right through the front door as if we owned the place. It was really a very good display of acting on our parts. The only downside of course, was that no one was around to see it. The first thing I saw upon entering the enemy ship was a wall. It was right in front of my face, and it stretched quite a ways on either side. My panic returned. My plan—however feeble—was already crumbling. There were two paths, and neither looked more promising than the other. They looked the same! Neither looked particularly inviting. There was wooden panelling across the bottom half, and grey wallpaper on the top. It reminded me uncomfortably of my childhood home. I wondered idly, if my mother had a hand in the decor.

"What now?" Tatum hissed.

Monodramon pointed between Tatum and himself before pointing to the right, and then he pointed me down the left. I didn't know if I liked that plan. Yes, I had a better chance of blending in without a digimon at my side, but that just painted a large target on Tatum. Our feeble excuse wouldn't hold much stock if Tatum was the only person securing the most-dangerous-yet-important digimon. Who would believe that such a threat required only a human companion—with his hands free no less. He didn't even have a muzzle. He didn't look particularly contained.

"He's right," Tatum said, having obviously boarded a completely different train of thought. "You go left, I go right. We see what we can find, and we'll meet up here when we're done. I don't want to impose a time limit, obviously, but maybe we should, just for the preliminary search."

"Whatever," I said. "Half an hour?"

She nodded, and then she and Monodramon disappeared down the hall, rounding the corner. I sighed, hoping I would actually see them later, and that I hadn't brought them into a trap. I headed down the left hall alone, keeping my ears peeled for anything at all. I heard a lot of grunts, and the sound of equipment running. And then I heard voices.

"I can't believe you were bested so easily. They were practically _gift wrapped_ for you."

"It wasn't my fault! They had new technology."

"Don't worry dear, they'll get what's coming to them soon."

"They'd _better_. I'm sick of losing. Fujimoto's do not lose!"

No.

No. No. No.

This couldn't be happening. I knew them. I knew each voice. Mom, Yorokobi and Dad were all here. Puraido couldn't be far behind. I strained my ears, wanting to know if he too was in this noisy room—which I had deduced had to be filled with exercise equipment.

"Obviously that statement is not as true as you want us to believe."

It wasn't Puraido. It was someone more important, someone I knew better. Neo. But why was he there, stuck with my family while they worked-out their frustrations?

"Hold your tongue, new boy," Mom hissed. "You're nothing of consequence. You're just the boss's daughter's new pet."

"He's hardly my pet," a snarky voice drawled. "He just followed me home."

"The poor, lost puppy," Yorokobi said with a laugh.

"I am _far_ from a dog," Neo said.

"I like him," Dad said. "He's got spunk, and he's fighting for the cause. That's all we can ask for."

_Fighting for the cause_.

I breathed a shaky breath, feeling like the world had been ripped out from beneath me. Neo wasn't captured. He had never _been_ captured. He'd walked after that stupid woman. He was here of his own accord. He _wanted_ to be here.

He was working with my family.

The very people he'd scorned so often. The people he urged me to overcome. And he was _working_ with them. Was everything he'd ever told me a lie? No. It couldn't be. Neo didn't lie. _But he was here!_ He was talking with my parents, my sister. They were joking with him, and he didn't seem out of place. If I could bring myself to look into the room, I knew I wouldn't see him tied to a chair, handcuffed to a radiator. He was there under his own power, and I couldn't handle that.

He was my best friend, and he chose my family instead of me, instead of _Dracomon_.

"If you'll excuse me for a moment," Neo said.

I heard him get to his feet; come to the door just feet from me. And then I saw him. He wasn't hurt in anyway, his hair was still perfectly in place, and there wasn't even a scuff on his shoes. I'd built myself into a tizzy with worry over his safety, and he'd just been relaxing here, with no thoughts to spare on his supposed best friend, or the rest of the digidestined. I doubted he'd even called his sister or Dracomon and let them know he was a traitor to the cause.

Of course he didn't call Rei. She'd just be disappointed in him. It was better this way; she didn't know he was spending all his time with our enemy—with _my_ enemies, treating them as if they were _good_ people.

"Why?" I whispered in horror. He looked surprised to see me, surprised that I'd risk my own skin to come on a rescue mission that obviously wasn't necessary.

"Hideto," he said. He grabbed my arm and pulled me down the hall, lowering his voice to a whisper, so my family wouldn't hear. "What are you doing here?"

"No," I said. "You don't get to ask that."

"Fair enough," he said.

"You joined them. After _everything_ you learned from last time, you joined them. Don't you know what this'll do to Dracomon? To Rei? You betrayed them. You betrayed _me_. You're with my _family_. You're a traitor, Neo. And to think I thought you were my friend. You're no friend of mine—if you ever were at all."

"Hideto," Neo protested, but he didn't even have the decency to look guilty. He had that damn sly look on his face, he _always_ looked like that. He couldn't even feel a _little_ regret for having betrayed me in the only way he possibly could have? I was mad. Mad at him, mad at myself for letting him get this close. My hands curled into themselves, and the next thing I know my knuckles were killing me, and Neo was leaning against the wall, clutching his chest.

"Neo?"

It was the damn girl. The girl he thought was worth more than my friendship, more than Rei's trust, more than Dracomon's happiness. I hoped she hurt him, I hoped she betrayed him at the worst possible moment. I really did. And it just made me feel _worse_ for wishing it on him.

I didn't have time to demand actual answers. I didn't have time to hear his side of the story. I didn't care about it. He was one of them now, and I wasn't about to get caught by the woman that swayed his allegiance. I slipped off down the hall, moving as quickly and as silently as I possibly could. She was by the door now, I knew it, but I couldn't look back, it would only draw more suspicion. I raced down the stairs I found, desperate to get away from her, only to stop in my tracks at the sound of more voices.

"I really don't understand."

It was Puraido. I _knew_ he couldn't be far. And it looked like he'd lost it, because he was talking to himself. No. He was talking to Gomamon, I knew, because Gomamon's voice answered him.

"I don't know why not," Gomamon told him. "I've told you a hundred times."

"I just don't understand how it can be true."

"A digimon can think like a human, he can _feel_ like a human," Gomamon said. "We are literally the second half to human kind. Each human has a digimon out there that is just waiting for them. And it works in the reverse too. I completed Jou, but Jou completed me. We are two sides to the same coin. A digimon and a human aren't really all that different."

"But you don't look like humans," Puraido countered. "You look like animals and robots and monsters."

"You don't think there isn't variety in humans too?" Gomamon argued. "Listen. No two human is alike, and no human starts out bad. It's the same with digimon. Along the way something happens, some of them give in to the darkness, some have horrible things happen to them, and then they aren't very nice anymore. How is a bad digimon any different from a bad human?"

"Well, humans can't use powerful attacks," Puraido pointed out.

"But they can use guns," Gomamon said firmly. "And they can use blades, poison, and they can torture each other. They can create technology that can take life in an instant. Humans don't have the built in defense that digimon do, but they aren't defenceless. And a digimon rarely attacks without a reason."

"Ha!" Puraido cheered. "You said _rarely_, which means it _does_ happen."

"And you can't come up with a human example?" Gomamon questioned.

"Well, I guess I can," Puraido said. "I just don't see how they can be so similar. If they were the same, humans wouldn't be so against them, you know?"

"Have you ever read a history book?" Gomamon asked wryly.

People were moving about in the hall above me. I couldn't stay hiding in the stairwell forever. I tried to be silent as I slipped into the basement. I couldn't save Neo, because he didn't _need_ saving, but I could get Gomamon. He was right here, ripe for the taking. Of course, my plan couldn't go off without a hitch. I fell down the last three steps, crashing to the ground with a yelp. Puraido hastily threw a blanket over Gomamon's head, picking up a nearby clipboard, acting like he'd just been reading it aloud, rather than having a conversation with a digimon.

"Get this thing off of me," Gomamon said, wiggling his way out from under the blanket.

"Hideto, I can explain," Puraido said, looking between me and Gomamon, panicked, grasping for a decent explanation.

"Don't bother," I said coldly. "Just step away from the digimon."

"Did you join us?" Puraido asked, a wild look in his eyes.

"There's a better chance that I'm a hippopotamus ballerina," I said seriously.

"Oh, well I suppose that makes sense," Puraido said, seeming relieved. I wasn't DWD, I wouldn't turn him in for fraternizing with a digimon. Looks like the prodigal son wasn't as perfect as they thought he was. Somehow this knowledge didn't actually make me feel any better about my current situation.

"Now step away from Gomamon," I told him.

"I'm not going to hurt him," Puraido insisted. "I was never going to hurt him. I won't let anyone else either. I kind of like the little guy."

Sure, like I was going to believe he could be swayed to like a digimon, a creature our parents taught him to fear and loath. He couldn't spare a second thought for _me_, his own flesh and blood. He made my life miserable every chance he had.

"I _swear_ if he's talking to himself again..."

"Yorokobi," Puraido and I said in unison. Puraido covered Gomamon with the blanket again, and this time, Gomamon didn't fight him. I thought it was going to be pretty damn obvious that Puraido was trying to hide something, but he picked Gomamon up, blanket and all, and deposited him on a cot hidden behind his work station. Then he threw a baseball cap in my direction. I pulled it over my head without hesitation, pulling it down far enough to cast a shadow over my face.

"After you deliver that, you're free to go," Puraido told me, as if it made any sense, while handing me the clipboard he'd been using as a prop. I glanced down at it. It was just a bunch of blank paper. I looked at him, confused. Why was _he_ helping me? He was the one that supposed to make me miserable. It should've been _Neo_ that was helping me now. When had everything gotten so mixed up?

"Who's this?" Yorokobi asked. I kept my face downwards, refusing to look in her direction. I took the offered excuse from Puraido, and started stalking towards the stairs. "Rude," Yorokobi sniffed. "Puraido, Mom wants to know if you've found that thing yet."

"No," Puraido said.

"You'd better," Yorokobi said in a threatening tone. "I _still_ can't believe you let it escape."

I raced up the stairs. I'd failed twice so far. I didn't save Neo and I couldn't save Gomamon. I hoped Tatum was having better luck than I was. I kept my head down as I walked the halls, trying to navigate without meeting anyone's eyes. It seemed as if the population of the ship had quadrupled in the short time I was in the basement. It was while I was staring at the clipboard that I noticed the top page wasn't entirely blank. There was a small, hastily scribbled note from my brother in the bottom corner.

_I'll keep him safe._

I just wished I could trust him.

_**Takeru Takaishi:**_

There was total and complete silence. Hundreds of bodies surrounded in one confined area, watching the same sky, each figure holding their breath. The silence was deafening, like a burning sensation, the wait was immense and I knew the others felt the same way, and yet none could break the silence for fear that a single sound might somehow make the inevitable come faster. Like if we objected or panicked we would simply be begging for the end result to take us sooner.

Then, with a spluttering gasp, someone in the crowd cried toward the skies, "My Mimi!"

It had been Satoe Tachikawa, and her cry had stirred some life into the crowd. Everyone that had been collected in the Coliseum had shot out the doors and poured into the battle area that was now totally empty. We all followed Yoshie Izumi out into the open air where she pointed to the sky. A video had been broadcast in front of the clouds for all to see. It was Mimi. She was crying, and I knew it was no good the moment I saw the look in her eyes.

We'd all watched as she begged for the terror to stop, and we'd all felt the same heartbreak when that man interrupted her. He insulted her, he insulted _all_ of us, and threatened us. Threatened us with what he called a virus, and there was no way that was going to be good news. We were in the Digital World after all. A world where everything was constructed of data. They'd already proven they could delete anything they set their sights on, and make it erase itself from the fabric of time and space, as if it never existed at all.

Was that our fate now?

Was it true that the virus would come? Was there no way of stopping the inevitable deletion of the Digital World? It seemed likely that was the case. There was no way to leave the Digital World, and if that's where these people were—the people who were against us—how could we even _hope_ to stop them?

But Sora was out there. Sora was on Earth—that's what I'd been told. Dad too. They could save us. They could stop the virus and save the day, and we'd be free. It was a long shot, but we had to look to the positives. If we ignored what was blatantly our only hope, then what chance did we have in survival? We had to believe in those who could still stop this, who knew if they needed our help? What if they didn't believe in themselves? At least we could believe, and they could pull through.

It was possible. Anything was always a possibility.

It had to be.

I heard someone sobbing, and my first thought was that Mimi was back. I looked to the sky and she wasn't there. I followed the sound and found Fumiko, sitting against a brick wall, her hands over her face, crying her heart out. I hurried to her side and hugged her. She barely even looked to see who was comforting her before she wrapped her arms around my neck and cried into my shoulder. "It's okay," I promised, "we have to stay strong." She shook her head and cried out words that did not form a full sentence. "Fumiko," I told her softly, "Dad's going to stop this. He can! He'll save you, and Patamon and Meiyomon and Iori and Yamato and even me. He's going to stop the virus."

"H-h-how?" She sobbed.

"We don't need to worry about how," I told her gently, "We can't get in contact with anyone on Earth. Even if we knew how to stop this, we couldn't tell them. We'll leave the planning them, and we'll just pray and send lots of love their way."

"Rather optimistic," Meiyomon said, his voice a little shaky. "You can't know they'll win. You can't know we'll survive. There is nothing showing us the truth."

"Meiyomon," I told him, releasing Fumiko momentarily and holding out my hand for him. "You're my brother now, right?" He nodded and smiled softly. "That means you have to share my crest now. It's just a fact."

"That doesn't make sense." Meiyomon interjected.

"It doesn't have to," I said, "Look around you. Look at the barrier. You can't see it, but you know it's there, right? Protecting us?" Meiyomon nodded, "That's what Dad's doing. We can't see him, but we have to have faith that he's going to be strong and stop the virus from attacking us." He nodded, "And if that doesn't work, the barrier will for sure." I promised. He seemed pleased with that result and was able to take Fumiko from my arms and let her cry with him for a while.

There was a lot that needed to sort itself out in my head anyway. For one, could the virus get through these protective barriers? Because we were all doomed if it could. Patamon too—though he was already in danger of Moretsuna now that he could step through the barriers. We were better off it seemed since no one really knew the location of the Coliseum. Although it shouldn't have been too hard for Moretsuna to find if he was using one of the digivices—perhaps the Digital World was on our side this time. Maybe he couldn't figure it out because the Digital World was acting as a hurdle for him, controlling the digivices. It had done that once before, keeping us trapped inside when it reverted our d-3's back into the regular grey ovals.

Though, a D-3 wouldn't be so unwanted at the moment, so we could get back to Earth and get everyone away from this virus that could potentially kill us all.

And if the virus _did_ destroy the Digital World and the barriers _were_ enough to shield us, how were we ever supposed to leave the confines of the Coliseum? Did the virus mean the end of our free lives? Did that mean I'd never be able to travel to see Patamon again?

I seriously considered heading out to him right then and there, but something stopped me. Whether it was my crying step-mother and step-brother, or whether it was the guilty conscience I knew I'd feel if I just left everyone knowing they might all die... well, whatever it was, it made me want to stay. If only for a moment longer.

I sighed, scanning the crowds and I saw Daisuke, sitting with his mother who seemed to be having a small panic attack. Others seemed to be panicking as well, but it seemed everyone had _someone_ there to keep them company and help them through it. And hopefully they were doing a good job, assuring them that we'd all be fine so long as no one left the confines of the barrier.

"Hello there," Yuudai said, grinning from ear to ear as if nothing had happened. He was a much happier person than my dad was, so I wondered if my mother had a type or not, since there was really nothing in common with them. Though Yuudai was once very close friends with my father.

"What are you so happy about?" I asked, my voice sounding far more depressed than I'd hoped it would.

"Well there's nothing to be unhappy about," He said, "Sure, there's the virus coming, but we're all safe under this giant protective bubble." I looked to him, shocked, "Aren't we?" He suddenly looked like he might panic.

"No, you're right." I nodded, "Spread that news around. People need the reassurance."

"Sure thing." He said, "Your mother seems fine though." He noted, staring toward Mom. She was kneeling over Lunamon and Coronamon who both looked frightened and sad. I noticed Kae Ichijouji was too busy hyperventilating to be worrying about her own partner, luckily she had Ken around for her. "She's a tough one." Yuudai said with a proud smile. At least he loved her, and that was all that mattered. I didn't get the feeling Mom and Dad liked each other very much. At least not during their last relationship. "You know I've never seen her cry."

"Remind her we still don't know where Yamato is, and you might get that chance." I groaned. I'd almost forgotten, but clearly it was jammed somewhere in the back of my mind.

"Ah," Yuudai shook his head, "He'll be alright. He always is, isn't he?"

"Of course." I nodded, "He's strong too. He's a lot like Mom. They're both emotionally stunted." Yuudai snorted. "Well it's true."

"It might just be." He agreed. "I think I'll get to cheering people up, if you don't mind?" I nodded, "Unless you need cheering up yourself?"

"Oh, I'm fine." I smiled. Smiling was something I was good at. There was always something to be happy about, and even though a _lot_ of things seemed grim at the moment, that didn't mean that I had to be depressed. I noticed Yuudai had already gone and I looked back to the crowd. They were all busy, I wasn't _really_ needed here... perhaps I really could go to see Patamon. I didn't want him to be scared—or hurt. He knew this virus was coming as well as I did. There was no way _anyone_ in the Digital World missed that message. It was _really_ loud. I'd felt it vibrating through my bones, like the words Mimi was saying had no choice but to sink straight to my soul. I hoped that some of the resident D.W.D supporters had heard it and changed their stance.

My eyes fell to my mother who was waving toward me. When we'd locked eyes she motioned for me to come over so I hurried. I didn't want any time to be wasted, even if it wasn't all entirely necessary. I pushed my way past Keisuke Tachikawa who was struggling to keep his wife standing with Minervamon's help. Minervamon's eyes followed me and I flashed her a smile, which she did not return. She had of course been defeated a few times and then turned good. She was living proof that darkness could be cured simply by stepping into the sunlight. Having someone show you the path is the only way out though. Or so it seemed. Daisuke had been there for Ken, and then again for Kurayami. Rei had pulled Neo out of his trance, and that was just a handful of the examples I had stored away in my brain.

There were obviously those who refused to look into the light though.

I passed Unimon who was being gently pet by one of Jou's step-sisters while the other two sobbed on the ground, Aimi and Isao trying to pick them back up and put them back together. I heard a painful wail and my heart ached. I knew it was Emiko before I caught sight of her. On my way by I heard Digitamamon explain to Yoshie that some digimon explained that she was going to die, and now she was sobbing in Yoshie's arms about how she missed her mother. Jou wasn't around right now. He was in the infirmary taking care of Jun still. No one was allowed in to see her just in case she was still infected. It was just safer to keep an eye on her, but Jou was hopeful, and that was a good sign.

"Takeru," Mom said when I finally stood next to her. "Lunamon is upset." I nodded. That made sense—everyone around here was upset. "Apparently, her and Coronamon weren't too worried about their friends because they can take care of themselves, but with a virus on the way, will the Olympos XII be okay?" I nearly groaned.

"I don't know," I admitted, but looked to Lunamon positively, "I'll call Taichi right away and I'll ask him, and if no one has been there, he'll send someone right away, I'm sure of that." Lunamon nodded, and wiped one of her eyes, but Caronamon's face lit up. I certainly hoped I wasn't lying to them.

Lunamon begged with her arms to be picked up by Mom and so she scooped her into her arms, hugging her gently, whispering words of encouragement. It was so strange how different she and Fumiko were. Fumiko was on the opposite end of the comfort chain as Mom was. She was the one in need of the reassurances, and yet here Mom was, strong as ever. Was there any similarity between the two of them either?

I knew I had to call Taichi, like I promised, but Jou caught my attention. It was the first time he'd stepped out of the infirmary all day. He looked confused as he scanned the crowd. He hadn't been here, so of course that made sense. I rushed toward him and he looked relieved to see me, "Takeru!" He gasped, "What's going on?"

"A lot," I admitted, "It was Mimi."

He nodded, "I heard parts of what was said, I just don't understand."

"Koushiro broadcast her in the sky." I explained, "She was trying to convince everyone to stop killing the digimon." Jou actually smiled, seemingly proud, "Then Taichi's co-worker came on and told her that he's sending a virus our way." Jou's face fell instantly. "They're trying to kill us all in one swoop."

"They can't," Jou said, angry now. "That's mass genocide. They must know that's insanity."

"You would think."

Jou looked over my should now, "Where's Emiko? Ah, I see her." He spotted her with Yoshie and relaxed. She seemed to be calmer now. Jou was biting his bottom lip when he turned to me again, "You don't seem upset."

"Oh I'm terrified," I admitted, "I just don't know what it means to be helpless anymore." Jou nodded. "I just feel like there's no point in being scared if there's nothing I can do to stop it."

"I understand that feeling." Jou said, nodding slightly. "But there is always something to do. Surely you haven't lost hope, Takeru."

"Never!" I insisted. He was right though! I was thinking too negatively! There_ had_ to be something I could do. Something that would convince the enemies to stop their attack. Or a way to leave maybe?

"Kurayami looks upset." Jou noted. I looked up and saw that she was sitting high in the stands of the Coliseum, her head in her hands as she knelt forward, looking like her entire world had been shattered. There was a baby seat next to her where Haruki was laying, seemingly asleep. Jou patted my shoulder and it seemed he knew before I did that I'd be heading straight for her. I set off quickly, not bothering to go around and opting to simply climb the wall and step along the seats instead of going to the stairs. Kuryami looked up when I came near and her pathetic attempt at a smile made my heart snap in two.

She looked away quickly, aware that her smile wasn't convincing, so I took a seat next to her. "Do you want to talk?" She shook her head, and looked up to me. She mouthed the word no but no sound came out and she looked back to her knees. "Do you mind if I call Hikari?" She shook her head, and I figured I may as well go ahead. I dialled her number instead of using her contact. I'd been trying to memorize her phone number in case it became important. She only let the phone ring once before picking it up.

"Takeru!" She practically yelled. It was strange. She was so close and yet seemed so far away. Her voice seemed so unfamiliar.

"I'm sorry I haven't called much," I apologized quickly.

"You've been busy," She said, entirely understanding, "Me too. I'm just glad to hear from you. You okay?"

"Of course. Are you?" She hummed her response and it didn't sound particularly reassuring. "I'm... I'm sorry for not telling you about Noriko. I should have been the one to tell you. I just didn't know how to break the news." I had also been taking care of a lot of people here who were taking the news hard and had barely a moment to think let alone to call my girlfriend. But that was no excuse. "I'm sorry."

"I understand." She said, her voice quiet now. "I do." Then she sighed.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

"Can't find Miyako." She said, annoyed.

"Did you check your digivice?" I offered. "Count the dots." She groaned at herself and I couldn't help but smile. It didn't last long because she gasped, this time she sounded less frustrated and more panicked. "Where is she?" I asked.

"Gone!" Hikari gasped.

"Gone _where_?" I asked.

"I don't know." Hikari admitted. "Look, I have to talk to Taichi, I'll call you back soon. I love you."

"Love you too—hey wait!" I shouted. I could tells he was still on the line so I quickly added, "Ask Taichi about the Olympos XII."

"Absolutely." Came her reply. "Talk to you later." She promised.

"I'll be here." I assured her. And then she hung up. "Sorry." I said flatly, I didn't mean to come and impose my relationship on Kurayami. I just figured she needed a friend, and having lived with her for as long as I had I knew just when she wanted to talk and when she didn't. Because she was the type of person who told you when she was ready. If she said she wasn't, then I believed her. But as I turned to face her this time I saw that tears were pouring from her eyes. "Hey," I said, hugging her quickly, "Are you okay?"

"No," She admitted, this time, sound came out. She leaned into me and I just watched as she sobbed, trying to comfort her with my meaningless hug. Whatever was this wrong would not be cured by a hug. And I knew it wasn't the virus. This was something else. Something that had hurt her in a different way. I didn't want to pry, but I couldn't let her cry like this. It wasn't healthy to not tell people when you were upset... was it?

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" I asked her, and she replied by crying some more. Quietly though. Like she didn't want to embarrass herself by showing emotion, but like she couldn't hold it in anymore. I looked down to the others who were all busy with their own problems. No one was watching. "Kura?"

"Everything." She said finally. She pulled away from me and looked into the seat where Haruki lay peacefully. "He's so little." She said, reaching forward as if she may stroke his cheek, but she opted to pull her hand away sharply at the last second, turning from him. Ashamed? "I-I'm _so_ scared, T-Takeru." She was trying desperately to hold herself together, but it didn't look that that would happen. "I c-can't protect him. I'm not... I'm not good e-enough. I'm a bad m-mom. I'm g-going to hurt him."

"You would never hurt him," I assured her. It was true. I knew it was true. Why didn't she? Where was this coming from?

She shook her head, "You don't know that." She said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "I lost control. I attacked Moretsuna. That horrible police man."

"He deserved it I'm sure." I admitted through gritted teeth. After everything that man had done, I didn't feel bad for him in the slightest. He was the reason Noriko was dead—the reason so many digimon were dead—the reason Jun had been shot, the one who had chased us and tried to hurt Hikari. He was an insane person and did not deserve to be treated with respect.

"Maybe," She said, "But I... became her. I became my mother." Kurayami had caught hold of her emotions now and was back in control as she stared directly into my eyes, not blinking even once. I didn't know how to respond, and she was watching me carefully with her big blue eyes. She knew I had to say _something_ and when I did, I had a feeling she'd turn it around to put herself down.

"Our choices," I said hesitantly, "Are what make us who we are. You can always choose the path to light." She nodded slowly, finally blinking and turning her gaze away from me. I figured I'd done that pretty well. "And we'll all be here to make sure you don't fall down."

"He killed my grandfather." Kurayami said as if she'd been waiting to tell me the whole time. It came out so quick I had barely understood. It didn't seem believable somehow. "He tried to take Haruki from me and then he ordered some men to kill my grandpa. Now he's gone and I'll never see him again." Her eyes were welling up again, and my fists were balled with rage. "I can't understand how someone can be so... _so horrible_."

I no longer knew who was in control of my body, but I was standing and marching toward the stairs. "Where are you going?" Kurayami asked me, her voice thick now.

"I'm going to find Moretsuna." I said bluntly.

"Takeru!" She shouted, but I was already hurrying down the stairs. I was vaguely aware that I'd pulled Ken away from his mother momentarily and told him Miyako had left the Temple and Hikari did not know where she was. His panicked face burned into my memory. That was all I remembered until I was marching through the Coliseum doors. Babamon was out with the others in the field. She didn't order me to bring a cloaking device with me, and I wouldn't have cared if she had. I didn't want to be invisible this time. I wanted to find Moretsuna, and I wanted him to find me.

I had a bone to pick with him.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06: **Tatum takes her only chapter of this story and partners up with Kiyoko in an action based chapter about keeping the truth inside.


	46. Truth Withheld

**Y/N: **Kiyoko makes a startling discovery, and of course, freaks out about it. Also, he pretends he's Sora, as spies on someone. Sort of.

**U/N: **This chapter has Tatum doing some pretty awesome things that are awesome in themselves, but you don't realize necessarily HOW awesome until later. So just saying. Otherwise, this is the only time I had to write as Tatum in the entire story and that was weird, getting back into her shoes. It's a little rough, because she's obviously not like the other characters. She's too perfect-as a side character, her basic role is a love interest. She doesn't have as many realistic flaws as say Sora or Mimi. She's just a smart girl who likes to draw digimon and learn about them, but outgrew her one single flaw which was that she was dramatic when she was younger :P So I dunno. I tried to deepen her, I know I did, but I don't know how well that came across. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and stuff :D

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 5: Threatened**

**Chapter 46: Truth Withheld**

_**Tatum Jefferson:**_

"He's right," I decided. We had to split up. Sure we had our digivices that could guide us to who we were looking for, but it could only work so well. We were practically on top of the dots we'd been following, and we had no way of knowing where to go from this point on, so we had to split up. It was the only way to be sure we'd be covering enough ground in as little time as possible. I'd have even sent Monodramon down a different path if the circumstances were different. "You go left, I go right. We see what we can find, and we'll meet up here when we're done. I don't want to impose a time limit, obviously, but maybe we should, just for the preliminary search."

"Whatever," Hideto said. "Half an hour?"

That sounded fine to me. It was a big ship, but it was just that. It was one structure, and thirty minutes seemed like plenty of time to search for Michael. I felt bad enough as it was that it had taken this long to actually start searching for him myself, so I hoped by the time I met back up with Hideto that he'd be with me.

I don't know why I hadn't gone out earlier. It had been a long time. Ten days... nearly two full weeks. For a while I had managed to convince myself he was doing something on his own, and I'd been comforting Jenna—but when she became more determined to find him than to wallow in self pity I was occupied in the lab. I should have just told them I needed to go, but everything was important now. Not only big things, like my boyfriend, but the small things too. Like scanning those strange purple rods.

And somehow I felt like I wouldn't be able to help, like I was expecting him to come back having saved himself. Or maybe I was waiting for Willis to go on and save the day. But he was even more busy than I was. No one else had the time, or ability, to save Michael now. It was simply Hideto and I.

And as I ran down the pathway in front of me, I prayed that I'd chosen the one to Michael.

There was still no way of knowing for sure if I'd find him—or if I'd even get out of here. I looked to Monodramon and realized how reckless it had been to bring him. I may be captured, but he was going to be killed if they found him. I still had Hideto's plan ringing in my mind, staying ever present in case I'd need it to ward off suspicious eyes, but it didn't feel like it would be enough. It somehow didn't amount to much that there was a sliver of hope that these people knew little enough to buy into that story.

Or if they'd even care! What if it didn't matter to them which digimon was high in the ranks? What if they didn't want any information at all, and simply wanted to be sure all were dead.

And I didn't even fit in. I was wearing black, sure, but each of the people we'd passed previously had been wearing nearly identical clothing. Long sleeves, the same sleek black boots, and a hat, usually too. I was just running around in a tank top with my red hair bouncing around, sure to attract attention.

Monodramon stopped his running just at the corner and I skidded to a stop, my shoes sliding across the slippery floor. There were voices.

Someone was coming. Was I supposed to trust Hideto's plan, or simply hide? What if no one believed me? What if, no matter what I said, people simply assumed I was lying, and they killed Monodramon as well as locked me up? I was shaking my head, hardly breathing as I grabbed Monodramon's arm and pulled him back the way we'd come. There were only two exits close enough to where we were, and when I tried the nearest one I found it was locked.

We both ran to the other one, the voices nearing on us quickly, and I reached for the second door. The knob turned and there was a click from inside as I slowly pushed on the door. I used my foot to keep Monodramon back momentarily as I peaked inside. The room was dark, but I couldn't be sure no one was inside.

"...is exactly what I would have told him."

I turned sharply and saw shadows now. They were close. I reached around and shoved Monodramon through the open doorway and closed it quietly behind myself after I stepped inside with him. I could hardly see anything, so I reached for my phone and turned on my flashlight. It was shining toward a desk where there was a computer, a few colorful lights were blinking. As the light scanned the room it became more and more obvious what kind of room this was. I backed up against something uncomfortable and turned quickly, jumping in fright when my light reflected back to me as it shone across a mirror. Moving along I found a large wooden chest, then to the right there was a vanity, and then a dresser, and finally, a bed.

I froze when I heard the voices nearing now. "I just have to grab something."

I turned quickly and clicked the lock button in the center of the knob.

"Get in here," I hissed to Monodramon quickly when my light had found a closet door. I pulled the doors apart and found a large closet filled with black clothing. He scurried forward and flung himself into the depths of the clothes, and I was quick to close the doors, flying under the bed.

The door opened and light poured across the floor. I was crammed against the back wall as far as I could go. I could only see the uniform black boots step into the room, their heavy footfalls shaking the floor with each step. It was a woman though, she seemed irritated judging by the way she was slamming things around. I watched her as she turned on her bedroom light and as she paced around until she sat in the chair in front of the vanity. She heaved an enormous sigh and then there was silence.

"Just keep going," a woman's voice said. "There is nothing wrong with trying. Nothing wrong with wanting something." Then she was silent for a moment, and then something dropped, falling near my head. I panicked and slid away from the brush that had nearly hit me, as silently as I could, holding my breath. I then watched as a pale hand wrapped around the wooden handle and let my breath go quietly. "But how far are you willing to go? The girl asked as she stared at her reflection—the same reflection she once knew, and yet could never look at the same way." She was weird...

There was a knock on her door and she jumped quickly to her feet, "Coming!" She said, rushing toward the door. Then her ankle twisted, and she collapsed to the ground. "Ow!" She called out, her knees slamming against the floor. The door flew open and a man stepped inside this time.

"Are you alright?"

Neo?

"I'm fine," The girl laughed. I could see her better now. Her hair was dark and sleek, and she had it pulled into a ponytail. There was something about her that interested me, so I pulled myself closer just to get a better look and then the boy began pulling her to her feet, and as she stood her face appeared in the mirror. I jumped back quickly, but I feared she'd seen me anyway. There was silence across the entire room. There was no way she'd not seen me. She was silently communicating with the man—possibly Neo—right now, they'd grab me and take me away. But at least Monodramon hadn't been found.

"What are you doing?" the boy asked.

"Thinking." The girl admitted. "I just can't seem to remember where they keep the prisoners around here."

"There's only one prisoner," The boy laughed, "You make it sound like we're running around collecting people."

"_We_ are doing nothing," The girl said, "Need I remind you that _you_ are my prisoner." There was a brief silence and the girl sighed, "You're a high class prisoner and get all kinds of privileges—but you're a prisoner nonetheless!"

"Well," The boy, now I was sure it was Neo, said, "The lower class prisoners are kept, ironically, in the high chamber. Why?"

"I just wanted it said aloud," The girl admitted, flicking off the bedroom lights, and leading the boy out of her room, "Now never come into my room without my permission. Daddy would be _so_ disappointed in me." Neo laughed and then the door was shut.

I did not know or care who that girl was. She'd just told me exactly where Michael was—and now I knew Neo was okay. Two out of three ain't bad! But I still needed to find and save Michael, find Hideto and _pray_ he found Gomamon, but there was a huge part of me that was hoping Gomamon had never been taken here. The odds of him surviving in a place full of people who were intent on killing him were not impressive. I was such an idiot, I realized as I slid open the closet. Monodramon leapt out from the darkness and bound towards the bedroom door, just as eager as I was to save Michael. Only it wouldn't be safe for him. He was in danger here. Why had I brought him?

He was motioning for me to open the door and peak out. At least he was aware that he was in more danger than I was, and not trying to act the hero. I cracked open the door and looked around. The hallway was clear, so I grabbed Monodramon and pulled him along, closing the door behind us. The least I could do was keep people out of the girl's room after she told me where Michael was. It was too big a coincidence for her to have simply asked the question I needed the answer to at that moment. She _had_ to have seen me, and she somehow knew why I was here.

She was helping me, and I didn't know why. I didn't know anything about her, but that could wait. My boyfriend needed me.

Monodramon and I ran around the corner where we'd first heard the voices, and I panicked, not having checked first. Luckily there was no one there this time; I'd have to be more careful.

There was an elevator in this hall and I considered taking it, but decided against. What would one of these people do if they called for an elevator and it opened up to reveal a digimon? Yeah, no thanks. At least with the stairs I had a chance to escape. I threw the doors at the end of the hall open, and listened. There were stairs leading up, and a set that led down to a dark room where lights were flying around. It seemed like some sort of lab.

I instantly started upward, but froze and hurried back down. "Stay here." I told Monodramon, creeping down the steps toward the lab. I took a peek inside and saw what I'd feared. There was a digimon in the center of the room, tears welling up in his eyes. He was a fish with legs, with steel plating to keep him safe and wing-like fins to help him move quicker on land and in water. It was obviously a Coelamon. Behind him there was a woman with blonde hair working away.

I was already moving across the floor, no real thought process in mind when I paused and forced myself to turn back. I'd only get one chance at this, and it was either this digimon, or Michael.

Unless there was a way to get both. The Coelamon looked up and saw me, panic rising, but I put a finger to my lips and tried to form an apologetic look. He looked startled and then I turned and ran back up the stairs. I was going to get Michael, and then get this digimon and then we'd be fine! We'd find Hideto, and Gomamon and then go back and get Neo and we'd leave.

That was a tall order, that's for sure.

I grabbed Monodramon's hand again and rushed up the stairs. There was a door just to the top and I pressed my ear against it listening for voices. When I didn't hear any I pulled the door open slowly and checked the hallways. There was no one in sight, so I pulled Monodramon with me and we crept through the doorway, keeping quiet and low. The hallways on this floor were much wider, but still as strangely regal as the previous floors were. There was a glass wall to my right, behind which was another bedroom, one with a much nicer layout, and an enormous bed. Luckily it was empty, and so I kept going, passing what looked to be a sitting room.

Where were all the enemies?

Then I froze when I heard beeping. Was that a watch? A microwave? An alarm? The sound was followed by that of chair legs scraping against the floor and footsteps growing closer. I ran, not bothering to keep quiet this time, pulling Monodramon along with me and then the two of us were hiding behind a thick bookcase underneath a spiralling metal staircase.

The footsteps stopped as my heart continued racing. I could hear and see the beating of my heart, my chest pounding. I needed to keep Monodramon safe. I couldn't save Michael only to lose Monodramon. That would be just as bad—worse if they killed him.

"Oh, there you are," A gruff voice said from the room directly across from the two of us.

"I was merely reading, sir." A buoyant kind of voice replied.

"Find Bitoru," The gruff voice responded. "He hasn't responded."

There was a loud crashing sound as the door we'd come through flew open and a man fell flat on his face, "Here I am!" The man with crazy black hair cried out, "I'm here, sir! I'm so sorry I was late!"

"You are forgiven, Bitoru." The gruff voice responded. "We are to all return to the prisoner." Michael? "He told you that information about the crests. Surely he knows more. We will question him to get what we want."

"What if he does not tell us, sir?" The buoyant voice asked.

"We'll make him tell us, Aesop." The gruff voice replied. "Surely _you_ of all people can understand that." He was greeted with total silence. In fact it was so quiet I was frightened they'd hear the pounding of my heart. I tightened my grip on Monodramon and pushed him behind me, just to be safe. "Any news on Yorokobi?" The gruff voice asked.

"She has returned," Bitoru replied.

"And?"

"She failed," Bitoru said, sadly.

"Unsurprising," the man in charge replied, annoyed. "I shall do it myself. Never send a woman to do a man's job." I furrowed my brow and was irritated. Whatever. I didn't know who Yorokobi was, but she probably had a perfectly logical reason for not succeeding that had nothing to do with her gender. Though, she was on his side, so hurray for her failure!

"Shall we go up then?" Aesop questioned.

"Not yet," The gruff voice said, oddly warmly. "We'll need our tools first."

_Tools_? What the crap was he planning on doing to my boyfriend? I needed to get out there, climb the steps and break Michael out before they got to him! But they weren't _going_ anywhere. I could still see their shadows. I knew they were _right_ there.

"Perfect," The gruff man said, pleased when Aesop returned with whatever tools he'd gone to retrieve. He then there was shaking from the stairs right above us. They were climbing! They were going to Michael! I slowly stepped from my hiding place, and peeked around the stairs to where I could see them all standing at the top, in front of a large white door. Bitoru, the man I'd seen earlier had wild hair, he seemed to be eccentric and, possibly less than sane. Aesop was clearly the man in the sun hat, he looked friendly and nearly kind—or he would have had be not been holding a black box I knew to contain '_tools_'. And the last man had a long scar down his face, his hair was dark, his skin was tough, and his muscles were enormous. I didn't stand a chance fighting against him—and as much as I loved him, neither did Michael. The man with the tree trunks for arms punched a code into a box on the wall next to the door and then stepped inside, his companions followed him and the door shut behind them.

"Come on," I whispered to Monodramon, following them up the stairs as quietly as I could. There were no windows in the door, but as I sat next to it, listening closely I could almost hear what they were saying.

The gruff voice was saying something about needing information, and there was a kind voice who was playing the good cop in the situation. And then there was the voice of the one I'd come to see. "Bugger off." Michael! "Oh crap. Get that thing away from me."

I turned to Monodramon, not thinking in my time of panic. "Digivolve." I said flatly. He glowed and transformed into Airdramon, the winged creature he'd not had the chance to be for so long. "Wing Cutter." I said flatly. He flapped his wings and the energy he created shot right over my head, crashing the door down.

I waited only a second or two before stepping forward and walking through the doorway. I stood there, watching as all four of the rooms inhabitants stared at me. "Who are you?" Bitoru asked me.

"My name is Tatum Jefferson," I said proudly, "And I'm here to save my boyfriend." The man in charge looked toward Michael momentarily and turned back to me. "That's him." I nodded, "Step away, or you'll be sorry."

With the fastest movement I swear I'd ever seen, he reached to his belt where a silver and black gun was kept and he pulled it out, shooting directly toward the hole in the wall. The ball of purple light zoomed past me and toward Airdramon. "NO!" I screamed.

Airdramon was gone so fast I honestly wasn't sure if he'd been hit or not. But when another blast came crashing through the wall, sending pieces of metal flying toward our attacker I knew he was okay. At least for now. I started running toward Michael, but Bitoru stood in my way. I turned my back to him and slammed into him, then sidestepped away from him.

Not sure what that was exactly, but he was out of my way. I slid to a stop fell to my knees, reaching for one of the fallen tools. I was trying to ignore the sounds of the shots being fired at Airdramon as best I could as I broke through the ropes holding Michael hostage. "Hey Tay," He grinned.

"Ready to go?" I asked.

"Of course," He smiled, taking my hand. Holding the long black sharp whatever-it-was, I wound my arm back and slammed the end of the tool into the boss-man's leg. He cried out—though it sounded more shocked than pained and that kind of scared me. I took the lead, dragging Michael behind me and toward Airdramon's second hole in the wall and I leapt, pulling Michael with me. He cried out, but I knew we'd be fine.

We landed on Airdramon's back just as the door below us was thrown open again. A man dressed in black rushed out and he looked up shocked. "Hideto?" I asked.

"What are you _doing_?" He gasped, "I thought we agreed to be subtle!"

"I have no memory of that." I said, kind of on an adrenaline high.

"It was a silent—_obvious_—agreement!" He roared. I ignored him and Airdramon swooped down toward the ground where I grabbed Hideto and pulled him aboard. Michael pulled on Airdramon's hair and moved him quickly as another violet shot was fired.

"Wing cutter!" I shrieked, and Airdramon shot an attack, this time towards the floor, and he was soaring through the opening as it crumbled away, we were in the lab I'd been in earlier now and the blond lady looked around, screaming in fright. I pointed to the Coelamon who had fear all across his face. "Release him. Now." The lady, her hands shaking, hurried forward with a key, unlocking his shackles. All three of us slid from Airdramon's back to push Coelamon on instead. He was heavier than he looked.

Michael and Hideto took over and I turned and found a metal crowbar, and retrieved it quickly, leaping back onto Airdramon's back, in front of Coelamon. "Go!" I shouted. Airdramon shot up, back through the hole once more and he cried out when something slashed at his skin. I looked down and saw that horrible man with the gun. He'd used the black sharp thing I stabbed him with, but was now throwing it aside as Airdramon spun through the air to right himself. Coelamon shouted in panic as his grip slipped.

The man raised his gun and in one swift movement I threw the crowbar toward him. It smashed into his arm and he dropped the gun just as Airdramon levelled himself out. I stared down at the man and grinned. "Never send a man to do a woman's job." He scowled and then Airdramon was on his way again, blasting a hole in the wall once more, and then shooting through the opening.

"Destroy the building!" I shouted. Airdramon was already firing blasts of wind toward the ship when Hideto screamed at me.

"You can't do that!"

"Yes I can!" I yelled back. "We can't let them hurt anymore digimon!"

"What if there are more inside?" Michael asked. I hesitated.

"Gomamon!" Hideto growled, "He's in there!"

"So is Neo." I said, quieter. "Fine! We'll leave." I decided. Airdramon fired one last attack at the building and one of the legs gave way, tipping the building. I grinned. At least that was something. "Go!" I screamed.

"DIVE!" Michael had screamed this time, and Airdramon listened. Good thing too, because I hadn't seen all the attacks coming our way. Airdramon was falling fast, and I panicked, thinking maybe he'd been shot, and wasn't diving as Michael had suggested.

But he pulled off part way through the trees. There were people coming too. I jumped off and pointed away. "Go!" I shouted. "I'll keep them at bay."

"Ha!" Michael laughed, sliding off to stand with me. "Not without me you won't."

"Great." Hideto groaned. "I'm staying too then." Michael took my hand and kissed the top of my head, and I knew he was serious.

"Fine." I shrugged. "Airdramon, go to the Coliseum. Don't stop, and don't look back. We'll throw them off. Stay low." Airdramon looked hesitant but I stroked his face gently, "Keep Coleamon safe. For me? Go!" And he nodded, turning and shooting through the trees like a rocket.

"So what's the plan?" Michael asked.

"I'm not so good with plans today." I admitted.

"Obviously." Hideto rolled his eyes.

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," Michael said, putting his arm around me, "You saved me, didn't you?" I looked up and smiled. But he wasn't the only part of our mission. We hadn't save Neo or Gomamon! "We'll just lure them," Michael suggested, "They think we have the digimon so they'll come after us. Let them see us and then we'll run. They won't catch us, we know this world really well."

"That actually makes sense." Hideto admitted, turning toward the noise of the people, "And we won't have to wait long." Just as he'd said it a man emerged from the bushes and caught sight of us, and already we were running. I didn't know exactly _where_ we were running, but we were gone.

_**Kiyoko Izumi:**_

This was bad. It was really, _very_ bad. I didn't like being the bearer of bad news. I didn't like being the bearer of news period, but it was _so_ much worse when the news wasn't good. I'd already had to share the news that Noriko had died, and now I had to deliver more horrible news. It wasn't fair. When were we ever going to catch a break?

Mimi had tried her best, pleading with the people of Earth, believing in their good nature, even when it didn't make itself apparent. I didn't have that same ability. Not anymore. I didn't handle death well. I'd never really had a chance to experience it until it was Lalamon. Sigma always shielded me from such things. I hadn't even known my parents were dead until they'd been gone for eight years. Sigma protected me from it, and even though I knew it was a horrible thing, I wished he was here to protect me again. I was so scared.

I walked passed Centarumon, who was carrying the box of books he and Tentomon had selected. These were the best of the best, carrying the most vital information. The pair had been _very_ selective, taking their time and thinking things through. We had to carry everything all the way to the Coliseum, so that long trek had to be taken into account. I'd left Haruhiko to help them with things, and was on my way to the Council room.

Perhaps I should've sent Haruhiko in my stead.

My discovery was important to share, or else I might've waited, taken the time to get the wording just right. But we didn't have the time anymore. I didn't know when it would strike, but I knew _where_. My feet felt heavy as I dragged them up the stairs and down the hallway. I stood awkwardly in the doorway, debating whether I needed to knock or not.

"Yes?" Taichi called.

He saw me. I supposed standing in an open doorway wasn't the best hiding place available. "It's a homing beacon," I said. "The purple steaks, I mean. They create a homing beacon. They were locking the Temple's position for the virus."

The air grew thick with tension, and Tinkermon fell out of the air, landing with a thud on the table. Koushiro looked up from his laptop where he was trying to identify the virus Ambassador Rida was planning on using. Andromon clenched his jaw, and the elderly Wormmon dropped the paper he was looking at. Taichi slammed his fist onto the tabletop.

"When's it coming?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said. "But I know it's coming here."

"We can't relocate the beacons?" Andromon asked.

I shook my head. "The position is locked. The virus will arrive at the Temple."

"We don't have a time frame," Taichi said, sounding defeated. "They could attack at any moment. We need to move faster. We can't stay here any longer than necessary."

"What about your mother's feast?" Tinkermon asked. "Everyone's looking forward to it. It's the reason they're working so hard."

"If she can get it done before we finish packing, we can eat it," Taichi decided. "But if not, we go without."

"I'll let her know," Tinkermon said, flying out the window, off towards Yuuko.

"Is there anything else you can tell me?" Taichi asked me with pleading eyes. I had to look away. I shook my head again. It was all I could find. The moment I realized just what dastardly job those seemingly innocent purple rods were tasked with, I had rushed to inform Taichi. I didn't think they were taking this seriously enough. They knew that the Temple was the first place the virus would hit. Why weren't they rushing out the doors and collecting everybody? Why weren't they leaving now so that we might escape what was sure to be an awful fate?

They were just sitting there.

"Kiyoko," Koushiro said. "Wormmon has agreed to let you take more from the library. You could do that now that you're done your project."

He wanted me to collect books? Didn't he understand the severity of the situation? I didn't care about books! I wanted to get out of here. But I couldn't say that to him. They already treated me like a little kid; I didn't want them to think I was a baby instead. I hated how easily scared I was, but I didn't really think it mattered in this situation. Our _lives_ were on the line.

"Okay," I said in a small voice, excusing myself from the room.

I should have offered to go with Tatum and Monodramon when they left to find Hideto—and potentially Michael. I should have noticed when Miyako was sneaking away to go do whatever it was that she left to do, and maybe I could've gone with her. I could have at least stolen her idea and slipped away from the Temple. Tapirmon was waiting for me in the Coliseum, and now all I wanted was to be where he was with him. I didn't want to be here anymore. I wanted to go home. I wanted to be curled up on the couch in our new library home with Mari on my right with Tapirmon and Hideto on my left. I wanted to be laughing as Warg and Melga put on an improvised skit meant solely to entertain us. I wanted to be eating Mari's homemade stew while listening to Hideto complain about restaurant customers. I wanted to see what the bathroom looked like when the renovations were complete.

But I wasn't at home. I was in the Temple, and it wouldn't do to dwell on dreams when more than just my life was on the line. Besides, I wasn't completely alone anymore. Mari was back now, not that I'd seen her. She'd been drafted to help Yuuko cook up a feast to honour the Temple that we were being forced to leave.

I might've enjoyed the idea of a feast too, if a virus wasn't going to get us at any moment.

But since the virus very well _could_ kill me any second now, I wasn't too fussed on the idea of gorging myself before walking the vast distance between the Temple and the Coliseum. I would rather starve and leave now, then have an elaborate meal and die in the middle of dessert!

I didn't want to die.

I closed my eyes tightly, leaning against the wall in the hallway right outside the council room. They were still talking about which documents seemed the most important, and I couldn't handle it anymore. I needed to get out of there. I needed to find Mari. She would understand the importance of my discovery.

Taking a few deep breaths, I pushed myself away from the wall, and headed towards the exit. I had my little laptop stowed away in its reinforced bag—the bag would absorb the shocks of a fall, and was moderately waterproof, though I hadn't tested it. I would need the laptop to collect the stupid books from the library. I understood that they told the history of the Digital World and that the library was the oldest one in this world, but if this was really all that important, why did they wait to the last minute? I could be leaving right now, saving my life and the lives of whoever came with me, but instead I was going to grab a bunch of dusty, old books and pretending like the world as I knew it wasn't coming to an end.

I stopped at the top of the stairs, surveying the courtyard below. Benjamin had joined his brothers in fortifying the walls. They knew the virus was coming now, and Ilya, Jose, Jackie and Hogan were working double time, trying to preserve as much of the Temple as they could, so that they'd still have a home to come back to, if we ever beat this mess. D'Arcmon was helping them too. DemiDevimon was sitting at her feet as she raised her staff in the air, using her magic to solidify their defenses. I saw Dorumon crouched behind an abandoned jewellery cart—that a Gekomon was in charge of, if I remembered correctly—munching on the box of granola bars he was meant to be distributing. I supposed he was getting in one last snack before the virus caught up to him. Kotemon was on the other side of the courtyard, turning his head to either side, obviously looking for Dorumon, his juice boxes distributed as they ought to be.

Mimi was in a corner, sitting on the ground with her arms around her knees. Palmon was next to her, talking into her ear and rubbing her back. Meramon had moved to sit near her as well, and Mimi was unconsciously leaning towards his warmth. A bright yellow digimon that bore a strong resemblance to excrement and a small pink mouse were staring at her, though they kept their distance, clearly not wanting to upset her more than she already was. There was a round, green digimon that was facing off against a flying pink one. The pink one wanted to get at Mimi, but the little green guy wouldn't let him. I noticed that they'd attracted the attention of the fight club, and Falcomon was shouting out pointers for the little guy, while Tankmon cheered on the flying one. I wasn't as well versed in digimon as my cousin, Koushiro, but I was _pretty_ sure it was a MarineAngemon. I didn't have a clue what the green one was though. I could ask later—if we weren't dead by then.

Having realized that Mari was undoubtedly still among the kitchen staff, I headed down the steps—two at a time—racing to see if she had time to come with me. I ran into the kitchen, ignoring the aromas in the air. They smelled fine, but the thought of eating churned my stomach. Yuuko was showing Starmon how to go about making dinner rolls, while Izumi was chopping vegetables for Tomoki to toss into a salad. Kamemon was putting icing on a lopsided carrot cake. And Mari was nowhere to be seen.

Scowling, I left, deciding I'd better just go by myself, or else the virus would kill me before I ever got there. I caught sight of Willis though, and decided to see if he'd help, since we were friends now and all. He was a good ways ahead of me, but he'd left the courtyard using the path that would eventually lead to the library, so I wouldn't have to backtrack.

I was about to call out to him, when he spoke.

"Mari?"

I stopped in my tracks, torn between not wanting to interrupt them, and wanting to get to the library before I was brutally murdered with a virus. I slipped into the doorway of one of the apartments that lined the streets, giving them at least _some_ privacy.

"What are you doing here?" Mari demanded. "Terriermon and Lopmon are at the Coliseum! I sent them to you."

"Yeah," Willis said. "I heard that. I just missed them. What're you doing back here? I thought now that Palmon's safe you would get back there yourself."

"And you?" Mari countered. "Trying to be all heroic? Why don't you come back with me? We can all go."

"_Everyone_ is leaving today," Willis pointed out. "I'll be there soon."

"Well I'm not leaving until the final bow," Mari said sounding entirely determined. I pondered whether it was too late to walk out there, or if I was officially eavesdropping. Well, Sora wasn't here to do it, and _someone _had to.

"I just want to make sure you're safe," Mari continued, sounding passive about it, though I knew she was anything but. Willis didn't say anything, and the silence was growing awkward. "Well...I'm going to find Kiyoko."

I heard the clicking of her heels against the cobblestones, and had a brief moment of panic. She was coming towards me. What if she looked into the doorway and saw me lurking here? What would she think? I knew what she'd think. She'd think Sigma had come back to haunt her like he'd done before—I distinctly remembered _several_ times where Sigma had done the same thing I was doing now, just to annoy her.

"Mari," Willis called out. The clicking stopped and I heaved a sigh of relief. "I want you to be safe too. Why don't you come with me? We can go together."

I peered around the doorway to see how far away they were—not very. Willis reached out and took her hand, smiling at her. She almost smiled back, but didn't. She pulled her hand away, and took a few steps back. I made a hasty retreat. It wouldn't do to get caught _now_, after listening for so long.

"Marshall has Michael, Willis," Mari said, shaking her head. "I saw him. He's really possessive of him too. Marshall remembers him. I know he does. He just wants to hurt you, and that's why he took _him_. He wants to get back at you for something."

"We'll get Michael back," Willis assured her. "Tatum and Hideto are on the case. They're out there getting him back right now. Besides, Marshall isn't important."

"He is," Mari countered quickly, losing control of her emotions for just a second. "He is"—she repeated in a much more subdued tone—"when he pops up in my life every time I think I'm free to do as I please. He controls me without even knowing he's doing it. Or maybe he _does_ know...I don't know! He's always going to be this driving force that's keeping us apart, Willis. He's like a rift between us."

"Love can close those gaps," Willis argued heatedly. I gulped. I wasn't just eavesdropping on a friendly conversation anymore. I really wanted to be anywhere else—preferably somewhere far, _far_ away from the Temple and impending virus. "I know I promised you that I'd never say I love you to a girl I wasn't dating—it's just so cliché!—but Mari, I think I _do_ love you."

"Yeah," Mari said with a short, bitter laugh. "Well I don't even know if I believe love exists anymore, Willis. It's only torture and pain. A feeling we create to fill the emptiness. There's too much emptiness..." She trailed off, and I heard her shuffle her feet. "It's too big, Willis. The hole between us, I mean. I don't know how you feel, or what you want, but I know it's not love, and it's not me."

Willis made an annoyed noise, getting ready to interrupt her, but Mari was quick to continue.

"But that doesn't mean you can stop being safe! I care about you still," she insisted. "And so do so many others. So go. Go to the Coliseum. You _have_ to be safe, Willis."

There were more footsteps. It was Willis this time though, and he stormed passed me—without so much as a glance in my direction—and headed back towards the square. I really didn't want to admit to eavesdropping, but it didn't seem like Mari was planning on moving any time soon, so I didn't have a choice. I came out into the open and found that Mari's back was towards me. She was looking at the sky, one hand buried in her hair.

"You shouldn't do that," I told her. She jumped and turned to me with wide eyes. "You shouldn't push him away. He really cares about you, and I know you care about him too."

"It's not enough though," she sighed.

"It should be," I said. "And you've got to believe in love. Willis isn't the only one that loves you. There's me, and Hideto, and Warg, Melga and Tapirmon. I'm pretty sure Lopmon, Terriermon and Dracomon feel the same, and maybe even Neo!"

"It's different," Mari said shaking her head. "It's not the same 'love' that Willis is talking about."

"I love Hideto," I whispered. "And Takeru loves Hikari. Ken and Miyako. Daisuke and Kurayami. That's love. You can't look at Jou and Momoe and _not_ see the love they share."

"Then maybe I'm just broken," Mari snapped, and I knew I'd pushed her too far. I'd gotten annoying. "Maybe I can't feel it."

"Sorry," I muttered, reaching out and taking her hand. "How do you feel about spending your potential last moments in a library?"

"That sounds nice actually," she said, and I thought I might've been forgiven for pestering her.

We spent as little time as possible getting to the library and collecting the books. Mari stacked them all on the round tables in the room, and once she deemed the piles complete, I would use my computer and relocate them to mask square. We didn't get _all_ the books, there were far too many for that, but Mari used her experience as a librarian and picked out all the sections that she deemed important. Neither of us was sure what Koushiro wanted, or what we couldn't leave behind in case the enemies found them. We really weren't the best people to send on this particular mission.

With each passing minute, my muscles grew tenser, my mind got more frazzled. My terror was growing and I expected each breath to be my last. When I started jumping at the sound of Mari's footsteps, she decided we'd gotten enough and that it was time to go.

Making sure that my laptop was tucked safely away in its bag, I let Mari lead me back to the others. They were already eating the feast Yuuko had prepared. There were dinner rolls, and salad, and tofu stir fry. There were mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables with a carrot cake for dessert. Each dish simultaneously looked beautiful while churning my stomach. I couldn't eat. I _wouldn't _eat. Mari had no such problems. She sat down with the rest of them, serving herself. She was bound and determined to stay here until the end, but I couldn't do it. I needed to go.

"Koushiro met up with Leomon and Ogremon," Taichi told the others. "They're doing fine."

"I called Sora," Hikari said softly.

"And?" Taichi asked eagerly.

"The call didn't make it through," she sighed. "Whatever it is that they're doing to keep us from getting to Earth, it's blocking the connection. I just wish I knew she was okay."

"I'm sure she is," Koushiro said. "She's a clever girl, and she knows how to handle most any situation."

He was sitting there, eating what looked like hotdogs cut in the shape of little octopi, acting like he didn't have a care in the world. I noticed they hadn't shared my news, simply upped the estimated departure time.

"We got the books," Mari announced.

I scanned the crowd, already bored of the conversation. No one else was ready to leave. They all seemed generally relaxed. I was aware they had been in multiple life threatening situations in the past, but this level of nonchalance was worrying me. Maybe I was just overreacting? But the ambassador had said he was sending a virus our way 'later tonight'. Was I the only one that was more focused on the fact that he was sending a virus to kill us rather than the relatively vague time frame of 'later tonight'?

"I want to leave now," Mimi announced, catching my attention. She looked like a wreck. She was emotionally and physically exhausted, and she somehow still looked on the verge of tears, even though she'd been crying since her broadcast.

"Everybody's not ready, Mimi," Palmon pointed out gently.

"I need to go," Mimi said. "I can't stay here. I can't. I need to move. I need to stop sitting around. I'm no use to anyone anyway. I might as well be no use in the Coliseum. What difference does it make?"

"I don't think you should go by yourself," Hikari said cautiously.

"She won't be alone," Palmon said firmly. "I'll go with her."

"So will Kiyoko."

Mari and Koushiro blinked and looked at each other, surprised to have spoken at the same time. My face flushed, and I felt like a child again. But I was also so relieved to be given a chance to get out of here that I didn't argue. I just turned to stare at Mari, hoping she would understand what I needed and agree to go with me. She realized, but she shook her head slowly.

"I don't want to leave you here," I said quietly, feeling tears prickling. It was like I was leaving her here to die—and maybe I was.

"You'll be fine," she assured me. "And so will I. I'll meet you at the Coliseum, and then you'll see how silly you're being."

"That's settled then," Taichi said. "Kiyoko, Palmon and Mimi are leaving then."

"I am too," Willis announced. He didn't offer a reason, but I knew—as did Mari—that it was because of a certain conversation that I'd spied on earlier. Willis stuffed some of the stir fry into a dinner roll he'd ripped in half, and got to his feet.

We set off together, the four of us with nothing more to say. It didn't take long for the four of us to get out of the Temple's view.

Each of us had something on our minds, leaving Palmon alone in her valiant attempt to get a conversation going.

"It was nice of you to upgrade Mimi's phone, Kiyoko," she said to me. I smiled at her, but couldn't force my mind away from the idea that I'd never see Mari again. And if he didn't get to the Coliseum, I might never see Hideto either. I was too busy trying not to cry, to realize that we'd taken the wrong path when we'd come to a fork in the figurative road.

Willis, Mimi and Palmon didn't seem to notice either.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Ken and Jenna are both faced with a serious issue as Law and Order takes its toll on their personal lives.


	47. Law and Order

**Y/N: ** Ken's was rather satisfying, weird, for me to say about a Ken chapter, but it's true. You'll find out why, I'm sure.

**U/N: **So, when I wrote Jenna's chapter it was taking place much earlier in the arch, but by the time I was halfway done it became apparent that it had to be here, where it is now, so I rewrote parts of the beginning (such as her waking up at like 5 in the afternoon -_- her's was supposed to be the start of Friday) But ultimately I love writing as Jenna, she's usually pretty funny. Here she's less funny and more dramatic, but I mean, things are pretty hectic, can't really blame her.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 5: Threatened**

**Chapter 47: Law and Order**

_**Ken Ichijouji:**_

I stroked the back of the small boy in my lap. He was sniffling now, no longer sobbing, and for that I was grateful. Wormmon was humming lullabies for Masa, as the boy tried to calm himself. He'd had a bit of a shock when Mimi's crying face appeared in the sky. And in the panic that followed, he'd gotten it into his head that he was going to die.

"I want Mommy," Masa blubbered.

"I know you do," I murmured. "But she can't come get you right now. You're going to have to make do with Uncle Ken. Aunt Miyako might be coming soon though, if that helps?"

"I just want Mommy," Masa said shaking his head.

"You've got _me_," Kunemon said bubbly. "And we'll have lots of fun, and everything will be okay. You won't even have time to miss your mother, because we'll be playing so many fun games and going to school together and everything!"

"I don't wanna go to school no more," Masa said burying his face into my neck.

He was quite a stubborn little guy when he was upset. On a good day—when he wasn't told he was going to die because a virus was going to come and wipe us all out—he was actually a rather agreeable little kid. He was a bit of a pushover, but he didn't question anything that was said to him. I couldn't help but wish that _my_ child would have a touch of his nature when it was born. I didn't want my baby to be _just_ like Masa, but I didn't mind the idea of having an agreeable kid. Jou complained a lot about Emiko's wicked streak. He loved her all the same though, even if his shoes _did_ end up stuffed with shaving cream at least twice a week. I supposed I would love my baby either way, but I sure wish I knew where it—and its mother—was. Miyako had left the Temple. That's what Takeru told me. Hikari couldn't find her and she was worried.

I was losing out hope that my mother was right. She'd told me Miyako was on her way to the Coliseum, and that I shouldn't worry. She said Miyako was probably just missing Hawkmon and me, and that I shouldn't panic yet. I had to give Miyako time to get her first.

The only thing was, I was growing impatient. I checked my watch again. 7:33. She'd had plenty of time by now to get here. She wasn't coming. I just _knew_ it. She'd given herself some sort of mission, or she was exploring, having left before the big virus announcement had been broadcast among the clouds. When she saw Mimi's face, and the subsequent threat—no, not threat, _promise_—she probably curled up somewhere and succumb to the consequential panic attack.

Miyako could be out there panicking right now, and I wasn't there to help her.

But at the same time, I couldn't just leave Masa either. He was in desperate need of comfort, and his mother was in an entirely different world with his Uncle Mantarou and Aunt Momoe. His grandparents were with them, and Miyako was who knows where. It was down to Jou and I to look after the little guy, and Jou kind of had his hands full with Emiko, who was _positive_ she was going to die because she overheard some digimon panicking about it.

"I'm never gonna see Mommy again," Masa cried. "And I wanna see her. I wanna get ice cream and play hide and seek and I wanna hug!"

I didn't bother pointing out that he was receiving a hug as he cried. I knew it wasn't the same, having an uncle embrace you wasn't nearly the same thing as getting cuddled by your mother. I just held him closer, and rubbed his back, rocking myself to and fro, hoping that Wormmon's lullabies would get through to him sooner rather than later, and he'd just relax.

Pumpkinmon might have been a rather big help, as Chiziru's partner, but he was too busy panicking himself, and I didn't think he would have the desired effect on Masa. Gotsumon—also frazzled—had taken Pumpkinmon to the dining hall, hoping to get him a nice cup of tea, to calm his nerves. I just had Wormmon and Kunemon to assist me in the calming of this homesick child. Kunemon didn't know what to do. He was so new to having a partner, and he'd never spent time with humans before he'd met Masa. And Hawkmon—who _also_ could have been a help—had disappeared as well, with Iori. He hadn't even told me he was leaving.

I didn't know how I would break the news to Miyako when she ever got here.

"You're a chosen child now," I muttered to Masa. "Did you know that?"

"No," he said, distracted, as I'd hoped he would be. "What's that?"

"It means you have a digimon partner, who will become your best friend in the whole wide world," I said, sending Wormmon a knowing look. He hummed happily. "You will always be able to depend on your partner, and with a little help from your digivice and a lot of hard work from the both of you, Kunemon can digivolve some day into someone even stronger. It's sort of like a symbol of your friendship and trust. Doesn't that sound cool?"

"I'm gonna get a digivice someday?" Masa asked, wiping his tears away from his tired eyes. "If I'm good, when I get big, I'll get one?"

My brows furrowed, and I looked between Masa and Kunemon. Was I wrong? Was Kunemon not _actually_ Masa's partner? Maybe I'd just assumed they were because Kunemon was always hanging around him. But if they were really partners, shouldn't Masa already have a digivice?

"I already gave you one," Kunemon said sounding put out. "You didn't lose it, did you?"

"It wasn't mine," Masa said shaking his head as if Kunemon has said something silly. "The big man with the yellow hair, he said it wasn't mine, 'cause it was _his_. I gave it to him, 'cause it wasn't mine, and I didn't want to be a stealer."

My mind whirled, trying to identify this yellow haired—_blonde_—man. Masa was getting fairly comfortable with the people that were in the Coliseum. He knew Takeru by name at this point, so I knew it couldn't be him—besides, Takeru had a digivice of his own and therefore wouldn't need it. It also couldn't be Yamato, because Masa just called him Takeru's brother. But Willis... Willis had left before Masa really got a chance to know who he was. And hadn't Willis also complained about how he didn't have a digivice anymore, about how it had gotten left in America?

Interesting...

Willis lost his digivice, and Morestuna found one.

I was smart enough to know that the connection was speculation at best. There was no way I could simply assume Morestuna's digivice was Willis' own. It made me feel more at ease, however, to know that Morestuna could have _found_ one, rather than kill someone to get his hands on it. There wasn't necessarily a body somewhere or some person in critical condition in the ICU hanging on for dear life. I didn't have to think the worst. There was a chance that no one had handed a digivice over willingly—though with the way some partners treated their digimon before returning them to the Temple made this theory seem unlikely.

There was more than one explanation. I didn't need to jump to conclusions. I was a police officer—even if I'd most likely lost my job. I had been paid to investigate crimes, to think of all possible solutions, to not ignore potential suspects or methods. I shouldn't be so narrow minded, so focussed on one possibility that I was blinded of all the others.

That realization wasn't doing anything to help my anxiousness however. What if Miyako wasn't on her way here, only stopping to panic? What if she'd been taken my Morestuna in the night? He could walk right into the Temple, and no one could stop him from doing so. He could've gone in and taken her, intending to torture her for information. She'd been tortured _before_, she couldn't handle it again.

He could've taken her for revenge too. She _had_ shot him after all. And she was my wife, and I was his traitorous employee. I'd also punched him in the face, and beaten him as best I could. He had every reason to be mad at me too.

I was doing it again. I was sticking to one theory and ignoring the others. This was a scary thought, but there was a chance she left of her own accord as well. There was a chance that, had she truly been taken, it wasn't by Morestuna at all. There was a chance her own personal fairy queen—Winter—had come in to take her on a mystical journey where she could ride a flying unicorn and save the gnomes from the hateful crows.

There was only one way of _knowing_, and that meant I was going to have to go and find her.

I looked down to Masa, seeing his eyes drooping, staying closed for long periods of time when he blinked. He would be down for the count soon, and I was getting impatient. Miyako was out there. She was my _wife_ and I didn't know what I'd do if I didn't find her. What would I do if she—and subsequently our unborn child—was left out there when the virus came? How could I ever deal with losing her? I loved her with everything that was in me and if there was a _chance_ I could save her from this impending doom, I was going to do it. I wouldn't be placated again. No one could convince me everything would be okay. I wouldn't believe them until Miyako was safely in my sight, within reach.

Wormmon had quieted his humming so low that I could hardly hear it. The ticking of my watch was drowning it out. Time was dwindling away. It may be seconds, it might be hours, but the virus _would_ come, and until I was sure Masa was safe and comfortable, I couldn't leave. I was being the responsible adult; I was tending to the child that had been left in my care. I was going to be a dad soon, and I couldn't take that responsibility lightly.

I looked at Masa again, his eyes were closed, his face relaxed. He was asleep. Carefully, hoping not to jostle him too much, I manoeuvred him into his bed. Wormmon and Kunemon pulled back the covers, and covered him up again. Masa made a face, but didn't wake up and I sighed in relief.

"Wormmon, Kunemon," I whispered, catching their attention. "I need you to watch over him, okay? If he wakes up scared, and you can't get him to calm down, I need one of you to get Jou or Mom. I'm trusting you to do this."

"You can count on me!" Kunemon said happily, curling up beside Masa. The sleeping boy shifted, throwing an arm over his digimon, and pulling him closer.

"I won't let you down," Wormmon whispered.

"I don't think you ever could," I told him with a smile. "I just need to go now. You understand right?"

He nodded, and I left the room. I didn't get far though, before I heard his scuttling feet behind me.

"Ken!" he called. I turned to him. "Go get her. Bring her back."

"That's the plan," I said with a laugh. I headed towards the main gate of the Coliseum, consciously listening until I knew Wormmon was back in our room, thankful that he wasn't planning on following after me. I needed to know that at least _one_ member of mine and Miyako's family was safe. With Hawkmon gone off somewhere, and Miyako missing, there was only Wormmon and myself left—and I was heading out into the danger zone.

Babamon was still busy corralling the digimon out in the centre field, and wasn't back at her post. I was glad she wasn't there. I heard she'd instated a new rule since Mimi's broadcast: no one was allowed to leave, _ever_. I didn't like to think of myself as a rule breaker, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Besides, what Babamon didn't know couldn't hurt her. She had her hands full with the hundreds of digimon that had filed out into the field in the centre of the Coliseum—I assumed Sigma had designed the place after the Roman Coliseum, and it was at one point considered the battle field—and there was a strong chance she wouldn't ever know I'd left.

I consulted my digivice immediately. It was imperative that I didn't waste time. I couldn't even waste a second of what limited time I had left. There were quite a lot of signals flashing up at me in my location, as there were just so many digivices in the Coliseum. There were six signals over where the Temple was. There was another signal off towards the water, though I couldn't remember whether it was a lake or an ocean...and my digivice couldn't tell me. Three signals—two were Hideto though—were moving _away_ from that solitary one. And three signals were moving away from the Temple, though I had _no_ idea where they thought they were going.

There were several scattered signals not _too_ far from me. The furthest was nearer to Primary Village, but the remaining three were closer to the Coliseum. I figured I would start with these three, and then head towards Primary Village. If none of these were her, I knew I would have to race to meet up with all of the other groups—and that last solitary one.

I really hoped Mom was right and that she _was_ headed to the Coliseum. I really didn't know if I would have time to trek all over File Island looking for her. The virus wasn't going to wait for me to have her before it unleashed its merciless power.

The pace I set for myself was fast. I knew it was stupid, I shouldn't be running. I'd lose all of my energy before I ever found her, and then I wouldn't be able to get _back_ to the Coliseum even if I did. But I didn't let my mind dwell on my pace. I ignored it, hoping that my body would follow suit and grant me the endurance I would need.

I distracted myself by thinking about things, about how everything had managed to go so wrong. Stowing our families away in the Digital World so that they couldn't be used against us seemed like a brilliant plan when we'd thought of it. But now they were trapped here with us, with a virus set to destroy them—unless the shields managed to hold up against it, as Yuudai was advertising—and it was all our fault. They could've been safe in their own houses, watching television in the comfort of their own homes, but instead they were fearing for their lives because of our misguided attempts at saving them. Maybe the others, the ones that refused to come, like Mantarou and Chiziru, had the right idea. We'd brought _children_ into this. Masa and Emiko, baby Haruki, the baby Miyako was carrying. What were we _thinking_?

We hadn't known how horrible things were going to get. That was the only excuse we had, and it wasn't a very good one. We knew from experience things always got worse before they got better. Things just hadn't ever gotten _this_ bad before.

I slowed down, checking my digivice as I did so. I'd covered a lot of ground. I'd bypassed one of the signals, since I was moving so fast. I'd have to backtrack, if the nearest signal didn't turn out to be her. The signals were so close, mine and this one, that they were practically on top of one another.

Casting my eyes across everything, I spotted someone's shoulder behind a tree. I nearly ran to the person, _certain_ it had to be Miyako, but Morestuna had a digivice too. I needed to be careful. I took large, quiet steps, noticing that with each step, there was a startled gasp, and shaky breathing, bordering on hyperventilating.

"Miyako?" I called softly, recognizing that breathing anywhere.

"Ken?" she called out in a shaky voice. She poked her head around the tree and her face lit up at the sight of me. I was sure mine did the same. She scrambled to her feet, and raced towards me, flinging herself into my arms. I held her tightly, feeling her shoulders shaking as she started crying. "I was so scared. I didn't want to be. I wanted to be strong, but I started panicking Ken. I couldn't even _move_. I didn't know what I was going to do!"

"Shh," I murmured into her hair, relishing in the feeling of her heart beating next to my own. I'd nearly had myself convinced that I wouldn't ever see her again, that I would be too late, and now here she was. Here _we_ were, together again. "We should get back to the Coliseum."

"I can't," she protested anxiously. "I'm tracking Neo, because I realized at the Temple that no one cared enough to go find him, and that made me sad."

Before I could think about it, laughter poured out of my mouth. It was such a very Miyako thing to say, and I was just so relieved to see her. I couldn't help it. "Let me help you look at least," I offered, once my laughter died down some. "Or I could take over, if it meant you could get to the Coliseum faster."

"That's not necessary," she said, dismissively. She pulled away from me, and I could see indecision in her eyes. She raised one hand to fiddle with her hair. "Actually...it might be better if I went to the Coliseum, maybe." The hand that was waiting at her side unconsciously rose to touch her stomach. "Ken, there's something I need to tell you. It's just _hard_. It's not the best timing, and I wanted to do everything right, but...Ken, I'm pregnant."

"What?" I asked, feigning shock. I was a little surprised that she'd actually _told_ me about the baby, but I'd known about it for ages. She didn't seem to notice that I'd already known, and I was thankful. I wanted her to believe she'd been sneaky, and managed to keep it from me. "When? How long?"

"Three months, almost," she whispered. "Ken, I'm scared."

"I thought you wanted this?" I asked, not having to fake my confusion. "I thought we both did. We've wanted it for years. Did you change your mind?"

"I want kids," she said. "I do. But I'm so scared. Bringing a baby into all of this wasn't part of the plan. And now we're stuck in the Digital World, and we only have the one doctor—two if you count Isao, and I really don't know how comfortable I am with the idea that _Jou_ will be delivering the baby. But I'm not due until November, and that's ages away, so it probably doesn't matter, because we'll be out of here by then, and—"

"We'll figure it out," I interrupted her, before she could build herself into a panic. "We always do." I leaned forward and kissed her softly. "You don't know how excited I am about the baby." She smiled up at me, forgetting all of the horrible stuff that was going on around us and just relished in her happiness.

"I love you, Ken Ichijouji," she told me.

"And I love you, Miyako Ichijouji," I said with a teasing smile. "Can you believe it? We're going to be parents!"

"It's so crazy, right?" Miyako said with a laugh. "I can't even believe it. There's a baby in here." She cradled her stomach and we just lost it. We started laughing and cheering when we probably _should_ have been heading to the Coliseum—well, I told her I'd look for Neo, so I'd be going to look for him, but still.

"Congratulations," a cold, manic voice called. I looked away from Miyako and spotted Morestuna standing nearby, clapping his hands. "Unfortunate, really, that you're going to die now."

"Miyako," I whispered to her. "Go. Run."

"But," she hesitated.

"Think of the baby," I hissed. "Go!"

She nodded, and raced off in the direction of the Coliseum. She didn't get far, however before Morestuna scared her into stopping.

"One more step, and your husband dies," Morestuna said. "One shot might not kill him immediately, but I don't know if I could stop myself at one. I would _so_ like to see what three shots could do, or _five_." His hand was poised above the gun tucked in a holster at his hip, fingers just itching to grab it.

"Miyako!" I screamed. "Just go!" I ran at Morestuna, tackling him to the ground. "NOW!"

She left, and in the moment I checked to see if she did, Morestuna rolled me over, pinning me to the ground. He reached for his gun, but I bashed my head into his own, and rolled him off of me before scrambling to my feet. He tried to do the same, but I grabbed his shoulder and bent him down, bringing my knee up into his stomach. I brought my knee up again, this time slamming it into his face. He spluttered as I threw him at the ground.

I couldn't run now. He'd be able to keep up, and then I would just lead him to the Coliseum, and Masa, Emiko and Haruki. My parents, my friends' parents. All those digimon. I couldn't do that to them. I would just have to stay and fight until one of us either lost consciousness, or he killed me.

Taking a deep breath, I brought my fists up, knowing Morestuna was more than a little angry at me. He was on his feet in an instant and came at me, snarl in place, with a manic, wild look in his eyes. He was crazy. He'd descended entirely into madness during his quest to rid the worlds of digimon.

He wrapped his arms around my torso, pinning my arms to my chest, crushing me with his strength. I tried to bash my head against his again, but he was wise to that tactic already. I restored to flailing my legs. I kicked him in the knee twice before deciding to just hook my leg around his and knocking him off balance. It was harder to put into practice than I'd anticipated, but I managed to do it before he crushed my ribs into dust. He fell hard, bringing me with him, but the impact loosened his grip and I rolled free. I struggled to catch my breath, wincing with each inhale.

Before my breath could be caught, a fist slammed into the side of my face, causing me to see stars. He grabbed the front of my shirt, pulling me closer to him, holding me stationary for when his fist slammed into me for the second time. My vision blacked out momentarily and I threw my own fist at him. It landed directly on his nose, breaking it upon impact.

"Damn you," Morestuna snarled, shifting me to the left before flinging me to the right. He got to his feet before I had a chance, and pulled his gun out of his holster, aiming it directly at me. I stared down the barrel of his gun, knowing that this was the end. My only relief was that my wife and child would live, and that made this sacrifice worth it.

_**Jenna Washington:**_

My back was aching again.

Of course it was. I was sleeping on a couch. Sora Takenouchi's couch. I didn't know her too well but we'd been in the Temple a while together, so that was at least something, but it felt weird sleeping here. Every morning, when I woke up I would be confused. Where was I? Oh, right. Sora's house.

Three days ago the gates had closed. Or so it seemed.

"_Where are you two going?" _

_Natsuni and I had turned to see Sora standing in the doorway at the other end of the hallway. She started walking toward us quickly. _

"_I'm going to find my dad," Natsuni answered, "I need to know if he's okay."_

"_Okay," Sora responded brightly, "I'll go with you."_

"_I thought you were going to stop us," I said._

"_Who am I to stop you?" Sora asked. "Every move being carefully plotted is no longer an option. We just need to look out for ourselves and for each other. You want to go see your dad, I'll help." And then she reached forward and pulled open the doorway, and all three of us walked through. _

We'd gone to Natsuni's house, but there was a police car stationed out front. Like they didn't trust Natsuni to not come back, and if she did, like they obviously expected she would, they'd probably arrest her or something. As if we'd let them get her though.

All three of us decided we'd head back to the Digital World, grab some invisibility programs and sneak in through the back door, grab him and go. But, even after only a couple of hours we found the gate was closed. Sora initially panicked thinking it had to be her fault, but we reminded her that she didn't close the door. It wasn't possible that she'd been the culprit. She didn't seem to care who had done the actual deed though, she was busy trying to unlock the gates. Nothing she tried was working though.

She'd used her digivice constantly, and she had the gate up on the computer screen at all times in case it opened, even for a brief period of time. She was determined to get back to the Digital World, and even though she refused to admit it, I knew she was worried about the others. And about Biyomon.

Right now she was sleeping up in her room, while Natsuni took Biyomon's bedroom. She offered to let me have it, but I was younger, and that was supposed to mean that I was more expendable in the comfort aspect of things. But it didn't feel that way now. She had one of those couches that could push back on either side, and recline. That was cool and all, but it also meant that it was super uncomfortable to lie on.

I pulled myself to a seated position with my elbows and turned the light on, staring at the red walls, allowing myself to wake up before I pulled myself out of bed. I could have sworn I'd already done this all today. Thinking back I definitely remembered sitting on the couch with Sora and Natsuni, each of them drinking their coffee. I must have fallen asleep again. After a big yawn and a few solid minutes of stretching and motivating myself inside my head I finally stood up and looked to the clock. Five twenty-three.

The door opened just then and Sora stepped inside, mid conversation, "I know, it's ridiculous." She said as Natsuni followed her inside, her hair pulled into a ponytail. "I just don't get what the point is."

"The point, is that they are all very mean people," Sora said, catching my eye and smiling. "Good morning, again!"

"G'morning," I slurred, rubbing my eyes. "Where were you?"

"Shopping," Sora said, then, as if she needed to clarify, "For food!" I knew she liked clothes an awful lot, but I also knew now wasn't the time to be shopping. Sora knew that too. Food however, was a different story. Both girls were carrying brown paper bags, and after kicking off their shoes they headed straight for the kitchen where they set the bags down and Sora immediately got to work on putting them away.

I grabbed a banana from the bag closest to me and started eating, though my eyes weren't fully awake yet so everything was quite blurry and I was focusing on a speck on the table. Then I heard Natsuni set something on the table and I looked up to see her with a laptop. She opened it up and started clicking away.

"So," Sora said, "I was thinking, if no one can get out, we should go check their houses tonight." Natsuni hummed a response, assuring Sora she was listening, and I just nodded. It made sense. "I mean, they've got people sitting outside Natsuni's house, and I know they know about all of us being with the digimon. I just think it would be a good idea. That way we can be sure everywhere is safe."

Did she totally miss what she just said? "If they know about you being a Digidestined, doesn't that mean—"

"Oh my God!" Natsuni cut me off loudly, leaning forward. Sora dropped the can of soup she had been putting away and rushed to her side, "Is that Mimi?" Sora didn't respond, but instead just stared at the computer. "What?" I jumped to my feet and took my place on Natsuni's other side. On the screen in front of her was Mimi's face in a video box, with a big white triangle where her nose should be, begging to be pressed. "What do I do?" Natsuni asked, highlighting the title of the article as she read it again.

'_War Threats' _Natsuni clicked play hesitantly.

"_Hi. You don't know me, but maybe you recognize my face?"_ Mimi seemed really nervous. _"I was in a documentary that was released three years ago. People of Earth, you need to stop fighting the digimon. They're too strong, and they _will_ fight back." _Mimi went on to explain what we'd been missing since we'd come to Earth. The tears were hard to ignore, and my fists were balled up.

"_Well isn't this precious_," The video split in half and showed Mimi and Palmon on one half of the screen, the box smaller, and on the other half there was the face of a man.

"Who is that?" Natsuni gasped.

"_He's interrupted the broadcast_," Koushiro voice came from out of the shot.

"_Yes, I couldn't let her spread lies, after all_." The mysterious man, "_She's a pathetic, snivelling girl that's meddling in things she ought to not meddle in._ _She doesn't know anything. See how she's been entranced by that hideous monster_."

"Rude." Sora said through gritted teeth.

"_Did you know a girl was shot? Her name was Noriko Kawada, and she was a kindergarten teacher. She was engaged to be married, and the police chief shot her with the virus. She's dead now. They've killed her!_" Sora gasped at the mention of Noriko's death. I didn't know her, at all. Never even met her—but someone was dead. _Dead_. How was that possible? How had we been so caught up in our own lives, that we missed her death?

"_ENOUGH_!" the man caught my attention. "_Don't you know what happens to meddlers when they've been caught_? _What you don't seem to understand is that I am fighting solely for the safety and comfort of the people I was chosen to represent. We here on Earth are not attacking blindly, nor will we fight with excessive force. We were confronted with the proposition of war and we are merely preparing for the worst. Do you expect us to not act upon a threat such as the one we were presented with? Would you sit back? No. So why should we?"_

"Taichi!" Sora gasped when he pushed Mimi out of the way.

"_You don't know what you're doing Rida," _Taichi snarled_. "You don't know what you'll be unleashing upon Earth. If you don't back down, then Earth's protecters, the digidestined will just have to use force and make you_."

"Taichi, no," Sora said, shaking her head.

"_I'll be awaiting whatever pitiful attack you think you can manage, locked away in a world so far from us,_" The Rida man snarled. "_Don't worry though, I haven't forgotten about you. I'll be sending a little present your way later tonight_."

"Present?" Sora gasped along with Taichi.

"_Oh dear, did I say present? I meant virus_."

The video went black.

"Oh my God!" Natsuni cried out again. "What does that even mean?" I certainly didn't know the answer, so I turned to Sora to see her staring at the screen, her eyes unblinking and her face pale. "Sora?" Natsuni asked, "Are you okay?"

"Maybe sit down?" I offered. Sora didn't say anything, and she didn't _do_ anything either. She just stared at the screen, petrified.

I didn't really understand what a virus could do. What did that even mean? Like a computer virus? Was he going to sabotage the computers? What good would that do? We had a ton of geniuses on our side that could remember anything that was on them, so deleting our files wouldn't slow us down. Not much.

Suddenly it hit me, and I was turning back to the computer, a chill rushing through my body. They wouldn't delete our _computer_ files—they would delete _our_ files. Not mine, no. I wasn't there. They were going to get rid of all of the digimon—and that included Kudamon—and would it affect people? Their guns sure did—that meant Michael and Willis were in danger too!

"W-we can't let them." I stammered. "It can't happen." Natsuni seemed to understand now too, trying to calm Sora. She pushed her into Natsuni's now empty seat and was rubbing her shoulder. "They're going to win. They're going to beat us—we lose."

"We haven't lost _yet_!" Natsuni said loudly, "We can stop it! We're on the outside. We're here with the enemy!"

"But Michael isn't." I said, my hand flying to my forehead, pushing my fingers through my messy hair. "My dad isn't... or Willis, or Kudamon, or Tatum or Mari. Or Betamon, or Terriermon or Lopmon."

"And that means we're going to have to be the heroes this time," Natsuni looked up to me, promise and determination in her eyes.

It seemed like a distant concept to me. I wanted to cry and fall over, but I couldn't even do that. I was in shock. What did it mean to be in total shock to the point where you could hardly coax yourself into breathing? It meant that my brother was going to die. My whole family was going to die. "Wha-what do we d-do?"

"We stop them..." Sora said, her voice quiet. Natsuni and I both turned to look to her as she slid her chair back and stood up, balancing herself with the table in front of her. "They're not dying. I won't let them."

I looked back to the computer and saw that the article was posted over an hour ago. What if they were already dead? What if we were too late, and there really was nothing we could do? What if I had been _sleeping_ while my entire family was obliterated? "We should call them," I said, reaching for my phone.

"That doesn't work," Natsuni reminded me, "The connection is terminated. We've tried."

"I'm trying _again_." I said, tears stinging in my eyes now that the initial shock was wearing off. I put my phone up to my ear and waited. There was a brief moment when I thought—when I _prayed_—that the call would go through, but instead of a ring, there was a lady on the other end telling me that my call could not be completed, the number I was trying to reach did not exist. And that was because he was dead. Michael was gone. He'd been missing for who knows how long, and no one could find him—and now he's dead. "He's dead." I found myself saying.

"No, no!" Natsuni insisted, getting to her feet and hugging me, "They're all okay! I just know it. Everyone was in a safe zone. Who knows what this virus can do, or if they're even sending one! It could have been an empty threat."

"Michael wasn't in a safe zone," I said, refusing to release my bottom lip from between my teeth to ensure I didn't break down crying. My words were slurred, but Natsuni understood and she hugged me again.

"We don't know if they've sent it," She said, "We could still have time, we can't sit here like this, we have to go try!" I nodded, too many times, but I had to convince myself she was right. And she was. We knew nothing—that meant there was still time. There was time to save them—maybe. Hopefully.

Sora jumped to her feet and stormed toward the door, slipping her shoes on, but not bothering to tie them and she threw the door open, rushing outside. I followed her quickly, not bothering with shoes at all, and Natsuni followed me, grabbing her coat and shoes, slamming the door behind her. Sora was already starting up her car, and I jumped into the front seat, letting Natsuni take the back. She had barely shut the door before Sora started driving. She shot out of the laneway, backwards and then down the street, her tires squealing.

She didn't bother stopping at the red light, there were no cars coming. She was on a mission. "Where do we go?" Natsuni asked.

"I don't know," Sora admitted. "I'm just trusting myself. We have to go somewhere, and fast or they'll all die. Biyomon. Koushiro, Mimi. Yamato. Taichi. All of them. Emiko and Haruki! Oh my god!" She pressed harder on the gas and we whipped around a corner, past a lady walking her dog who began screaming at us loudly. "If they've sent the virus, I'll kill whoever did it." Sora was mostly talking to herself than to anyone else. "And if they haven't—I'll kill anyone who tries."

I was almost scared of her, and had she not been thinking the same as I was, I would have been. As it was, I merely stared at her, too afraid to watch the road after I lost count of how many traffic violations she'd caused. Her face lit up suddenly and a little flicker of hope shot through my body, and though it disintegrated quickly, it was still a comforting feeling. Sora had a plan. I didn't know her, but I did know she'd accomplished a whole lot this past month. She and Koushiro found that Digivolving was tabooed. She and Koushiro rescued a crap load of digimon, and then went out again and saved an Andromon, and then Sora travelled the Digital World to put up shields wherever she could and all the while she'd been filling everyone in on Taichi's accomplishments _and_ was acting as his driving force, keeping him motivated whenever he felt down. Not to mention she'd had time to plan an entire summer lineup of more digimon clothes. Sora was determined now, and I knew that was a good sign.

She slowed her driving when we came to a more populated area of the city, and she turned down a familiar street. Familiar because we'd been here a lot in the past couple days. "Why here?" Natsuni asked as we stared toward the parked cop car outside the large regal household. We were going to Natsuni's house?

"Because the police are on their side." Sora stopped the car and threw her seatbelt off of her, hopping out of the car. I followed her and saw, surprisingly, Veronica. She was talking with a police man, his back was to me. I knew Marshall couldn't be far away, she never went anywhere without her personal bodyguard. I heard another door slam shut and Natsuni was rushing after Sora. I followed quickly, not caring that my bare feet stepped on sharp stones with each step.

Veronica noticed the three of us coming toward her and she grinned, her brows furrowed, "Jenna? What are you doing in Japan? Whatever—great news. The world is sealed off. In less than three hours, the virus is going out. All digimon are so gonna—" But Veronica did not get to finish her sentence because something very fast and pale had struck her across her face. She cried out in pain as Sora relaxed her fist, cracking her knuckles. "You crazy bitch!" Veronica screamed.

"Who the hell are you?" The police officer asked, rounding on the three of us. He looked really familiar.

"Sora, don't cause a scene!" I insisted, "That won't help us with anything!" I looked up to Veronica, "I'm sorry," she may have been evil, but I related to her. She had been through a _lot_. She was misguided, and that was something that could be remedied. Her parents were dead, she just needed someone to guide her through... I slowly looked back toward the police officer, and a picture of Veronica's dead parents flashed in my mind. "That's your dad." I found myself saying.

"Yes, this is my daughter." The police officer said.

"You're d-dead." I stammered. I rounded on Veronica who looked panicked. She attempted a smile, but her bleeding lip had already begun swelling up. She'd told me he was dead. And yet he was here. What kind of a person lied about something like that? What kind of a person _lied_ about having no parents? I never would. And my dad was going to die in less than three hours—and it was her fault. What else had she been lying about? "You sociopathic liar..." I said quietly.

The door to the house opened quickly and I turned to see Marshall stepping out into the sunlight. I turned back to Veronica while everyone was distracted and lunged toward her. "Screw you!" I screamed, but two very strong arms had grabbed me, keeping me in place. The police officer turned me sharply away from Veronica and I saw a man standing in the open doorway of the house.

"Natsuni?" He questioned

"Dad!" Natsuni shouted, but Tyler and Ricky, Marshall's idiotic goons stepped in and pulled her father away, slamming the door shut. "Dad!" She yelled again.

"Hey!" Marshall bellowed, rushing toward the street where Sora had pinned Veronica down.

"Tell me how to stop it!" She screamed, bending over so she was yelling into Veronica's face. Her mouth was hanging open and tears were pouring from her eyes, and I didn't even care. "_Tell me!_ Now!" Sora was screaming until Marshall had leapt through the air and tackled her away.

The police officer released me and was rushing toward Sora quickly, "You're under arrest!"

"No!" Sora pleaded as Marshall held her still. She tried to get up, but couldn't. I took a step to help her, but Natsuni had my arm tightly, I turned to her and she was shaking her head. "You don't understand! I love her! I love Biyomon and you can't let them do this! You're supposed to be a good guy! You can't let them kill her!"

"Right now," The police officer said, "I only care that you are beating on my daughter to whom_ I _love." He pulled out some handcuffs and quickly cuffed Sora's arms behind her back.

"Please!" Sora insisted, tears staining her face. "My parents! My friends! Everyone I love is going to die if you don't stop this virus! You can't let this happen! Every person is born with a heart! You need to search yours and put a stop to this!" I saw Marshall _laugh_, and was about to slap him silly, but Natsuni's grip tightened on my arm. Veronica was wiping her bleeding lip and her lips curled into a smile. "_Please!_" Sora cried out. "You have to!"

"You have the right to remain _silent_." The police officer insisted, "Anything you say can and _will_ be used against you in the court of law."

Sora looked toward me and Natsuni, panic in her eyes and I knew what she was asking. She wanted us to stop it, but how could we? What could we do? Natsuni was crying now, pulling me toward Sora's car. We had to try. There had to be _something_ we could do. And if Marshall or Veroni-bitch tried to stop us we could just run them over. I slammed the passenger side door shut after climbing in and watched as the police car's engine started up. Sora turned to face us from the back window, tears flying down her face and then she was being dragged away, down the street by the father of the monster who lied to me and who was actually _happy_ that our families were dying. Natsuni started the engine and backed away from her house. I didn't care where we went now. I didn't know what to say, or what to do. They were gone... and as I watched the car turn the corner, I knew Sora was too.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Davis and Neo are faced with the possibly dangerous task of running. It may not always come in the way you expect and it may not always go as planned, and sometimes running is the best option.


	48. Running Away

**Y/N: **Daisuke's is sort of a filler chapter, in a very specific way. It sets things up for later, but otherwise, it doesn't accomplish anything. It's kind of just there. I hope you like it anyway.

**U/N: **So I wrote Neo here, which is always fun. I love the people he's with and it's good to know what's really going on with him. Obviously there's a lot more than meets the eye, but even in his head he's pretty secretive. I just really love how... precise and organized he is. And mean xD Anyway, I hope you like it :D

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 5: Threatened**

**Chapter 48: Running Away**

_**Daisuke Motomiya:**_

I was inside, having escaped the madness left in the wake of Mimi's broadcast. It was overwhelming out there, with all of the panicking digimon, and I couldn't find the hope and positive energy to help calm it down. I didn't exactly have a very bright outlook on our future. If there was something we could actually _fight_ against, maybe we would stand a chance—the digidestined and our digimon partners were an unstoppable force—but there wasn't. We couldn't fight against a virus. It wasn't something the digimon would be able to help us with, and I was almost positive the digidestined couldn't come in contact with it either. I hadn't shared my opinion, but it made sense.

We'd spent so much time in the Digital World, Gennai had said that it had irreparably changed our very DNA. Didn't that mean we were at the very least _partially_ digital? And that was six years ago! Who could say what had gone on in our DNA by now?

And if we were digital, we stood the same chance against the virus as the digimon did. What good were we if we couldn't stand up for the digimon in their time of greatest need? We were useless, helpless. We could try and convince them nothing horrible was going to happen, but we didn't _know_ that was the case. There was every chance we would be lying to their tear-stained, terrified faces. And I couldn't do that. It wasn't fair of me.

Granted, there was also the chance everything would be fine, that the virus _wouldn't_ affect the digidestined, and that the shields would hold up. Maybe we weren't digital, and Gennai was just trying to scare us into leaving the Digital World for good. He'd wanted to keep the worlds separated, and we'd messed up his plans. Maybe, he was just trying to get us to do the _right_ thing, and we weren't going to die the instant the virus touched us. We'd just suffer like Noriko did, like Jun was going to.

But Jun was fine now. Jou had seen to that. He didn't have much left of the antidote though. There might've been _just_ enough for a study sample. He might be able to recreate it, given the time and equipment he needed. But that was still yet to be seen. It wouldn't be any help to us if we disintegrated along with the thousands of digimon that were housed in the Coliseum with us.

If we were, we'd be leaving behind our families to horrible, drawn out deaths. I'd be leaving my mother, my sister, my _son_.

I tried to push the thought away, to focus on the momentous occasion that was taking place. Jou had decided to give Jun one final once-over before he released her once and for all from the infirmary. She had a hopeful, tentative smile as Jou held his stethoscope up to her chest, checking her breathing and her heart. He was extra attentive to the lungs, as it was losing them that had taken Noriko from us. He nodded his head, pleased with what he heard. Shuu was holding Jun's hand, squeezing it while looking to his younger brother anxiously. Would he be losing _his_ fiancé too?

Jou smiled and stepped back.

"I can't find anything wrong," he said. "If we had an ultrasound machine, I would check on your other organs, to ensure their presence, but we don't. I'm a little worried, since you were hit in your lower back, where many organs could've been targeted. Noriko lost her lungs since she was hit in the chest. You've got the intestines to worry about, and your kidneys, appendix, liver, pancreas and gallbladder. Everything is down there. If you feel any pains, no matter _how_ trivial you think they might be. I need you to promise to come back here."

"I hate it here," Jun said, looking sadly over towards the bed that had once belonged to Noriko.

"I don't care," Jou said. "It's _very_ important that we proceed with caution. Noriko's first lung was gone within three days. You were hit _four_ days ago. I don't know what havoc the virus did to _you_. It's nothing so obvious as her lung. Promise me that you'll alert me to anything out of the ordinary."

Jun hesitated, still looking at the bed, but when Shuu squeezed her hand once again, she nodded. "Fine. I'll come back here if I get so much as a stomach ache. I don't want to be next. I don't want to end up like Noriko. I don't want to leave any of you."

"Good," Jou said, placing his stethoscope on the table next to the bed. "Then you're free to go."

"Yes!" Jun and Shuu cheered. Shuu scooped her into his arms and swung her around in a circle before kissing her all over her face. Mom cleared her throat, reminding them they weren't alone, and Shuu put her down and stepped away embarrassed. Jun, though, just flung herself at Mom and started crying—in relief for herself, and in pain for the loss of Noriko, and for what _might_ have been. Mom cried too, and they were a mess. Otamamon and Gekomon were jumping up and down on the bed singing a victory song that they came up with on the spot.

"Jun's all better, we saved Jun. We love you, and now we get to keep you _toooooo_!"

Jun couldn't help but laugh happily at their terrible song, and she fell onto the bed, attacking them with tickling fingers and hugs. Shuu was quickly pulled down to join them, and I couldn't keep myself from smiling. Yes, we were facing what would most likely be our doom, but she was so happy, and their little family was having a sweet moment. I only wished Meramon was here with them, instead of facing his doom alone, separated from his family in his final moments.

"I wish I could call your father," Mom murmured to me, putting her arm around me and pulling me to her side. She was as happy as Jun was about Jun's bill of clean health. Her eyes were glistening with unshed, _happy_ tears as she watched Jun laugh and play on the bed. "I know he seems distant, but he would want to know about this."

"Would he?" I asked scornfully. "How many times did he try to contact you since you came here Mom? I don't remember even a single call. No voice messages, no emails, no texts. He doesn't care about anything except himself. And maybe that's the right thing to do, because he's out there, and we're stuck in here facing a virus that we don't understand and can't protect ourselves from. I hope he's happy too, you know? That he was right after all. That my noodle-cart was stupid, and my family is poor, and now we're going to die."

"Don't say that," Mom insisted, hugging me tighter. "We're together, you and Jun and me. And Shuu's here too, with Kurayami and little Haruki. We're together, and we'll get through this because of that. We love each other, Daisuke. And even if I'm still a little wary around them, Veemon, Labramon, Otamamon, Gekomon and Meramon are all a part of our family too, and they're here with us."

"Not Meramon," I couldn't help but point out bitterly.

"But he will be," she said. "I have every confidence of that. I lost you once when I let your father make my decisions for me, but I won't be losing you again. You were right too. You were right to have your own dream, to _not_ let your father run your life. I've seen you with Kurayami, dear. He was wrong about her too. And if you listened to him, I never would have got to meet Haruki. I wouldn't have ever got to see the Digital World, however little I've actually seen. I love your father, Daisuke. I love him very much, but he's not always right, and I don't want you to think he is, just because our situation is dire."

"I know he's not _right_," I said stubbornly. "But he's the only one that's safe. And it's just not fair!"

"Hush now," she said, kissing the side of my face. "He's not as hard of a man as you make him out to be. Being safe isn't everything. He's out there, worrying about our fates. I'm _sure_ he is. We've been married a long time, Daisuke, and I like to think I _know_ him. He loves you, and your sister and me. If he ever actually met Haruki, he'd love him too. He is capable of so much love."

"He doesn't show it," I said. I didn't really believe her. He'd never once proven to me that he could love me if I had a mind of my own. He kicked me out of the house when he realized I wanted to follow my own dream, instead of his dream for me. He'd never tried to reach out to me since doing it either.

"He's a proud man," she said. "And his pride gets in the way. From what I've heard, you might be the most capable person to help him with that. Unless I'm wrong, don't you have the crest of humility?"

"Yeah," I said. "But I won't be helping him. Even if I _wanted _to, I'm never going to see him again, so what's the point?"

"What happened to my hopeful, fearless son?" she asked, eyes brimming with concern.

"He became a father that can't protect his son," I said, my voice cracking, so filled with my fears for my little baby boy. He was so tiny, he couldn't even crawl yet, let alone talk. I couldn't protect him against this virus, and I'd become so used to failing him that I couldn't even put a _little_ faith into the shield. I knew that Yuudai was spreading the word in its favour, urged by Takeru to do so. Takeru had so much hope, so much confidence. I couldn't even put stalk in Kiyoko's work. If I did, and it failed, it would just be another thing I'd failed him at. I couldn't trust it to keep my son safe in my absence. I couldn't even keep a roof over my son's head. I'd given up on my dream in a heartbeat, knowing that it would cost my son too much if I was to try and start it up again. I was a homeless, penniless target of the DWD, and apparently—if that ambassador's interruption during the broadcast was any indication—the governments of the world. What sort of example was I setting for my son? I was bringing him into a world that would hate his very existence because of who his parents were.

My heart sunk.

What if our status as digidestined, and our subsequently changed DNA was passed on to our son? What if he too would disintegrate into nothing the second the virus touched him. That meant I was worse than just a failed father, I was the reason he would die.

"Breathe Daisuke," Mom whispered into my ear. "You're a good father. You love him with everything that's in you. You put his happiness before your own, and you brought him here."

"That's the problem," I admitted.

"The Digital World is in peril, yes," she said. "But I believe in your friends. They say this shield will hold, and I believe them. I will put all of my faith in this shield to protect my children and my grandson. I can do it, because I trust them, and I trust you. You simply need to do the same. If you can't trust yourself, then trust me. I'm your mother, and I've made mistakes before, but I _know_ this is not one of them."

"I trust you," I said, though barely any sound came out. She smiled into my shoulder, and I was struck by how much I'd grown since she'd last had to hold me like this. I hadn't been as tall as she was yet, and now her eyes came to my shoulder. I buried my face in her hair, kissing the top of her head. "I'm going to come up with a backup plan. I'm going to see if I can't get us a path out of the Digital World in case things go belly up. I don't know if it'll work, but it's worth looking into."

"Go," she said. "Jun's distracted, she won't notice you didn't congratulate her. Just be sure to do it later."

I took her advice, and after casting one last look at Jun, still laughing—now at Otamamon and Gekomon jumping on Shuu's stomach—and turned to leave the infirmary. I didn't get far however, before spotting Terriermon and Lopmon walking on tiptoe, trying to be sneaky. They had sticks over their shoulders, with bindles tied to them, making them look like little hobos heading out on a journey.

"What'cha doing?" I asked.

They startled and tried to hide their bindles behind their tiny bodies, not quite succeeding. They turned wide innocent eyes up towards me and flashed big grins. "Nothing."

"That's nice. Now tell me the truth," I suggested.

"We gotta get over to the Temple," Terriermon whined. "Willis is there. We want to be where Willis is."

"Yeah," Lopmon agreed. "We were brought here under false pretenses. They said Willis would be here waiting for us, and he's not. They lied!"

"Lying is _not_ nice," Terriermon said seriously.

"You can't go out there," I told them incredulously. "Willis would never forgive me, or either of you, if you got caught in the virus. We don't know when it's coming, and it's true that we don't know if it's safer here, but at least here we stand a chance. Willis will be here before you know it. Just be patient."

"We've done our waiting!" Terriermon protested.

"Years and _years_ of it," Lopmon exaggerated. "We have to go get him now."

"He wouldn't want you to go!" I argued.

"He wouldn't want us?" they said in unison, trying to guilt them into giving in. That wasn't about to happen. I was stubborn, and I was terrified for the safety of all of my friends. There were too many of them still out there, I wasn't about to send out more. We were safer together, there was safety in numbers. Everyone should just get over to the Coliseum already. I didn't know what they were waiting for! The ambassador had given a pretty specific threat. The virus was coming, and they all knew it. It was broadcast across the sky, there was no way they missed it. Yamato and Taichi, and Hikari, Koushiro, Mimi, Willis, Kiyoko, Hideto, Mari. They all had to have heard it. Michael and Neo were the only ones that had an excuse for not being here. Tatum and Sora's dad, and Yuuko weren't here either, neither were Meramon, and the rest of the Council and the Knights. They were spread out, scattered across this doomed land and I couldn't handle it. I needed to know they were coming here. If they didn't care for their own protection, they could at least care for the people they were putting through the ringer, the people that were terrified at the thought of losing even one of them.

I'd seen Gatomon and Agumon out on the field after the broadcast was finished. I'd seen their faces, and Gabumon's too. Yoshie was distraught because her two favourite boys were missing with Tentomon, and Satoe was a complete mess without Mimi.

Why weren't they coming yet?

"He wants you just fine," I told them, frustrated at all the others who couldn't be bothered to grace us with their presence. "And you're not going."

"You can't stop us!" Terriermon shouted.

"Watch me," I said, scooping them up and marching back into the infirmary. "Jou, keep an eye on these two, will you? They're trying to stage an escape."

"Will do," he said, looking down at them, narrowing his eyes. "I'm spending the rest of the day with Emiko, she just loves these two."

"No!" Terriermon and Lopmon wailed. "We've been foiled again!" They sighed and dropped their heads so low that their ears were dragging on the ground. They followed Jou out the infirmary doors, dragging their bindles behind them. They were such a sad sight, and I could understand why they wanted what they did. It made perfect sense, but it was just far too dangerous out there for them. They were digimon, and the virus was coming. I wasn't going to be responsible for _their_ deaths. I couldn't do that to them, or to Willis.

Seeing that they were gone, safely under Jou's mindful eye, I cast a quick glance towards my mother. Seeing how she and Jun were discussing the possibility of inviting Isao and Aimi to Shuu's—and now Jun's—room for a card game, I figured I was still safe to duck out on Jun, and did so. I wandered through the halls searching for one of the few people that were in possession of what I wanted. In a place with literally _thousands_ of occupants, this task of mine was not exactly easy to complete. It took a good long while, but I finally spotted Keiko. She was in the dining hall trying to get Tomotsu to eat a small bowl of soup, but wasn't having much luck. He was still grieving too much, and couldn't be bothered to take care of himself. His fiancé had died, and he was trapped here, in the place that it happened. I wouldn't be doing so well either, in his place.

"Keiko, do you have a minute?" I called. She looked to me, desperate to be of help. She still felt strongly over the loss of her digimon, and continued to put the blame solely on her own shoulders instead of on Morestuna's where it belonged. She wanted to make up for her mistakes, she wanted to help as many people and digimon as she could until the pain went away. I didn't have the heart to tell her that the pain would only lesson with time, not good deeds.

Regardless of her reasons, I was glad that she agreed to help me. She insisted that Tomotsu had to finish his soup by the time she came back, and wriggled a promise out of him, and then she let me lead her off towards the communications room. I was probably the only one that referred to it as such, but I didn't care. It was the room that we used to make video conferences to the Temple. There was a laptop inside, propped up on a folding table, and some folding chairs stacked along one wall. Other than that it was empty. The bars had been removed, but there were no curtains for the communications room. There was no point since it was such a public area. Anyone could use the room at any time.

"I need you to use your D3," I told her once we arrived. "It's a flimsy plan at best, but I need to know whether there's any point relying on it."

"You're going to need to be more specific," she said quietly, holding her white D3 in her hands.

"When I had a D3, it was able to open the gates between the worlds. It was how we did things when we didn't have the keys. My D3 reverted to the old grey model when I needed to get my crest, so I don't have one anymore. But you do," I said. "I need you to see if you can open the gate. If you _can_, then we'll have a backup plan, if not, then we'll have to put all of our trust in the shield, and I'd rather not put all my eggs in one basket, you know?"

"I think I understand," she said, and I was glad. I didn't think I had the patience to explain it a different way. I was stressed beyond belief, and I just wanted to go and find Kurayami and our son, and Veemon and Labramon—and Takeru too. I wanted to go to our room and wait out the end of the world if this plan didn't pull through for me.

Keiko raised her digivice to the laptop's screen, and was about to give it a go when Rei ducked her head into the room.

"Hey," she said. "I'm just telling you that I'm not asking for permission, merely giving you the courtesy of knowing where I'll be, but I'm heading to my house. I'm going to get to the Temple as fast as possible after that, and then I'll be with Taichi, but I just thought I'd let you know, in case anybody asks."

"But Rei—" I protested.

"I'm not asking permission," she reminded me. "Keep an eye on Pal and Pul will you? Sometimes they're too much for Agumon alone. I'll be back, don't look so sad. I won't be gone long. And I'll be with Taichi."

She left before I could come up with something suitable to say, something that would change her mind and make her want to wait for Taichi here, but there was nothing I could've said. She was determined, and she was gone.

"Should I try now, or...?" Keiko asked awkwardly, still holding her D3 out towards the screen. I nodded and she shouted the worlds "Digital gate open!" but nothing happened. She tried again, and another two times before we gave up. There was no way out. It was the shields, or nothing.

I pretty much resigned myself to my impending death.

Keiko apologized profusely, as though it was _her_ fault that the worlds were sealed completely and that the D3 wasn't enough to fix that. I sent her off to look after Tomotsu some more, and tried to get my fear and anger under control. We were going to die. I knew that, I could accept it. I _couldn't_ actually, but I could pretend I did. Once I was calm, almost _too_ calm, I set off to find my family. I wasn't going to die without them by my side. That was just a given fact.

I didn't find Kurayami—she found me. She came at me, holding Haruki awkwardly, looking miserable, and I wrapped my arms around the pair immediately. I wasn't prepared for her to pull away though. I quirked my eyebrow at her though, as she shifted our son into my arms, and removed herself from the family hug. "He misses his father," she explained. Her voice was thick with emotion. She was scared, terribly so, and she was sad.

"We'll be okay," I said, trying to channel my mother's confidence, but ended up shaking my head. I'd promised to never lie to Kurayami, and I wasn't going to start now, not when we might not live much longer. "We _might_ be okay."

"I know," she said. "But I won't be. I know I won't. Daisuke, Mortsuna killed my grandfather. He's gone, and I don't know how to handle that. And the darkness just keeps coming for me. I'm so scared. It's going to grab me and I won't be able to fight it off. I know I won't. It will take me away, and I'll be its slave forever, just like my mother was."

"Don't say that," I said. "You're different. It's our choices that make us who we are, not the situations we're put in. You might have the same fight your mother had coming for you, but you're nothing like her Kurayami. You won't give in. You're stronger than she was, and I'll be right by your side the entire way, even if we die a minute from now, I won't leave you. I love you, and I won't let you give up."

"I love you too," she said. "And I love our baby, and that's why you have to protect him. I can't do it. I can't protect him from the darkness _and_ fight it."

"We'll do it together. We will _always_ fight together," I promised her. She shook her head at me sadly, and reached out her hand to pet Haruki's hair, only to pull away her shaky fingers before she could do it. "I love you," I repeated. "Remember that. Always. I will _always_ love you."

"You can't know that," she whispered, and I didn't think I was meant to hear it. She was wrong though. I _did_ know it. I fell for her the first time when she was actively trying to kill us all under Fanglongmon's power. I didn't give up on her then, and I sure as hell wouldn't give up on her now. She was my wife, and she was the mother of my son. We were a family, and nothing could change that. _Nothing_.

She moved away from me, looking down the hall behind her, and shaking her head sadly. I looked up to see my father-in-law coming down the hall with Labramon and Veemon. All of them looked incredibly concerned. I looked back to Kurayami, desperate for her to tell me what was going on, but she didn't.

"Kurayami?" I asked.

"I've got to find Takeru," she said. "I'm sorry. I have to go."

"Okay," I said. Some husbands might get jealous that their wives wanted to find another man during her final moments, but I couldn't find it in me to do so. Takeru was family. He'd lived with us before our marriage, and he still lived with us now that we had a son and were living in a room that used to be a prison. He was just as much family to me as Hikari and Taichi were when they took me in when I had nowhere else to go. It made perfect sense for her to want Takeru to join us during this trying time.

She rushed off down the hall, and Labramon ran a few steps after her, before turning to me. His eyes were full of tears and he looked so lost. I kneeled down next to him, shifting Haruki so I was holding him with one arm. I wrapped my newly freed arm around Labramon's neck, scratching him with my fingers in the way he liked.

"What's going on?" I asked Okotte, when Veemon wrapped his arms around me from behind and sniffled into my shoulder. "What did she say to you?"

"I think," Okotte said thickly. "It seemed like she was saying goodbye."

I looked down the hallway where my wife had fled and hoped it wasn't true. If it was, wouldn't she have given me the same courtesy? She would have told me if she was leaving. She _would_ have.

She _would_.

_**Neo Saiba:**_

"We'd better get back." Evelen said finally.

I took my eyes away from the sky. I'd been hoping to be here for the sunset. We'd been here a while, and it seemed pointless now if we weren't going to at least wait for that. But I wasn't in control, I wasn't allowed to have a say in what we did. I was apparently a prisoner, and Evelen was weirdly mad at me, while still sometimes laughing at me. But she still didn't let me have an opinion in anything. If she had, I would have told her that her brother was an annoying loser and I didn't want him around.

"Yes, I was just thinking that," He said, "I think the others might miss me." It wouldn't have even been that annoying if I didn't believe he really thought they might miss him or if we'd been gone longer than a few hours. "You know how everyone is. Always checking up on me. They all like me a lot. I think it's my dashing personality."

_Yeah, that's it. Your personality. They're probably checking up on you because they don't trust you to be alone. _

Evelen rolled her eyes and leaned back into the grassy hill, staring back at the clouds. "On second thought, I could stay here a few more minutes." Kansui, her brother, gasped dramatically and adjusted his tie, annoyed.

I looked to my knee and flicked away a speck of dirt that I found on my pants.

"Oh no," Evelen joked, "Your pants are dirty!" She smirked and sat up again, looking over the edge of the cliff we sat on. It was a dangerously precarious cliff as it was, but Evelen had chosen to rest on the grassy decline leading to her potential death. "Better get back and throw them in the washing machine immediately. They might be permanently damaged though."

"Oh please," I sneered, uncrossing my legs and getting to my feet. "I can handle a little dirt." But as I was saying it I was whipping my butt off. And I'd been sitting on a rock—one that I'd wiped off before sitting down. "My pants are white!" I said defensively as Evelen laughed at me.

Kansui nodded and hummed his agreement with me, "I understand. I was once wearing a white suit, and I dumped some wine on it. Oh I was so mad that I fired my maid." He waved his hand around, the other clutching his heart as if he were praising some kind of very shallow deity.

Evelen stopped laughing and glared at him. She didn't say anything though. She just stood up and gasped slightly as her footing slipped. "Woah," She smiled, looking to me, "Did you see that, I almost—what's the matter with you?" I had my hand outstretched toward her, frozen in place, "Oh, you wanted to save me! Scared I'm gonna fall?"

"No," I said, shaking my head, "Fall all you want."

"Maybe I will," Evelen said, annoyed. She stepped toward the edge and I grabbed her arm. "See?" She asked, an eyebrow raised, "You care."

"If you say so." I said, releasing her arm and turning to Kansui who had his hand ready for me to help him to his feet. I found myself rolling my eyes again, I did that a lot naturally, but around these two it seemed to happen more often. I held my arm out and Kansui used it to pull himself up.

"Could you imagine skydiving?" Evelen asked, behind me. I turned and saw her standing right at the end of the cliff, her arms outstretched with the wind blowing her hair gently back. I resisted the intense urge to pull her to safety. "This world is so beautiful. Could you imagine falling from way up there, and seeing it all? Earth is nice, but the cities—the factories... they ruin the view. But this world is so... down to Earth. Odd, since it isn't even Earth."

"There are factories here too," I noted.

"But they don't pollute!" Evelen smiled, turning on her heel to face me. I balled my fists up to keep the panic back. She couldn't just fall—and she seemed to want to with all the talk of skydiving. "They're not ugly because they're not ruining anything."

"Are you implying this world is better than our home?" Kansui asked, shocked.

"No," Evelen sighed, "Just that this world... and Earth. They're so different. It's really amazing. I'd love to look around some more."

"I could show you," I found myself saying.

"Oh, that's right," Evelen smiled again, "You would know all about this land. You did delete it once after all."

"You did?" Kansui asked, sounding excited. He threw his arm over my shoulder. "Tell me about it."

"I'm not quite sure what you are expecting me to say." I said, folding my arms across my chest, "The world vanished after I deleted it, and nothing aside from ruins was left in its place. As you can clearly see, it did not last long. It was put back together piece by piece."

Kansui smiled along as if I'd told him the most fascinating story he'd ever heard, and then he dropped his arm from my shoulder, "One time I did something like that. It was brave, and heroic and purely life saving."

"I'm sure," I said, picking my bag up off of the rock I'd been sitting on and slinging it over my shoulder.

"It was mid-winter, and the storm outside was strong." Kansui explained as Evelen mimed him talking with her hand behind his back. He'd never notice, he was always too caught up in his own stories to pay attention to the rest of the world. "I needed a place to hide from the bitter cold—and what better place than the high end mall?" He laughed as if he'd told a funny joke, "Malls can't be high end." He laughed again and Evelen raised both eyebrows and set off down the worn path. She'd come here a lot since they'd come to the Digital World apparently. The path led around a large rocky surface and into the woods. It was only a five minute walk from the base. Hopefully Kansui's story didn't take the entire walk. Five minutes wasn't long, but it was long enough to make everything he was saying seem like complete torture. "And then I told her—I'll get her fired if she doesn't change this label! It is _not_ chic! It's ghastly!" He then laughed, "And then, when she told me she couldn't change it, I dropped my latte on the floor, right there in front of her!" He smiled as if he were fondly remembering the good old days. Then his face lit up, "And _one_ time, I went to buy a golden phone case, and the lady said it was twenty carats—my favourite amount—but it simply _wasn't_ it was twenty-four! Why would I buy a twenty-four carat gold phone case? That doesn't even make sense! So I got her fired."

He was simply the most horrendously annoying person I'd ever had the pleasure of listening to, and there was no way to stop his incessant drawling because no matter what was said to him, he found a way to take it as a compliment, or to blame on somebody else. The latter usually turned into a long story about why that person was always at fault.

I tried to listen to the sounds nature provided, but there was nothing. No bugs, no birds. We were in the Digital World obviously, but that usually did not mean there was total silence. But of course, that was before humans came along and tried to ruin everything for their peaceful ways. I sighed and it caught Kansui's attention. He was actually silent. He had taken a breath, a moment to think. For once in his privileged life the boy was not speaking!

"Have you noticed how good my hair looks today?" He asked, shattering the blissful silence I'd only just found, and yet grown so fond of. "I used less product, and I think it turned out alright." He used his hands to prop his hair up even more.

It was funny, how different Kansui and Evelen were. Her hair was totally natural, pulled into a ponytail and she was wearing a baggy sweater, and big boots, so down to Earth, and gentle. While Kansui was arrogant, irritating, loud, spoiled and irritating. Yes, he was irritating enough to warrant it being listed twice. When I'd questioned Evelen on the matter she responded curtly and simply, wanting to keep the answer short and simple, "Different mothers."

She generally refused my questions, turning the other cheek whenever I asked her of her life. She simply wanted everything about herself to be kept in the shadows, and that was why she was mad at me now I suspected. I'd followed her here, to the Digital World and I'd found a piece of the puzzle and I imagined she was afraid I might find another, and start putting them together. She was so dangerously closed off, and yet, I understood. I was as well. She knew very little about me as it was.

Once again I found myself tuning Kansui out and taking in the beauty of nature, however eerily silent it may have been. The day had provided us with quite propitious weather for a walk. The sun was warm, and gentle, the breeze was cool and slow, and the air was just dry enough to feel comfortable, without the unnatural and disgustingly sticky sensation of sweat.

"I'm excited to get back," Kansui said, beaming, "I wonder what I've missed! The gossip around the camp is getting juicy!" I rolled my eyes.

"Well," Evelen said, "We should be allowed back now." Apparently she had been listening the whole time. I had simply assumed she was ignoring her brother as always. "Father asked me to leave for a bit with you two."

"This was a diversion trick?" Kansui gasped, "is he throwing me a party?"

"Do you _think_ he's throwing you a party?" Evelen questioned, looking annoyed.

"No..." Kansui admitted. "He's mean. He only paid for _one_ party for me this year. I think he's starting to really hate me. Evelen offered to give me the money for her birthday party, the sweet girl that she is. I couldn't take the money though. I couldn't burden her."

"I didn't offer," She said, confused, "And you _did_ take it."

"Well you haven't got any friends," Kansui said defensively.

"Whatever." Evelen rolled her eyes. "When we get back, Father wants to speak with you."

"It _is_ a surprise party!" Kansui exclaimed.

"Not you." Evelen shot. "Neo. He's been waiting to speak with you because he's been busy—out. He's back now and he wants to talk to you."

"That sounds splendid." I said sarcastically. I had no idea what I was in for when it came to this family. Evelen had 'kidnapped' me, and yet I'd had to walk the way there untied. I had essentially kidnapped myself, and here I was, marching toward her father on my own free will, to potentially be confined legitimately now, and become, as Evelen would call it, a 'lower class prisoner.'

We had reached the end of the pathway, and Evelen, the leader of our small group gasped loudly and set off at a run out of the trees. Kansui looked panicked, and followed her, then collapsed dramatically at the sight before him. I hurried forward and saw clouds of black smoke, and flames. "What happened?" I heard Evelen ask someone nearby.

"A girl attacked us!" The man shouted, "Her digimon did this! They're monsters! They're killing us!" That didn't seem likely at all. Evelen looked like she didn't believe him either but continued helping him away from the flames. I turned back to the ship to see what damage had really been done. One of the legs had been torn away and it had collapsed onto its side, something must have started leaking to cause the fire. I'd seen an Airdramon in the woods, soaring away toward the Temple. He was hard to miss from the edge of our cliff. Airdramon's could not breathe fire. He didn't do this. Either it was an accident, or someone did this on purpose to place more blame upon the digimon to fuel the fire of hatred. I may have suspected Kansui had he not been with me.

"Evelen!" A _loud_ gruff yell shot through the crowds of frightened people. Whoever had spoken was surrounded by those who escaped the fire. Among the crowd I spotted Hideto's brother, Puraido carrying a sleeping bag full of whatever he'd deemed worthy of saving from the fire. He slung it over his shoulder just as a large man pushed him aside. It was the man I'd seen with Evelen weeks ago in the coffee shop. "I told you to be gone _one_ hour. You were gone _three_!"

"I lost track of time." Evelen said, fear brimming up in her eyes. "I'm sorry—what happened?"

"It does not matter." He snapped. "I have no time for this. We must leave."

"I b-brought my prisoner." She said, pointing to me. The man in front of her, who was almost twice her height turned his head toward me, his intense eyes narrowing in on me. He stormed toward me, immensely angry and it was obvious he was attempting to seem threatening. I simply raised my eyebrows, putting my hands in my pockets.

He stopped in front of me, towering over me and it was now that I realized just how big this man was. He seemed annoyed that I wasn't backing down from his stare, and for a brief second I thought he might never break eye contact with me and forever I would be subjected to staring into his dark, cold eyes. But finally he looked me over and his brows furrowed. "Like I said, I do not have time." He crossed his arms and stared down at me, "Are you in, or out?"

"Oh I think you'll find I am more than just _in_." I told him, unsure exactly what he wanted from me. "I'm in this until the end." Which simply was not a lie.

He didn't look convinced, but as he'd said. He had no time for this nonsense. "Where is your brother?" He shot to Evelen. She pointed into the trees.

"Here I am, Father!" Kansui shouted, rushing out to greet his father. It took me by surprise. Somehow I had yet to come to the conclusion that this was their father. Perhaps because he was so massive, or perhaps because he bore no real resemblance to either of them. Kansui looked like a miniature rag doll in comparison to his father's height and strength. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting." His father said nothing, but turned his head toward me, his thick eyebrows raised.

"Call me Maugrim." He said, turning to his daughter. "Now we take our leave."

"We're leaving?" Evelen asked, glancing toward the forest path, toward her sitting spot. Evelen Maugrim. That was her name, wasn't it? Evelen and Kansui Maugrim. The name suited their father much more than it did either of them.

"We must," He said, "The gate is open, and we shall be taking our leave."

"Oh, but Tuni isn't back!" Kansui groaned.

"Moretsuna is a grown man." Maugrim said bluntly. "He is in charge of his own free will. I however am in charge of yours. Both of you, get into that gateway, or you will die." I was taken aback, unable to even ask what that might mean because he'd begun dragging his children toward the gateway and I was left to follow, or to apparently die.

Making my choice wasn't too difficult.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Yolei and Kura take the narration reigns this time in an attempt to put their anxiety to rest, instead it gets put to the test and they encounter something they wish they could have opted out of.


	49. The Rise and Fall of Sakana Moretsuna

**Y/N: **Yolei's wasn't as long as it was meant to be, but I couldn't stretch it any further. I liked how it was, and didn't want to dilute it with filler, just to make the page count rise. I hope you like it as it stands, even if it's short.

**U/N: **So, as my sister said, this chapter was originally planned as a 'Yolei' chapter as its own thing, but she couldn't make it long enough so I wrote in some Kurayami depth with her memories and whatnot. It plays in of course, but wasn't intended. Don't worry though, there's like a 14 000 word Yolei chapter coming up in the next story xD it was exhausting to edit :P

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 5: Threatened**

**Chapter 49: The Rise and Fall of Sakana Moretsuna**

_**Kurayami Motomiya:**_

"_Mama?"__I asked, rubbing my eyes as she tucked my blankets around me. I looked up to her, and her eyes looked back to me. I knew then that they were different, and unkind. I knew they were not the same eyes I'd woken up to see as an infant. Slowly they grew colder and more distant. I knew she did not love me the way she once had, and yet I loved her the very same, and that was what I cared about. Having her there to place my love. "Mama, who is that boy?"_

_My mother turned her head, her dark hair falling just over her shoulder. She smiled to the large portrait that hung over my bed. The picture contained simply one person. It was a face. A boy. His hair was dark and his eyes were blue. Everything about him always told me that demeanor was kind, that he was gentle and soft. As though simply by seeing a picture of his wide eyes told me that he would not trip and fall like I always did, and that he was rational when trying to get his stolen toys back, and that he wouldn't have punched a girl on the playground for being annoying. Everything about the way he looked down to me seemed to promise that he was a better, simpler person. But he was young. "I've told you before, my dear." Mother replied, her voice was chalky and dry. _

_I remember smirking, knowing that this was a good night. She had not yelled at me, and that meant I could keep talking. I shuddered when her cold hands brushed past my bare arms as she tucked the blanket in tightly. "Tell me again?" I pleaded. _

_Mother sighed, and pursed her lips, but slowly pushed herself so her back was leaning against the dark walls of my bedroom. She gently set her head back and closed her eyes. "He was just a boy I once knew." She said quietly. "He was a beautiful boy. Brilliant and sweet. He would always tell me when I was being too harsh, and would never cry if I was. He would tell me he loved me and that he wanted me to come back to him, and be kind. Like him."_

"_He seems wonderful." I smiled up at the picture, "Who was he? Can I meet him?"_

_She winced and pulled herself very quickly out of my bed, stepping across the room, her bare feet making muffled noises as they came down on the carpeted floor. Mother reached up and grabbed the thin lacy curtains that hung over my open window and pulled them apart gently, looking out the smudged glass, down towards the street. "He is dead." I remember feeling horrified, and distraught. How could a small person die? How could someone allow their child to be dead, when, as a parent, you are obligated to look after them? "Quite some time ago, the boy was killed by a wicked woman. A woman he thought he could trust. The boy loved her, and she desperately tried to open her heart to him as he had to her." Mother sighed, and looked to her feet, closing the curtains slowly. "But the darkness proved to be far too much for her to handle. She thought she could embrace the darkness and allow it into her very core... she thought she could be different from her parents. But she could not. The darkness was strong, and it was cruel. She became a monster, and the boy was killed." I stared at her in shock, and horror. Why was she telling me this? Did she not care how scared I was? Could she not see the fear in my eyes, and the cracks in my tiny heart? "And the woman knew she would die soon after. She knew her destiny was to fall into darkness, and so she sat and she waited for that day to come."_

_She finally looked back to me, expecting me to say something, but how could I? How could I speak when all I could think to do was shudder, allowing my fear to take over? I simply wanted to sit where I was, my mouth hanging open ever so slightly, and refuse to meet her eye. But she was staring at me, her own eyes wide, like the boy in the picture, but they did not show kindness, only sadness. And it was that sadness that caused me to speak. "Mama," I had said, "I'm sorry."_

_She did not smile, but instead she let her eyebrows dash into a wicked glare as she turned toward the boy in the picture. "I hope for him to watch over you, and to keep your light shining bright. That is why I placed his portrait here in your room."_

_She had told me that before. That was the story I had wanted her to retell. I wanted her to remind me that this kind faced boy would keep the darkness from getting to me. But instead she had told me a different story. One I had not wanted to hear. One I would never forget... but I would try. _

"_Goodnight, Kura." Mother said, never looking back, "I will pray for you."_

"_Mama?" I asked softly, but abruptly as I watched her walk for the door to my bedroom, "How did you know that boy?" _

_She finally looked back to me and stared for a moment. "He was my brother, Kurayami." I looked in horror to her. Her brother had died? "Now, go to sleep before the darkness comes out. You know how difficult it is to sleep when you know they are watching."_

I shook my head, panic shooting through my body. Ever since Hikari had spoken to me memories had been popping up into my brain at random giving no warning. A shiver ran down my spine and I froze where I stood, unsure where to go, or even if I was capable of anything other than thought at the moment.

My feet were damp as I had run through the stream just outside the Coliseum to get to the other side. I had since run through the trees and grass and dirt, searching for Takeru. He needed to go back to Daisuke and he needed to find my son. He needed to be there for him because he was gentle and caring and filled with love. If Hikari truly loved him then his light surely shone bright. Surely Takeru would be a wonderful help raising my son. I had complete trust that he could do what I knew now that I would not be able to.

"_Kura," Mother said, leaning close to me, her breath smelled wrong. Bad. "Tell me that you love me."_

"_I-I love y-y-you!" I sobbed, holding my knees close to me. I remembered feeling small, and unsafe. I could remember sitting in a dark corner of the basement with my mother finding me after what seemed to have been forever. "T-take me h-h-home?" _

_Suddenly the memory of the waves crashing into the side of the building I was in flashed into my mind, and I looked back up to my mother. "I cannot." Mother had said. "I cannot raise you alone. I am not strong enough. My friends will help."_

"_I hate them." I said quietly, wiping my tears, "Mama, please."_

"_I am not strong enough!" Mother yelled, leaning even closer. I remember letting out a loud, choked sob. "You will do as I say. I am your mother." She tilted her head slightly to the left and her neck cracked as something shifted behind her. She spun her head around, smiling, and then she was off, crawling into the darkness._

I wiped a tear from my eyes, trying to remember why I was so determined to keep going. Everything was slowly becoming less rushed, and less important. I breathed in a shaky breath and pushed on. I _had_ to. Haruki was at our new home, in a building filled to the brim with darkness, begging for someone to love him. I loved him. But for how long? How long until the darkness would seep through my heart and destroy what little strength I had left?

That was why I had to go. That was why I had said my farewells.

"_Labramon," I whispered, hugging him as tightly as I could. I focused on the way he smelled, and the way his head fit into my shoulder as I leaned into the hug. "I love you."_

"_I love you too," Labramon said, pushing his head against the side of my own affectionately. "Where are you going?"_

"_I'm going to do something I have to do," I told him gently. "And when we meet again, I promise I'll be pure, I promise." Labramon looked confused, and it hurt me to see him that way, but I had to press on. Time was running short. "Veemon," I said, looking to where he sat on the bed. "I want you to take care of Daisuke for me."_

"_Of course." He nodded. "Always..."_

"_And Father," I said looking to his figure in the doorway, "Thank you for trying." He nodded stiffly, and embarrassed. I didn't have much to say to him. He was never really there for me, though not for lack of trying, and that was my simple goodbye._

And then I had gone... I hadn't gotten a chance to say goodbye to Daisuke because I was weak. If I'd just done it like I had planned to I would have ended my time with no lose threads. _"I'm sorry, I have to go._" Those were the last words I would ever speak aloud to my husband. The man who had brought me so far. And that was not fair. That was not enough. I would never be able to say thank you enough to him to show how grateful I was for everything he'd done. So maybe it was for the better.

"_Are we in outer space?"_

"_Yes, and no."_

Our very first conversation... so much had happened since then. Too much to recount. Too much to even think about and remember all in one moment. There was no possible way I could let him know how much I cared.

"_She knows I care for her, Father," I heard Mother say, angry. I was home again, sitting against a wall outside the kitchen listening to her talk to my grandfather. "She knows I love her, and I don't have to show her every day. I'm not like you. I can't express my feelings well."_

"_That is because you have none," Grandpa said, perhaps rudely. "You gave them away when you lost hope and let the darkness inside. You foolish girl. You think you can keep the darkness from her heart by keeping her enveloped? Keeping enemies closer is a trick commonly found on children's playgrounds. It is not a method that should be practiced in situations as serious as this. You are weak! I will not allow you to torture your daughter any longer. You had a choice and you chose _wrong_. I will henceforth be around to monitor any further decisions."_

"_You don't get a say in what my daughter does!" Mother screamed._

"_I made the mistakes already," he argued. "You know this all too well. I will not allow you to make my mistakes and destroy what is left of your family."_

"_Family is those who care about you," Mother shot. "You are not my family."_

She was horrible... but it wasn't her fault. But Grandpa made the same mistakes? He must have been in the darkness too. He must have known what it was like to be so consumed with depression and negativity... maybe he was the reason my uncle had died, and as a result, the reason my mother had dived into the darkness herself... and the reason I was stuck with the fate I had.

But it wasn't his fault. I wouldn't let it be his fault. But he was gone. He was never coming back, and it was because Moretsuna killed him. Once again my body filled with a burning rage that was quickly softened by the sadness that always followed. Tears fell from my eyes and I found myself laying in a heap on the dirty ground. He was gone... Everyone was gone. I was alone. I had no family.

That was not true. I had a family. My mother was not wrong. A family are those you care for. And I cared for so many people... but was it enough? Maybe I only thought I cared because it was such a different emotion from what I was used to while growing up. I wondered what truly caring would be like...

I was a mess. Laying in the dirt, my eyes puffy from crying. What was the point of going on again?

Takeru.

I needed to find him and keep hope around for Haruki—I needed him to be absolutely _sure_ that there was a light at the end of the darkness. And Takeru was the only way to ensure that. Because hope could never die if he was around to keep it burning strong.

"Kurayami Higorashi." A sharp voice said to me. "You get off the ground right now."

I looked up and saw Norn standing over me, her arms crossed. My head fell back into the dead leaves and twigs on the ground and I blinked away my last tear. I didn't have any energy anymore.

"Listen to me!" Norn insisted, "You wanted to know the truth. You wanted these memories, and now you have them. They're wicked and they're broken, but they are only _proof_ that you are wrong. They are proof that you found love even out of all of that darkness. You are the hope your son needs."

"Dr Chiryo said I would kill a man." I said quietly. "I could."

"Sure, you _could_, but you wouldn't!" Norn insisted, her feet stomping in the dirt. She reached for my hand but hers went straight through. She was only projecting herself here. She groaned, "Just get up! You're going to die! It's not safe! I love you, you know I do, but there are other things I _need_ to be doing right now. I need you to promise me that you can hold out for just a little while longer. I'll have more time later, and I know this sounds harsh, but you need to get up."

"I _wouldn't_..."

Norn rolled her eyes. "Just because your therapist tells you that you could kill someone doesn't mean anything. The man is insane. I know you, I _really_ do. I trust you and I care about you. You couldn't hurt a fly. Not on your own accord. Kurayami, you're not the darkness you think you are. You are merely a dam keeping the negativity from the world. That's a big burden to play, but I would bet money that you would never kill someone. _Especially_ Haruki." I shook my head, but didn't respond. She was wrong... she didn't know me. The darkness was always destined to come into my heart. From the very moment of my birth my mother wanted that for me, and even now that she was gone her darkness would always haunt me. "You _wouldn't_." Norn insisted. "I promise." I ignored her. "Now _you_ promise _me_ something." I looked up to her, my eyebrows raised. "Get. Up."

She was gone a moment later and I felt that I at least owed her that. And besides, she may have been wrong about me being my child's hope. But she was not wrong that I needed to keep going. If I was going to die, that meant Takeru was too. He _had_ to get back to Haruki. I needed him.

And _then_ I could go. I could go see the one person who had loved me from the very first time I'd seen him. From the moment of my birth, one person always loved me, even if he was not always allowed to show me. And soon I could see him again. But time was running out... the virus was coming.

_**Miyako Ichijouji:**_

I couldn't believe I left him. Why did I leave him? I had to. I _had_ to. He was right, of course. I needed to leave, to protect the baby that I was carrying within myself, but it was _Ken_. And I left him behind. My heart was racing far more than it had any right to, and my breathing was coming in sporadic burst. I was panicking. Of _course_ I was panicking. I was always panicking.

And this was definitely something worth panicking about.

I had to go back for him. I _had_ to. I couldn't leave him. He was my husband, and it was just as much my job to protect him as it was his job to protect me. He was back there, facing off against his murderous ex-boss, and I was running towards safety. I was such a coward.

No.

I was protecting the baby. He wanted me to protect our child. He wanted this baby more than anything else in the world—and that was the problem. I knew he'd _die_ for it, and I didn't want him to die. I didn't know what I would do without Ken. I didn't think my heart could handle losing him. Our lives had been entwined far too long for me to handle such a drastic and permanent separation. I was too young to lose my husband. I didn't _want_ to be a widow. I didn't want to be a single mother either. I wanted Ken and me to grow old together. I wanted him to be there, holding my hand when the baby was born—and at the birth of each subsequent child. He needed to be there for the first smile, the first step, the first word. He was supposed to be there for the first and last days of school, to walk our potential daughter down the aisle, or be a perfect role model to our possible son, to live out his dream of being a detective.

We were supposed to be together forever.

But Morestuna was screwing that up, and it was because of him that I had to leave him behind. I had to protect the baby at the cost of my husband. It was too steep a price to pay, but I couldn't go back and substitute the baby for Ken either. That wasn't something I would ever be able to do. I was at an impasse. I couldn't handle either option and I didn't know what to do about it!

My heart was clenching at either thought, and my palms were growing sweaty. I was losing control of my breathing, and my eyes were so filled with unshed tears that I couldn't _see_ anymore. I needed Ken. Ken always knew what to do to help me through each panic attack. Just feeling his presence was usually enough to help me draw strength, but he was so far out of my reach, and I didn't know whether he was still alive or not.

God, _please_ let him be alive.

The tears spilled over, pouring down my cheeks like rivers. I swiped at them furiously with my fingers. I wished for just a moment that I could be someone else, _anyone_ else. Everyone seemed to deal with stress much better than I did. They didn't fall into panic attacks, they kept a clear head and they came up with solutions. The only solution I was able to come up with was to sit down here and cry it all out, and that wasn't going to help _anybody_.

If the virus didn't get me, Morestuna would, after he'd finished Ken off.

It almost seemed like an appealing idea, until I remembered my baby. My beautiful little thirteen week old fetus was depending on me. Its tiny organs and muscles had formed already, and they were beginning to function. It was swallowing now, and learning to kick. I'd read all about it in my books. The fetus was small, but was still alive, and was depending on me to keep it that way. I couldn't let him or her down. I couldn't let Ken down either. He trusted me to look after her, whether he would be around or not.

With that in mind, I forced my feet to keep moving, wiping at my eyes every few steps, trying to get some idea of which direction I was headed. I couldn't see though. I knew I'd never make it to the Coliseum. I was going to let Ken down, I was going to let my baby down.

A sob ripped out of my throat and I tried to suppress the ones that followed, but I couldn't. I just sobbed and cried, and panicked with every step I took. I couldn't just give up, even if I didn't have much in the way of hope. I was going to die, alone and lost out in the Digital World, and Ken would sacrifice himself for nothing. My shoulders shook with the force behind the new wave of sobs that hit me.

And then I ran into someone.

I couldn't see who it was, but I was going to fight to my last breath to protect my baby, I wrapped one hand around my stomach for protection, while using my other arm to push the assailant away. I stepped around my would-be-attacker, and tried to run away, but a hand latched onto my wrist, and I couldn't shake it off.

"Miyako!"

I stopped pulling. I recognized the voice. It was Kurayami. I didn't know what she was doing so far away from the Coliseum, and I didn't really care either. I'd never been so excited to see her in my life—figuratively of course, I couldn't see more than a fleshy coloured blur surrounded by black, as her hair blended right into her clothes. I was almost ashamed to have assumed she was DWD.

"Kurayami," I sobbed, flinging myself into her arms. She lifted her hands awkwardly, patting me on the back in a timid way. "I don't know what to do!"

"I doubt I'll be much help," she said, her own voice thick with emotions too.

"I'm not a good mom," I cried. "I don't know what to do. I just want Ken, and I can't have him and the baby too. I'm not fit to be a mom! I don't deserve it. I want my mom—but she's horrible so she won't help me. She doesn't care about me anymore. She replaced us all with Yorokobi, and she's the _absolute worst_."

"I'm not a good mom either," Kurayami said, her emotions getting the better of her. I could hear her voice breaking, and her fresh tears landed on my cheek. "I can't be a good mom. I don't have anyone to show me how."

"I'm gonna be all alone," I said letting out a long whine as my tears just flowed faster. "I don't wanna be alone. I don't _like_ being alone."

"Daisuke can have Takeru," Kurayami rambled. "And they can take care of Haruki together. They already do such a great job. They don't need me. I'll probably turn into my mother and I can't do that to my baby. I never even _met_ Yukai, and you can see how _I_ turned out. I don't wanna kill my baby."

"And I don't wanna kill _my_ baby," I sobbed in agreement.

"I'm gonna find Takeru. I have to find him," Kurayami said, trying to pull away from me. "Daisuke's gonna need him."

"I need _Ken_," I wailed. "And Morestuna's gonna take him away from me."

"Mor-Morestuna?" Kurayami asked, sobering herself. "Where's Morestuna?"

"Back there somewhere," I said, trying to catch my breath, but I couldn't do it. My heart was beating too fast, my head was spinning, and my tears didn't seem to want to end. I gestured behind me before wiping my eyes with my sleeve, wishing I'd put a package of facial tissue in my emergency backpack. I had prenatal vitamins and a purple notebook, but I didn't think of those. I was such a bad planner. What if I forgot to pack _diapers_ in the baby bag once the baby was here? What would I do then? That was something Ken would remember, and then we'd laugh about it. We couldn't laugh about it if he was dead. If he was dead, I probably wouldn't ever laugh again.

"I'm not going to let Morestuna take away anybody else," Kurayami said, determined, wiping her tears off of her face. "I won't let him hurt Ken. I'll help protect him. Go back to the Coliseum, Miyako. I'll take care of him."

"I'm not letting you go alone," I protested.

"You've got a baby to look after," Kurayami pointed out.

"Who told you?" I hissed. It had to be Iori or Hideto. They were the only ones I told except Ken, but he'd _just_ learned. "It was Hideto, wasn't it?"

"You did," she reminded me. "Just now..."

"Did I?" I asked, and I honestly couldn't remember. I was panicking so much, about everything. I couldn't keep it straight what I'd thought and what I'd said out loud. She started off in the direction I'd pointed out, and I followed after her.

"Go back, Miyako," Kurayami urged. "What about your baby?"

"What about yours?" I shot back.

"He's better off with Daisuke," she said firmly. "He's safer with him."

"And _you_ will be safer with me," I told her seriously.

She couldn't deter me, and we ended up racing back towards my husband together. I felt guilty, for letting my feelings about my husband's safety put the life of not only my baby, but my friend in danger, but I couldn't help it. Everything was just too much. I couldn't handle it. I needed Ken to sort it through; I needed Ken to _ever_ come out of this panic.

Kurayami moved much quicker than I could, but I kept us as best I could. It wasn't long before we were back at the site I'd told Ken about the baby. I hadn't managed to run very far at all in my panic. I _never_ would have been able to make it to the Coliseum. It was a good thing that Kurayami and I came back here. That's what I kept telling myself anyway.

My mouth dropped open in terror when I saw the sight that awaited me. Ken was on the ground, rolling out of the way of the violet burst of energy that Morestuna shot in his general direction. He was having trouble getting his aim right, because Takeru was clinging to Morestuna's back like a monkey. His legs were wrapped around Morestuna's middle, and his right arm was wrapped tightly around Morestuna's neck. With his left arm, he reached out as far as he could, desperately trying to wrangle the gun from Morestuna's hand. Morestuna wouldn't let him though. With one hand he was firing wildly aimed blasts in Ken's direction, leaving Ken to either dodge them, or get hit multiple times.

"NO!" Kurayami screamed when one blast got too close to Ken for comfort. I tried to scream as well, but my voice died in my throat as I tried to keep my wits about me. He was fine. I could see he was fine. The blast hit the ground right beside his head, but he wasn't hit! I just had to remember that, to focus on that. He wasn't hit.

Kurayami didn't seem to care whether it hit Ken or not, she'd had enough. The shroud of darkness that surrounded her so often when we'd first met her grew, seeping out of her pores, growing into long tendrils shifting in the air all around her. One tendril shot out and wrapped itself around Takeru's middle, and another tucked itself right under Ken's arms, lifting both men into the air, leaving Morestuna an open target for the rest of the darkness. The tendrils flew at him, forcing him to the ground, sending his gun flying to the ground not far from me, while Takeru and Ken were set gently on their feet.

"You willNOT hurt my friends!" Kurayami roared. But then the reality of what she was doing crashed down on her and the darkness dispersed. She stared at her hands in horror, dropping to her knees, chocking on large sobs. "I'm doing it," she said through shaky breaths. "I'm becoming _her_."

"You're not," I insisted. "You _saved_ them, you didn't _hurt_ them."

Kurayami couldn't hear me though, her breaths became more erratic. Her hands were shaking. She wrapped them around her stomach as she muttered over and over again. "I'm her, she's me, I'm her, she's me." She was rocking back and forth, clinging tighter and tighter to herself. She was lost in her own fears, and she couldn't break free.

"Miyako!" Ken shouted angrily. "You should've stayed away."

"I couldn't do it!" I called back. "I'm horrible, I'm the worst mom ever, I know it, but I just love you too damn much Ken Ichijouji to abandon you when I might be able to save you. I brought Kurayami, doesn't that count for _something_?"

He didn't answer me, because Morestuna was getting to his feet. Both Ken and Takeru were ready for him to rush them again, ready to continue the fight. Morestuna however, had other plans. He was looking at the ground, shaking his head, scanning the grass as he wiped blood from his lips. His nose was crooked, and his lips were swelling a little. There was a gash above his eyebrow, and his face was bright red. Ken and Takeru weren't much better, though. Takeru has a cut on his cheek, and looked like he'd been punched in the eye. And Ken, my sweet Ken, was boasting a pretty nasty bloody nose. Strands of his long hair stuck to the blood across his face, and when he wiped the hair away, the blood just spread, leaving his face spattered with the stuff. He winced when he breathed too.

I hadn't been gone for long, what would've happened if I hadn't brought Kurayami back when I did?

I didn't really want to know.

Morestuna was still searching the grass, and it struck me that he was looking for his gun. I looked over to it. I knew where it was. I could keep him from getting it. I could keep him from hurting anyone else. I could do something without actually getting in there and punching him myself. I started moving without thinking about it, I could get there long before Morestuna ever could. He didn't stand a chance of beating me.

"Miyako, don't do it!" Ken shouted, somehow sensing my plan.

I had to ignore him. Obviously whatever blow to the head he took had rattled his brain. If we took away Morestuna's weapon, the fight would be on a much more even ground. I wasn't about to lose my husband because Morestuna didn't like to play fair. That wasn't going to happen, no way, no how.

So I reached down and picked up his gun. It was slightly hot to the touch, and I almost dropped it, but it was too important, and I held firm. I looked to Kurayami who was still on the ground, not far to my right. Then I looked to Ken, he had a look of horror on his face as he turned to me.

"Not Miyako!" he bellowed, racing towards Morestuna who—I realized—had his eyes trained on me. They were narrowed and angry. He was stalking towards me. Takeru got to him first, slamming his fist into his face, only for Morestuna to backhand him. Morestuna grabbed him roughly and threw him to the ground where he landed hard on his back.

Ken punched first with his right fist, landing it on Morestuna's cheek, before letting his left fist fly, crashing it into Morestuna's stomach. He followed through with an uppercut, but Morestuna caught his hand, pulling it down sharply, and reached around Ken's torso, wrapping his arms around his waist. When Morestuna straightened himself, Ken was upside down in his arms, and he was tossing him Takeru's direction. Ken landed on Takeru, just as Takeru was trying to get to his feet. They both crashed to the ground.

There was nothing between me and Morestuna, and I knew I should run. But I couldn't do it. Not for lack of _wanting_ to though. My feet couldn't move. My hands were shaking and my mind was whirling a hundred miles a second. I was so scared; the only sound that escaped my lips was a squeal instead of the scream I'd been trying to muster.

I was just scared of everything. I was scared for myself and the pain that was sure to come. I was scared for my baby, and her—or his—safety. If I went down, my baby was going with me and the thought _terrified_ me. I was scared for Ken, and for Takeru, and for Kurayami. They were surely next once he got through with me. I was scared for the digimon, and what would happen when the virus was unleashed. I was scared for what would happen to the Digital World with the virus, and when it was missing the four digidestined Morestuna was likely going to kill—myself included. I was scared for Hawkmon, and for Wormmon and for _everyone _and _everything_.

I was just _too_ scared to move.

It was like I was paralyzed.

It seemed like hours, watching Morestuna make his way towards me, even though I knew it was only seconds. Ken and Takeru were struggling to their feet. They would come soon, they would save me from Morestuna, from my own fear. But they didn't get to me in time.

It was Morestuna's growl that shook me out of my self-imposed paralysis. But it was too late by then to move. He lunged at me, knocking me to the ground. I couldn't let him get the gun, so I sent it flying off to the right, before he pinned me down. He sat on my legs, and wrapped his hands around my neck, applying pressure to cut off my air supply.

I struggled against him, but he was too heavy, _too_ strong. No amount of prying could get his large fingers off of my neck.

"Miyako!" Ken screamed.

"Miyako, keep fighting!" Takeru urged.

I could hear their footsteps. They were coming. I just had to hold on. I scratched his arms, digging my nails into his skin. I slapped and hit and punched wherever I could reach, but I wasn't strong enough, especially by then. I couldn't _breathe_.

Takeru and Ken were close now. Just a few seconds more. I could do it. I knew I could. I just had to believe in myself and my husband and my friend.

There was a banging noise, and I saw a blast of violent purple light slam into Morestuna's side. He grunted, but didn't react otherwise. His foggy, crazed eyes were trained on my own. Two more shots were fired in quick succession. I turned my head as much as I could, catching sight of Kurayami's shaky, unsteady hands as she shot yet another blast at my assailant. She fired twice more, and I looked away. I couldn't bear to see her do it anymore.

Morestuna was feeling the effects now, and his grip loosened. I gasped in breaths of air, my head spinning at the sudden influx of oxygen. Morestuna closed his eyes and grunted once more, before searching for my eyes again. They were clearer now, bluer. But they soon adopted a vacant deadness. As his life left him, his body came crashing down on top of me.

**Next on Digimon Adventure 06:** Is Moretsuna really dead? Is the virus still a threat? Tai and Sora are separated in different worlds, but they've known each other so long, can their bond stretch to inter dimensional lengths to put an end to the enemies and their plans?!


	50. Digital Revelation

**Y/N: **I had a lot of trouble (but it was fun) writing this chapter. It's very exciting, and very upsetting and I don't even know. We're kind of cruel to these guys, by this point.

**U/N:** ^^She definitely has a point. We're beyond mean with these characters. We're playing with them like dolls and torturing them, putting each of them to their very limit to see what happens. We'll try not to break any of them though, I promise.

**Title: Digimon Adventure 06: Data**

**By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing **

**Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.**

**Part 5: Threatened**

**Chapter 50: Digital Revelation**

_**Taichi Yagami:**_

Everyone was scared. No. Scared wasn't the right word. They were anxious. They didn't know there was a reason to be scared, and if I had it my way—and Koushiro didn't decide to share the knowledge with someone—they wouldn't ever know that the virus was coming _here_ first.

They knew a virus was coming, and the trek between the Temple and the Coliseum was long enough to make them hesitate, but they felt safe within the Temple walls. A few of our assorted travelling crew were tempted to stay behind. Wormmon was one of these people. He wanted to stay behind and watch over the library. He was _certain_ that the books would come to no good while his ever watchful eye was elsewhere.

He was probably right.

"Okay," I called loudly over the nervous chatter. "This is how we're going to do this. We're going to go as fast as we can. No dawdling. We don't know when the virus is going to come, so we have to be fast. Mom, we're not staying to do the dishes, that's useless at this point, so don't even try to argue."

She held up her hands in surrender, as if I hadn't already caught her _twice_ trying to carry stacks of plates back to the kitchens for a good washing. Dorumon narrowed his eyes at my mother. Good. He'd be watching her.

"Mari, Hikari, you'll be leading the parade," I continued. "Koushiro and I will be bringing up the rear. I'll meet up with you in just a few minutes; I just have some last minute things to attend to. If you keep a fast enough pace, you might run into Mimi and the others along the way. Other than that...well...I guess it's time to get ready."

There was a sad sort of cheer that rang through the air. They were too nervous to put any real force behind their enthusiasm.

They moved quickly after that. Hikari worked with Kotemon, Tomoki and Izumi, piling the boxes of important documents into the wooden trailer that Hogan had managed to convince Tuskmon to pull. Tuskmon wasn't looking thrilled at the expected journey, and was actually looking at the trailer with distain, but he wanted to help, after everything we'd done for him—which wasn't all that much actually, but I didn't want to argue with the guy.

Koushiro was talking quickly with Andromon, Centarumon, Haruhiko and Tentomon. For all I knew, they were trying to come up with contingency plans. I noticed a flash of gold in Koushiro's pocket, and realized he was carrying a key. Good. Willis had given us at least one failsafe if this mission went south. If the virus came before we could start off.

I didn't know _when_ the virus was coming, and that was the only piece of information I wanted anymore. I didn't care about _why_ Rida was sending one at us. I'm sure I could piece _that_ together. What I wanted was to know when it wouldn't be safe anymore. How fast would the virus spread? Would the shield Kiyoko put up around the Temple keep it confined?

I sure as hell hoped so.

I wasn't optimistic enough to think that we'd saved every last digimon out in the wild. There was no way that was possible. I was realistic these days. It had been awhile since I'd had the pure optimism that I had as a child. I was reckless and stupid back then, but I got things done. It was really too bad I had to grow up. I didn't seem to have the same success rate as an adult.

"You can do it?" Hogan asked, catching my attention. Tuskmon nodded, narrowing his eyes at the Gennai clone. He didn't appreciate his capabilities being doubted. "It feels like I'm asking too much of you."

"Don't question him," Jackie said, shaking his head. "He says he can handle it, just accept it. We must round up the smaller digimon then. If we are to keep a hasty pace, we need to ensure they can keep up."

Benjamin, Ilya and Jose nodded at their brother's words. I watched with a strange fascination as Ilya pounced on Datirmon, the small green digimon that once was partner to Owikawa. Datirmon struggled as Ilya deposited him in the trailer.

"I have rights too you know!" Datirmon said, trying to hop out of the trailer, only to be caught by Hogan and put back inside. "I can walk. I can do it!"

"We must think of the group as a whole," Hogan told him patiently. "The virus could come at any moment. We need to ensure that you will make it the entire journey."

"I'm not a baby," Datirmon said stubbornly. "I've travelled all over."

"Please," Izumi pleaded, noticing the struggle as she set the first of the suitcases into the trailer. "I don't want to see you get hurt. Do it for me. Please?"

"I don't even know you," Datirimon protested, but I could see his resolve had wavered. "Fine. But just because you said please."

"Thank you," Izumi said with a bright smile, before heading back for another suitcase. Datirimon sighed and hopped up onto a box of documents and settled in for what was sure to be a long ride. He was given companions, when Jose came back with the elderly Wormmon—who didn't put up a fuss at all—and Benjamin brought Kamemon. Kamemon wanted to walk, and explore, to see if he could find any rocks for his collection, but after a stern look from my mother, he gave in. My mother, was being blocked from the kitchen by her partner, Dorumon. He wasn't going to give in, even though she was determined to break through the barrier he'd created.

I didn't see why _anyone_ would be so determined to wash dishes. It was the most abhorrent chore in the list of all chores. But she didn't want the food to dry on the plates, she didn't want to come back and find that they were covered in mould.

I liked that thought though; it meant we'd be coming back. It didn't really feel like we would be. We were packing up all the important things, and we were high tailing it out of here. It felt like we were giving up, but I knew Hikari wouldn't approve of such thoughts. She thought of it as regrouping. I figured Morestuna's thoughts would be more along the lines of my own.

"Taichi," Mari called. "Can you even hear me?"

It seemed like she'd been calling my name for awhile. I sighed. I was so out of it. I needed to pay attention. I was responsible for each and every life within the Temple walls. And until I got them all to the Coliseum, there was no time for drifting thoughts.

"What's up?" I asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Help me get this thing ready. Tuskmon's in a hurry," she told me, gesturing to the trailer. I noticed that Sukamon, Chuumon and MarineAngemon had joined the party inside, lounging on the suitcases, and helping arrange things inside the wooden walls.

I walked over to Mari and helped her lift the wooden handles of the oversized cart. We struggled to keep it steady as Tuskmon backed his way into the restraints. He fidgeted uncomfortably as Mari fitted the attachment onto the handles. It was a leather strap that acted sort of as a belt, holding the cart secured around Tuskmon's waist. He looked down frustrated, but heaved a large sigh. He wiggled a bit, before taking a few tentative steps. The wheels creaked a little under the added weight, but Tuskmon seemed to perk up when it moved without much added effort.

He probably thought it would be heavier.

"You should join the cart with the others." It was D'Arcmon. Her mystical voice carried over the crowd. "It would be safest for you."

"I don't want to," DemiDevimon protested. "I want to stay with you. You said I could. You said I could stay with you until I got Amai back."

"I did," D'Arcmon said with a sigh. I'd located them. She was at one of the Temple walls, holding her hand against the stone with a painful look on her face. She didn't want to leave. But she _had_ to. I knew that it was her home, that she had been the reason this Temple was built, the reason it was the base of operations for the entire Digital World. She hardly ever left these walls anymore, even to check on the Holy digimon. There were never any problems with them, so she wasn't really needed. I was asking her to leave her _home_. No. I wasn't asking. I was telling. She wasn't allowed to stay here. Not when the virus was coming here first. I watched as she heaved a sigh, and pulled her hand away from the wall, a resigned look settling on her face. "Very well."

"That should do it then," Mari said, clapping her hands in front of her. "How about that? I think this plan will actually work. I had doubts, but then I always do."

"Do you?" I asked.

"Pretty much, yeah," she said, rolling her eyes at me. I realized that wasn't something I was aware of. And the more I thought of it, I realized I didn't know much of anything about Mari.

"Have we ever talked before?" I asked aloud, without thinking.

"Maybe," she said, sounding doubtful.

"We should probably change that," I said. How could I have a team mate, and expect her to trust me, if I never communicate with her at all? I couldn't just expect her to follow my every order in the middle of battle and expect her to go along with it—not that I'd willingly put her into battle unless there was great need for it. She was probably pretty capable, but she didn't have a digimon anymore.

I was also trying to keep my limited hope alive, and was crossing my fingers that there _wouldn't_ be a real battle coming for us. I didn't have much hope though. Things always ended with a battle, it was why Takeru's book was so engaging. There was always a final battle and resolution.

But we didn't have a great evil to tackle this time. We didn't have a real enemy to focus on. We had nearly the entire human race, and Morestuna _wasn't_ the head of operations. He was just a powerful lackey, of that I was certain. So who _was_ in charge? What was their goal?

I forced the thoughts from my mind, realizing I was ignoring Mari again. She just rolled her eyes though. "I _said_, we just did. We're talking now, so obviously that means we've taken a step in the right direction." I laughed a little, without much humour.

"Why don't we talk?" I questioned, feeling a little awkward about my short attention span.

"Alias III kind of just keeps to ourselves," she said with a shrug, but keeping herself busy with whatever her hands could reach, "It's cool, whatever. We don't really fit in with the rest of the group anyway. Not entirely at least. We do alright on our own."

"That's stupid," I said, shaking my head.

"It is what it is," she said. "Now. As riveting as this conversation might be, we've got a group of thirty or more people that need to get a move on. Shake a leg people! We're heading out soon. Whatever's not here in like a _minute_ is being left behind!"

I chuckled at her no-nonsense speech, and nearly outright laughed when I saw that the fight club had taken her completely seriously. Tuskmon pulled the cart quickly to the main entrance, and Tankmon rolled along next to him. Starmon and Falcomon took up the rear, keeping Candlemon, Hagurumon and ToyAgumon next to the cart, where they could help them if they needed it.

"_They_ have the right idea," Mari called out happily.

It was my turn to roll my eyes at _her_, and I left her to her organization. Meramon had joined the procession, as had Dorumon and Kotemon—who saluted to her. Dorumon giggled when she winked their way. Tinkermon fluttered through the air and landed on Mari's shoulder. I shook my head at it all. If Neo wasn't doing such a good job with the Knights, I'd offer his job to Mari. Mari had a tone to her voice that made the digimon _want_ to listen to her.

Kamemon, Sukamon, Chuumon, MarineAngemon, Datirimon and the elderly Wormmon were all relaxing in the cart behind Tuskmon, and all jumped aside when Hikari tossed in one last box that we'd nearly forgotten. Koushiro was at her side, and they immediately walked in my direction after the box was stowed away.

"We did one final sweep, Taichi," Hikari said. "Just to make sure we didn't forget anything."

"I didn't see the keys anywhere," Koushiro said, toying with the key in his pocket. "I know you kept some to yourself, the Earth key, along with the keys to the Digital World, Heaven."

"And the Time Key," I added. "They're on a lanyard in a box in the trailer. I checked twice. They're in with the digimentals. Izumi and Tomoki have been making sure they're safe."

"Good," Koushiro said. "Do you want my key? I simply assumed that since we were all travelling together, I wouldn't need to be in charge of it. You're the boss here, you could have it if you wanted."

"Keep it," I told him. "That's an order. You're more responsible than I am."

"That's debatable," Koushiro protested.

"It really isn't," Hikari and I said as one. He shook his head and chuckled, before leaving. He headed to Tentomon, who had joined the procession with Andromon and Centarumon. Haruhiko was among them as well, chatting animatedly with Meramon, Izumi and Tomoki.

"Why don't you head on over," I suggested to my sister. She frowned and shook her head.

"I'm going to stay with you," she told me. "Don't protest. I'm with you until the end. Don't think I haven't noticed that you're hiding something."

"Koushiro told you," I said, cursing my sister's intuitiveness and Koushiro's ingrained need to share whatever knowledge he possessed.

"It wasn't hard to get it out of him," she said with a smile. "You should have told us. Mom wouldn't be doing dishes right now if you had. She'd have made sure we left hours ago."

"I didn't want everyone to be in a panic. We work better when that's not the case," I pointed out.

"But it wasn't just _your_ choice to make. The choice you made could have cost all of us our lives," she said, narrowing her eyes at me. "Kiyoko was probably right to be so scared."

"Everyone's fine, and they're going to head off now," I reminded her. "Things work out when I'm reckless. It's when I'm being cautious that everything starts to suck."

"Everything's going to be fine," she said, trying to sound firm, but her voice shook. "You should tell them to go. Benjamin and his brothers are there now, so they should start walking."

"You're right," I said, and I gave Mari the signal, knowing that D'Arcmon needed a moment, just as I did. I wasn't ready to leave either. Mari let out a whistle, and started leading everyone out of the Temple walls. Hikari and I watched them go until we couldn't see them anymore. "Let's go find Mom."

Hikari and I slipped into the kitchen, finding Mom crying while scrubbing the pots and pans. Hikari was quick to hug her, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "We'll be fine," I told Mom.

"I know we will," she said. "Because we're Yagamis, and we always come out on top. I just wish your father was here too, that's all."

"He'll be fine," I said, though I couldn't be sure. Everything sucked now. Dad was on Earth with Sora and we _still _didn't know where Neo, Gomamon and Michael were, or if Tatum was successful at locating them—or Hideto. Ogremon and Leomon were _somewhere_ and Wizardmon was teleporting all over the Digital World. Would they know to get to a shield when the virus came? Would the shield _hold_ the virus inside? I hoped it would. I joined my mother and sister, turning their embrace into a full on group hug. Mom dropped the pot she was attacking with the scrub brush, and turned towards us, and there, in my mother's arms, I thought maybe, _just maybe_ things could turn out alright after all.

_**Sora Takenouchi:**_

I was struggling to free myself from my restraints. I had to get out. I _had _to. And then when I did I'd be able to break down the stupid bars holding me in the cramped room and I'd run off, and I'd find where they were running their operations and I'd stop them. I would stop them from killing my friends—my family. I had to.

I'd long since stopped crying, not because I felt better, or that I was any less sad, but because the tears just wouldn't come anymore. I was angry more than I was sad, and with frustration came more tears, but only for a short while, now I was screaming, as loud as I could.

The police officer had shoved me in the car and no matter how hard I tried I could not convince him to let me out, or to put a stop to the virus. He simply told me that if I did not stop talking he would see to it that my time in jail was as horrendous as possible. I hadn't even done anything _wrong_. Sure, I'd punched a girl and pinned her down and screamed at a police officer—but that wasn't punishable by actual jail time. I could be let out at any minute. I had to be—but I knew that horrible man was keeping me here just until it was too late. He wanted to be sure that I wasn't able to leave until just after eight o'clock. I'd done the math using what limited knowledge Veronica had given me. That was when they'd be doing the deed. I could just barely see a clock hanging around the corner. I could see three numbers. Eight, nine and ten. I could still see the longer hand—but it was pointed dangerously close to the nine. That meant there was only fifteen minutes left.

Fifteen minutes to figure out how to break out of here and save everyone I've ever known and loved. If I didn't succeed there was no telling what might happen to them. After all, we knew the Digital World was created by humans to seal away the digimon, was it not possible that they could delete it in the same way? Without Gennai, or someone who was there during the events, there was no way to know for sure. And as far as I knew, I was the only one of the Digidestined who had gotten out before the world was sealed. That meant each crest was going to be dissolved. Or perhaps they would just be in search of new owners. Maybe it was still possible to bring around peace for all nine worlds even without the help of my friends.

But what if it wasn't?

What if, with them gone, the chaos would never stop? What if human kind found access to each of the other worlds? What if they brought their hate and their pollution and their death to these new worlds? What if there was no cure for hate—what if love was only a preventative measure meant to seal hatred away, but when it got loose there was no stopping it? What if each world was doomed to darkness simply because humans had inexplicable darkness in their hearts?

It suddenly made sense to me why Gennai had selected mere children to save his world. Children had open minds, and they were more easily swayed. Each of our parents took time to come to terms with digimon in their own way. Some took longer than others, but each one found their way to the light because they had raised the crest bearers. They simply had to have goodness in them somewhere.

Then there were the saints like Natsuni's father, or Yuudai. They were open, and kind people, and they were not inclined to force hate into the void that was left open by the unknown. Others were like that too. Others wanted to give peace a chance, and to let love guide them. To let understanding be their way of living, and to let humility show them that humans were not and never will be the only species in the universe. They were not vain enough to assume that because we were not aware of anyone aside from those native to our limited knowledge that they did not exist. They understood we were not alone. We were never alone.

Even if they deleted the Digital World, there would still be digimon elsewhere. In Witchenly, some left on Earth. We would fight for our safety—but we would never be _unkind_ to those who deserved nothing less than greatness.

_We_.

Who was 'we'? I didn't even know who I would have left. I had two girls, hopefully doing what they could to stop the virus. Two innocent girls who were given the choice to divulge themselves with our dangerous lives and who chose to see it through. Neither was forced into this life like I had been, both loved unconditionally. They were so trusting, and hopeful. Perhaps they could be two new crest bearers?

A single tear fell from my now closed eyes as I fell to my knees on the cold stone floor. I did not want to replace them. I wanted my friends back. I _needed_ my friends back. I'd never gone through this alone. At every step of the way there was someone by my side, and now, each person who had taken that role was going to be gone, and I'd be alone. Never in my life had I felt so useless and empty. I think I understood now, too late, why Biyomon had been so protective over me. Losing someone you care about is something I didn't think I would ever get over. Not like this. Not all at once.

I needed Biyomon. I needed my friends. I needed my _mom_.

I needed to get _out of this prison cell_. I stumbled to my feet and slammed my back into the bars. Yelling again. There had to be a simple way to escape the bars. I'd been behind bars once before, but a kind Deputymon had broken me free. And maybe he hadn't seemed kind at the time, but he was nothing, _nothing_ compared to the monsters who had put me in this prison cell simply for trying to save the people I loved.

Maybe if I gave up my crest I would be able to forget what love meant. Maybe my heart wouldn't be broken anymore, and maybe I could numb the pain. Without my crest, maybe I could live a normal life. It was no good to me anymore. Not without Biyomon. I slammed my back against the bars again, ignoring the pain and then gasped.

I thought I'd seen a flicker of light, but it had dispersed quickly. Then a door opened and I turned sharply. It had to be Natsuni! And Jenna! They were breaking me out, and they'd found a way to stop the virus! They had saved everyone. I knew it. They had to have. This could not be happening, and so I knew, without a doubt that they would stop it. They would save them.

But this was not Natsuni, and it was not Jenna. It was a man. He looked American, maybe, his hair was dark, and well groomed. There were faint smile lines on his face, but they did not look joyous, they simply looked cruel. The man was wearing a perfectly fitted suit and he was walking toward me slowly, his feet clicking with each step on the stone floor. He pulled one of his hands out of his pocket and revealed a ring of keys dangling from his outstretched fingers, and I looked hopefully up into his dark eyes, shocked to see so much intensity staring back at me. "Sora?" He asked, "Sora Takenouchi?" I nodded, "Good." He was speaking Japanese. "I've come to set you free."

"W-why?" I asked, careful to not be too excited.

"Well," He smirked, "You'll see." He reached forward with the keys and shoved one into the lock of my cell. He paused and looked up to me, "You see," He said, dropping his hands, causing my heart to drop with it. Why couldn't he just open the damned door? He turned his back and I saw the clock over his shoulder, the minute hand was pointed just past the nine now.

I turned my back and tried to use my restricted hand movement to grab the key and turn it. Just when I'd found the key a hand grabbed onto my wrist. "I am in charge around here." A cold voice whispered into my ear, through the bars. "I've heard nothing of you specifically," He told me, releasing me. I turned to face him and he grinned, showing clearly where the malicious lines on his face had come from. "But as I've been told, everyone you care about is in the Digital World?"

"Yes," I said, my voice failing me, pleading on its own accord, "You have to let me go. I have to save them." The man slowly shook his head. "Please!"

"No," the man said, "I have no power to do such a thing."

"You just said you were in charge!" I argued.

"That I am." He nodded, "But in what way does that tell you that I am God? It is too late my dear. There is no saving them. But I will let you go. There is something I wish for you to see." My stomach tensed as he reached for the keys. My feet worked on their own, backing me away from the man. There was so much negativity radiating from his form. There was no way I was letting him touch me. "Are you frightened?"

Absolutely I was frightened. What did he want from me? If there was no way to save them, then what was he going to show me? I was scared. Did he just want to make clean work with the job, and rid of me too? Was there going to be _no one_ left to protect the worlds? This was my last chance. I was a Digidestined. Literally _destined_ to be digital. And with no more digital world, that meant there would be nothing left to save. Nothing left for my destiny to entail. So why did it matter if I was gone anyway? "No." I answered him flatly.

He smiled, and breathed a laugh, turning the key in the cells lock. "Well," He said, pulling the door open. "You should be."

He reached in and grabbed my shoulder, pulling me out of the cell with ease. I tried to trip him but he kicked my leg—hard. I fell dramatically to the ground. If he was going to kill me I couldn't make it easy for him. There had to be a way to escape.

But as he grabbed my arm I saw a full view of the clock this time. It seemed like every second was an eternity long as I watched the hand tick away. There were only eight minutes left now. Eight minutes until they were gone forever. Why was I going to fight this?

He'd said it himself. No way to win. No way to save them.

I would go with pride. I would not be a coward. I would not let him win this with satisfaction.

He pulled me to my feet, and I let him as he led me through the doors at the end of the hallway with the clock. He never let go of me while he pulled the doors, shoving me through ahead of him. The room we were in now was filled with people, I noticed right away. I then noticed a metal stairway that led to the outside world. There was a door at the top and a window overhead. I could see the sky—which seemed ridiculous. It seemed completely unbelievable that there was still a world out there, when the one that lived parallel to it was being destroyed. I heard people chatting to one another and turned to see a team of completely ordinary people manning a series of computers that lined a big open wall. The room was tall and empty for the most part, but the thing that was nearly impossible to ignore was the large screen above the computers with a countdown on it.

Seven minutes and six seconds to go. That seemed impossible. Five seconds. Four. Three. Two... less than seven minutes.

"Director Arnold!" A woman shouted to the man holding my arm with his tight grip. For a moment I thought maybe something had gone wrong. That maybe she was telling him the plan could not be executed. "All systems ready to go."

"Splendid," He said, finally releasing my arm. "Unlock the shackles." The police man he addressed rolled his eyes but stepped toward me nonetheless. Director Arnold, it appeared his name was, grabbed a cup of tea from one of the computer desks and took a small sip as my arms were finally freed from their prison. "Do hold her for a moment," Director Arnold requested, setting his teacup down once more. "I've brought you here simply because I am giving you one phone call, as the law requires."

"I don't need it." I said bitterly. Director Arnold and I were locked in a heated stare off, until finally I gave in and let my eyes flick to something else. They found a computer screen. One that displayed an aerial view of what appeared to be a castle. The castle was surrounded by many blinking dots, and there was an enormous cavern surrounding it, like a moat. I looked away but froze and took a double take. The Temple? Was that where the virus was going to be sent? "No?" Director Arnold asked. "Well, it is your choice of course."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, staring at the picture of the Temple, pulling my arm from the man holding me. I stormed toward the computers, ready to destroy them, but the large man had grabbed me again. "You can't do this!" I screamed.

"I am being hospitable!" Director Arnold insisted, frustrated. "I am offering you a phone call."

"I already told you I don't need it!" I growled. "I have no one left to call!"

"Not even in the Digital World?" Director Arnold asked. He was teasing me! He knew as well as I did that the connection was blocked. There was no way to contact them. "What if I told you that I could allow you access just for a moment?" My heart was beating quickly with anticipation and with hope. "It would merely be through the telephone, so no funny business. The gates will remain shut tight."

"Give me the damned phone." I said, my voice breaking far too strongly.

Director Arnold's lips curled into a sly grin. "As you wish." He said, turning his back to me. He pulled open a drawer in one of the desks and I looked back to the clock. Just over four minutes left. He was rummaging around as if the drawer was big enough to hold that many things! My heart was practically racing now, aching, burning, begging to be set free of the cage keeping it confined. Director Arnold sighed, and shut the drawer, "Now where did I put that phone?" a low growl escaped my lips and Director Arnold laughed lightly, reaching into his pocket. "Oh, here it is." He said, pulling out my own cell phone. He reached his hand out to me and I stretched my arm as far as it could, desperate for the chance to call someone.

I already knew who to call. There was never a question of that.

"Just one moment." Director Arnold said, pulling the phone away from me once more.

"No!" I shouted.

"No telling them anything." Director Arnold said, "This is merely a chance to say goodbye."

"Sure!" I begged, "Please just give me the phone!" He smiled. He had me wrapped around his finger and he knew it. I had been hoping to be brave. To be strong, but I couldn't be. I needed to talk to them. I needed to say goodbye—and he was toying with me. He was hideous. A monster. I had less than three minutes now.

"Unlock the signal," Director Arnold told one of his friends. And then finally the phone was in my trembling hands, and I quickly searched my contacts, and clicked the name I was looking for.

The phone was up to my ear a second later, and I could hear ringing. I was practically rejoicing in the sound. It only rang twice before the beautiful sound of his voice answered me. "Sora? Where are you?"

"Taichi." I gasped, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry." There was no pretending I wasn't scared anymore. Tears were pouring down my face. "Taichi, I'm on Earth, I'm okay!"

"Thank God." He gasped.

"I mean I'm in prison, but I'm okay." I told him. He began ranting to me about how he was going to get back and help me. He was going to set me free, and that only made it all worse. "Taichi," I said quietly, but he didn't stop talking. He never was one for listening. I needed to tell him what I knew, but I wasn't allowed. Director Arnold wouldn't let me. I found myself staring at the big digital countdown, watching the seconds shoot away. Once they seemed to be taking forever, but now they were running too quickly. They wanted to kill my friends. Time was now on the enemies side. Everyone was. Everyone aside from me. And that meant I had to play by my own rules. "Taichi listen right now. The virus is coming to the Temple in two and a half minutes. You have to leave." I paused, waiting for his response, but it never came. "Taichi?"

"We shut the signal off." Director Arnold told me. "You deliberately went against our agreement, breaking my trust."

"Your trust means nothing to me." I snarled.

"Did I forget to tell you the punishment for breaking the rules?" Director Arnold asked, his face burning with anger. The hands restraining me released me finally as Director Arnold advanced upon me. He reached forward and grabbed my wrist tightly, angrily, and he pulled me toward the computers. "You will not only watch your friends die." He said, reaching toward a plastic casing, covering a single red button. "But you will be the cause of it."

"No!" I screamed, but I was no match for him. He was stronger than he looked, and he pulled my hand quickly down toward the control panel where two of my fingers painfully jammed themselves under my palm, over top of the red button.

I was still pulling away, but it didn't matter. My heart had stopped upon hearing the loud sirens wailing, and Director Arnold released my hands. I fell back, slamming onto the ground, tears silently streaming down my face as I pulled myself to my feet. On one monitor I saw the word _'initiating'_ and I knew there was nothing left to be done. Nothing I could do here. I turned and ran, heading straight for the stairs I had seen earlier, and rushing out into the world.

There was no stopping it now. No stopping what they had created. No stopping what they had done. No stopping what _I _had done.

_**Taichi Yagami:**_

I looked down at the phone in my hand. Sora had gotten through the barriers, or her _voice_ did anyway. I tried to tell her everything that had happened since she'd gone, but I couldn't. She had more important news. I swallowed thickly.

Two minutes.

We had two minutes—less now actually—before the virus hit, and what was I doing? I was seated in my chair in the council room, wallowing in the past, and saying my goodbyes. It wasn't helping anyone. Mom and Hikari were drying dishes and putting them away, as if their lives weren't going to end in a couple of minutes.

I glanced around the room quickly. Mom said we'd be back, but I knew there was no way to know that. How many hours had I spent in this very chair in this room talking to the same group of digimon week after week? Too many to count. And it hit me again that Divermon was gone, and that he'd never get to join us in the Coliseum. He'd given his last update on the water digimon, and then he'd been deleted, and we didn't know for a long time. I felt like such an ass for not noticing. He'd been perfectly punctual and so excited each week to share what news he had.

I'd done him a great disservice by not looking into his absence earlier. Not that it would've saved him. But I still felt like a jerk.

I was a failure.

A failure as a leader and a failure as a friend.

It wasn't just Divermon I'd let down. I'd let down the digidestined, the Council, the Knights, Olympus XII. I'd let down the entire Digital World. They'd given me one job, and I'd let them down. I'd left the Olympus XII completely unprotected too. I wouldn't be able to get to them now, not with just two minutes.

One minute, I supposed.

I grabbed my phone off the table and heaved myself to my feet. It was hard, to walk away from the Council room. It was harder to walk down the steps. I'd failed my family. There wasn't enough time to warn them now.

I kicked the ground when I'd finished descending the staircase. I looked back to the Council chambers. My job was done now. I couldn't exactly hold back the prickling of tears. The little droplets fell down my face and I couldn't do anything to stop them. I'd failed _everyone_. The Digital World and Earth. I couldn't bridge the gap. It was my job to do it, and I'd started a war instead, and now everything would be destroyed. Would I ever have the chance to walk the now worn path between my home and the Temple again? Would I get to sit with Agumon by the lake and just skip rocks, competing to see who could get them the farthest? Would I ever get the chance to make up for the mess I'd made?

I didn't know.

How much would the virus destroy? Would it target just the living, _breathing_ inhabitants, or was the DWD planning to wipe the entire world off the map?

How much of this was _my_ fault?

God, I wished I could say I was proud of the work I'd accomplished in the Digital World, but this was the second time since I'd been instated as head of the Council that I'd let the Digital World's safety come into the line of fire. Neo deleted the whole damn thing before I really noticed he was doing anything at all, and then Yggdrasil...and now the DWD. The Digital World was safer without me. I was a menace to their society. No matter how much I tried to do the right thing, we always ended up fighting for our survival.

Weren't the digidestined supposed to be relishing in peace right now, while we waited for Trust to show up and defeat the final great evil? Or was that all a lie? One of the fairies told Miyako everything, but how much of it was the truth? What if the _fairies_ didn't know, and were just trying to get our hopes up.

"Taichi!" Hikari called to me in a frantic voice, keeping me from falling down a dark spiral of thought. I looked up to the doorway and Hikari flung herself into my view, one hand holding to the edge of the doorframe. "Taichi, you've got to see this!" Her face was panicked, her hair out of place. She was out of breath but didn't care.

I stood quickly, everything Sora had warned me of echoing in my mind. My heart was beating fast already, but I had to keep going. This was the last minute the Temple would have before the virus consumed the land. Possibly the Temple's very last stand. Gennai's home. _My_ home.

"What?" I asked, racing after her. She led me to one of the streets, and I raced after her. She didn't look back for a moment, trusting that I was following behind her, and I was, through every sharp turn and under every archway. And then we finally came to a stop when we reached Mom, D'Arcmon—and DemiDevimon in the Central Park of the Temple.

I knew what it was before I saw it. A large gash had opened up in the sky, a horrendous sight dragging from high above us all the way to the stone ground, and a massive wooden horse was wheeling itself inside. I didn't understand the shape, but I knew what it had to be, because Sora had warned me of it.

I swallowed thickly.

"What is it?" Mom asked, her voice shaking as Hikari grabbed my arm, her fingers cold and tight. Never had she had more reason to be scared than she did right now. My mother was scared. I was scared. And the reason was just as D'Arcmon had told us.

"That," D'Arcmon said. "Is the end."

**-End of Part 1-**

**A/N:** Okay, so this is the end as you can see now. We didn't tell you that it was the end, though it's chapter 50 so really, it was a shock, right? Yeah, no. But anyway, the next chapter of the story-which will be chapter 1 of part 2-will be up on October 1st. We just needed that little break in there. We ARE done writing the second story as a whole but we're uploading it a little differently (which you'll see around November time) and we need time to get a good head start on the final part of the trilogy, which again is kind of different. Anyway, you've made it a third of the way through 06! Yaay! I hope you all liked it and are ready for the massive turning point that this ending brings for the characters. It was a lot of fun exploring them in this new way-anyway I'll stop now. October 1st. That's the next chapter :P


End file.
